Is your church like mine? A maze of hallways and uniquely connected buildings which wind from one end of a block to another? I’ve been in lots of churches and it seems that most fit this bill. It’s understandable. Healthy churches are growing. Growing churches need more space. New buildings are connected to older ones. I guess it all makes sense.
Last weekend, our church hosted many families who were here to connect with other adoptive families, including mine. One father asked me how to get to the sanctuary and I proceeded to explain: “Go down this hallway until you can’t go anymore, turn right and go down that hallway until you can turn left, go down that hallway until you turn right and then you should be at the church foyer.”
The very words out of my mouth caused me to think about how confusing it must be for new families to be in church on Sunday morning. Frazzled newcomers are not in the mood to read signs however good (or bad) they might be. It’s important that we have great greeters at every door ready and willing to take new visitors where they need to be.
Here is my list of what I think should be qualities of a good greeter in the kids ministry area:
– Be like Phil Robertson: happy, happy, happy. A smile goes a long way. It’s so important that you train your greeters to be happy to see every person who walks through the door visitor or member!
– Educated. I’m not talking in the collegiate sense, but the ministry sense. Your greeters need to know who meets where, and how to get visitors comfortably to their destination. Help your greeters learn that not all four-year-olds go to the four-year-old class. Teach them about how your church promotes. On Sunday nights, you will often find me in our preschool welcome center. Recently a visitor came to through our doors and told me she wanted to go to Bible study. Through a series of questions I found that she had decided to meet her adult son at church and go to a Bible study class together. I helped her find a class that would be good for both of them and then assured her that I would help her son find his way to the class. Just as I promised, I watched for her son and when he arrived took him straight to the class where his mom was attending. You see greeters in the kids ministry also need to know about the adult ministry.
– Consistent. Greeters must work at the times they have volunteer for. They are the first line of ministry most people ever see. The most consistent greeter I’ve ever met was named, Floyd Melton. He always worked in the preschool hall and was always happy to see every person who walked through the door. He knew the members and he recognized visitors. He also went out of his way to help anyone who needed assistance. We could sure use more “Mr. Floyds” in our ministries.
Being a church greeter isn’t a hard job, but it is an absolute necessity. They build the brand of your church. When you enter your ministry area, do you think that visitors feel welcomed? Not from a decor point of view, but a human one?
