{"id":814,"date":"2016-11-06T18:01:10","date_gmt":"2016-11-06T18:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baptistchurchcroydon.co.uk\/?p=814"},"modified":"2016-12-14T16:32:11","modified_gmt":"2016-12-14T16:32:11","slug":"how-to-be-a-welcoming-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/","title":{"rendered":"How to be a welcoming church"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is a list of ways congregations, and more specifically you as a member of Croham, can love any and all who walk through our doors. This list is adapted from the book\u00a0Now Go Forward<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by J. David Eschelman. Why not treat yourself to a copy for Christmas? Only 92p on the Kindle! (https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Now-Go-Forward-Reaching-Congregation-ebook\/dp\/B003C1QQ48\/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8<\/a>). It says in the book \u201cLoving unbelievers the way Jesus did is the most overlooked key to growing a church\u2026The command to love is the most repeated command in the NT, appearing at least 55 times.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.) Every church member is a\u00a0host\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>and not a\u00a0guest<\/u><\/em><\/strong>. Making visitors feel welcome is primarily the responsibility of members, not the nebulous \u201cchurch.\u201d<\/p>\n

2.) The most important person for a visitor to talk to in order to feel at home in a new church is\u00a0you<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>It is not the Minister, Community Pastor, Student Pastor, welcome team or Elders but a regular attender. Eshleman says \u201cOne of the most impressive gestures we can extend to first time visitors is for people with no official position to take the initiative and welcome them.\u201d<\/p>\n

3.) Treat first time visitors as\u00a0guests of God<\/u><\/em><\/strong>, not\u00a0strangers.<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

4.) Smile at\u00a0everyone\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>and offer your\u00a0hand<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

5.)Look people\u00a0in the eye and smile.<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

6.) Take the\u00a0initiative,\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>don\u2019t wait for visitors to initiate conversation with you.<\/p>\n

7.) Learn people\u2019s\u00a0names\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>and remember them.<\/p>\n

8.) Use [only] appropriate and allowed\u00a0Touch\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>such as a hand shake or a gentle pat on the back.<\/p>\n

9.)Ask\u00a0questions\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>and learn about our\u00a0guests<\/u><\/em><\/strong>. It is better to express interest in them than it is to try to \u201csell\u201d Croham as a church.<\/p>\n

10.) Invite visitors to join you at\u00a0something,\u00a0<\/u><\/em>anything!<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0Invite them to ‘Its a Man’s life’, your Home Group, \u00a0Tuesday Chat, a Toddler group…<\/p>\n

11.)<\/u><\/em> Listening\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>is a very effective way to show love.<\/p>\n

12.) Never let new people\u00a0sit alone.\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>Eschelman says, \u201cNew people should\u00a0never\u00a0<\/u>have to sit alone. Take initiative and go to them without delay.\u201d<\/p>\n

13.) Help visitors find\u00a0seating\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>that suits their\u00a0family\u2019s needs<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

14.) Greet children at\u00a0their level<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

15.) Let children be\u00a0children<\/u><\/em><\/strong>. Yes, families love children\u2019s church and child care. Families also love it when you allow them to decide if their children should remain with them in the service. And even more, when you love their kids as kids (crying, playing, singing!) and don\u2019t expect them to be grown-ups.<\/p>\n

16.) Help first time visitors by being their\u00a0tour guide\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>and helping them find worship\u00a0resources<\/u><\/em><\/strong>. Visiting a new church is like a cross-cultural experience, even for those of us who have visited dozens of other churches<\/p>\n

17.)Invite people to fill out your church\u2019s\u00a0visitor registration card (AKA ‘Connect Card’).<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

18.) Tell people you\u2019re\u00a0glad\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>they are\u00a0here<\/u><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

19.)Pray\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>for them throughout your week.<\/p>\n

20.)\u00a0<\/u><\/em>Be\u00a0yourself!<\/u><\/em>\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong>You are loving! You have a good thing going! You have the capacity to love more people, and to love more deeply. Eschelman says, \u201cPractice making people feel special, and what you give to others will be returned to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tim Allen (Community Pastor)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is a list of ways congregations, and more specifically you as a member of Croham, can love any… Continue Reading → <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to be a welcoming church - CRBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to be a welcoming church - CRBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The following is a list of ways congregations, and more specifically you as a member of Croham, can love any... Continue Reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CRBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-06T18:01:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-14T16:32:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rogers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Rogers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"David Rogers\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0786cdcadc124a31a82adc6b9741cdd0\"},\"headline\":\"How to be a welcoming church\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-06T18:01:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-14T16:32:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":529,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to be a welcoming church - CRBC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-06T18:01:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-14T16:32:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0786cdcadc124a31a82adc6b9741cdd0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/06\\\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to be a welcoming church\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"CRBC\",\"description\":\"Loving God and Loving People\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0786cdcadc124a31a82adc6b9741cdd0\",\"name\":\"David Rogers\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae4005effc9eed0ef682a5e7696693213c3ef62e4e219d04d6b61f3cfc88292f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae4005effc9eed0ef682a5e7696693213c3ef62e4e219d04d6b61f3cfc88292f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ae4005effc9eed0ef682a5e7696693213c3ef62e4e219d04d6b61f3cfc88292f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Rogers\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/david_rogers\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to be a welcoming church - CRBC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to be a welcoming church - CRBC","og_description":"The following is a list of ways congregations, and more specifically you as a member of Croham, can love any... Continue Reading →","og_url":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/","og_site_name":"CRBC","article_published_time":"2016-11-06T18:01:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-12-14T16:32:11+00:00","author":"David Rogers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Rogers","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/"},"author":{"name":"David Rogers","@id":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/0786cdcadc124a31a82adc6b9741cdd0"},"headline":"How to be a welcoming church","datePublished":"2016-11-06T18:01:10+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-14T16:32:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/"},"wordCount":529,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/","url":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/","name":"How to be a welcoming church - CRBC","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-11-06T18:01:10+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-14T16:32:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/0786cdcadc124a31a82adc6b9741cdd0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/11\/06\/how-to-be-a-welcoming-church\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to be a welcoming church"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/","name":"CRBC","description":"Loving God and Loving People","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/0786cdcadc124a31a82adc6b9741cdd0","name":"David Rogers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae4005effc9eed0ef682a5e7696693213c3ef62e4e219d04d6b61f3cfc88292f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae4005effc9eed0ef682a5e7696693213c3ef62e4e219d04d6b61f3cfc88292f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae4005effc9eed0ef682a5e7696693213c3ef62e4e219d04d6b61f3cfc88292f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Rogers"},"url":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/david_rogers\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=814"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":888,"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions\/888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crohamroadbaptist.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}