Greeters make good impression

Fear and hesitation grip the hearts of first-timers as strange music, unusual customs and a sea of new faces swarm around them.
What may sound like Halloween's best haunted house is actually the church down the street.

And despite anxious apprehensions, church greeters work to turn that front-door experience into a comfortable, friendly welcome.
The Rev. Kevin Bushart, pastor of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, said he developed a basic program and some tentative steps for a greeter ministry at the church.

"Basically what we're looking at is someone to be at the outside of the doors of the church, providing a welcome to the space and direct people to the places in the church," he said. "The greeters will help to identify first-time visitors and direct them to a table in the narthex for a visitor's packet."

Bushart said churches are intimi­dating places for those who don't go and that's an issue he hopes to address at St. Luke's.

Recently he had the unwelcome experience of visiting a large church where no one talked to him except the pastor and a few others he already knew.

"For the person coming in for the first time, they're not concerned with my view on the end times or baptism," Bushart said. "Very often church choice isn't a theological issue at all - it's a comfort issue."

At CrossRoads Fellowship, husband and wife team Kris and Tisha Crow direct the church's "First Impressions" ministry with 150 to 175 volunteers who cover everything from parking control, to security, greeters and emergency response.

"We just see copious numbers of people come through those doors, so it's been very handy to have people who are not just trained, but that is their position," Tisha Crow said. "It's like they're coming to our home in a sense - you want them to feel welcome and comfortable and loved way before the message starts."

Kris Crow said many first-time visitors are amazed by the church's strong welcome and laid-back atmosphere. Even first impressions outside of the building pay off when volunteers show love before visitors hit the glass doors.

"It's the members of the church who are loving on people instead of just the church staff," Kris Crow said. "You get so much joy out of serving and interacting with people."

Curt Gunz, owner of Great Com­mis­sion Resources, developed a Greeters Ministry Guide in 1997 and has sold about 6,000 of the kits through his website, www.yourchurchcangrow.com.

"It's designed to help you train your local members how to be greeters," he said. "The idea behind it is, everybody you talk to thinks their church is friendly, warm and wel­coming, but sometimes that doesn't come across to visitors unless someone intentionally reaches out to them."

With a step-by-step plan, Gunz used years of full-time ministry experience to formulate the Greeters Ministry Guide and other ministry tools for churches of all denominations.

Even in lively churches, Gunz said, visitors can feel unwanted and alone in a crowd of socialites talking to each other. The key is to welcome attendees into your church home and return the favor of their visit.

"If they're there, they've found 51 reasons before this year to miss," he said. "As insiders, we forget how intimidating it can be to attend a church for the first time.

"Be gracious hosts instead of annoying intruders," he said.