Preparing…
We are preparing for Easter!
This is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it.
On this day, Jesus rose from death, to appear and live among his disciples until he ascended into heaven to be with his Father.
Now, this presence among us is a sign that death has been defeated and that there is always new life in him.
For that reason, we will have extra greeters on duty Sunday. There will be special gift bags for our visitors. The greeters will have specially printed name tags.
We will have tweeked the greeting program a little bit this way and that, to better serve our guests that day.
Are we improving the greeting process just to put our best foot forward? Well, yes. But there is more.
When people approach our church we are the presence of Christ to those who have decided to enter our doors.
Some may be coming for the first time, wondering, who is this Jesus and how will his people respond to my presence?
Studies show that the church has less than sixty seconds to make a first impression. The first impression may be all we have to attract seekers, if that impression is not an effective one.
Oh, we have done o.k. I guess. But there is a lot to consider when greeting. Consider this:
- If a greeter engages in extended conversation they will miss others who are coming.
- Greeters need to know their church and be able to answer questions, such as, “Where is the nursery?” Do the restrooms have baby changing stations? How do I find a certain person? And so on.
- The greeter needs to be spiritually sincere. Their smile and demeanor must come from the presence of the Christ within.
- The greeter needs to see the guest as a precious child of the living God.
- The greeter needs to know how to meet people.
What is at stake is a life changing experience of the living Christ or not a life changing experience of the living Christ.
All that begins at the door of the church and the good hearts of folks who are eager to represent our church first to those who come.
Moving to the deeper places,
Jeff