Are we thoughtful and intentional (enough) in welcoming guests?
I’ve just read “Fusion,” by Nelson Searcy, which is a great book about taking seriously the process of “assimilation,” the basic process of turning first-time guests and visitors into fully-engaged members. Andy Stanley says, “The Church is a family expecting guests.” Does that accurately describe us at First Christian? How’s this for some good (and inflammatory) food for thought?…
“Unfortunately, we live in a culture in which the business world understands more about true expressions of hospitality than the Church does. [“Ouch!’]… While hotels, restaurants and stores all around us serve their guests with intentional care, we often let ours wander in and out of our weekly services with no specific plan for showing them how important they are to us.”
When you add in the words “intentional care” and “specific plan,” this passage is a serious indictment of most churches’ current efforts. We do well at First Christian with some things, but are we intentional and specific enough that the various elements of what we already do are part of a larger process that actually moves people from visitor to member?
On the face of it, when you begin to talk about something like this, it feels like a sales job with all the concern about proper signage, making people feel comfortable, providing a homey environment with food, and sending small gifts of appreciation with thanks-for-visiting letters and cards, but at its heart, this process isn’t just about ‘impressing’ someone, it’s about evangelism and discipleship. It is only half-done if it’s simply about integration and acculturation into “how we do things” because then we’ve made people followers of First Christian sometimes more than we have of Christ. (Can I get an amen?!)
It seems to me that if we don’t take seriously our task to make our guests feel welcome, we don’t take seriously our mission to reach people with the gospel.