What makes a church a welcoming church?
Unexpected Post Game Clean Up
A few weeks ago the world was captivated by what happened after a football game.
I know what you’re thinking… I thought football just started back!
It did! I’m talking about the other kind of football. We call it soccer. But the rest of the world calls it football. And this summer as the World Cup was underway, this story made headlines.
Japanese soccer fans applauded for cleaning up stadium after World Cup win
The Japanese soccer team had just beaten the team from Columbia 2-1!
After the celebration, the Japanese fans took out blue trash bags that they had brought with them to the game. Then they began, row by row, section by section, picking up trash all across the stadium & cleaning it so that it would be ready for the next game!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been to a lot of football games, baseball games, & other sporting events. I’ve never seen this before. In fact, what tends to happen, & I’ve done this, is you leave your trash. You put it up under the seat.
Not the Japanese soccer fans!
It made such a difference, it had such a profound effect on the people that witnessed it, that it made headlines all across the world.
Why Serving Others Really Matters
We are captivated by people who make a difference. By people who serve others. Who are selfless. Who constantly & consistently put the needs of others ahead of their own.
And here’s what’s interesting about us… we love being around people like that! We feel welcome in their presence. We feel accepted. It makes us feel good to be around them.
This principle plays out in church as well.
Take a minute to remember a time you first visited a new church. What was it about that church that either made you feel welcome or unwelcome.
Earlier this year, author Thom Rainer published a book he entitled, “Becoming a Welcoming Church.” Thom is a former pastor, speaker, blogger, author & now serves as the President of Lifeway. For a lot of years he served as a church consultant & he continues to research churches to learn about what churches are doing that is working & what we’re doing that’s not.
In his book, Becoming a Welcoming Church, he says that most churches think they are friendly because they are friendly to each other.
Most of us who have been around here for very long have forgotten what it’s like to be a first time guest. That’s why, for a lot of guests, after they visit a church once, they never return.
Thom wanted to understand more about this, so they asked hundreds of people who had visited a church once never to return why they chose not to return to that church. Here’s the list…
TOP 10 REASONS PEOPLE DO NOT RETURN TO A CHURCH:
- The stand & greet time during worship was unfriendly & awkward.
- The church members were friendly to each other, but not to us.
- The children’s area appeared unsafe & unclean.
- There was no place to get information about the church.
- The church website was bad.
- They had poor signage.
- They used insider language.
- The worship time was bad or just plan boring.
- Members informed guests that they were sitting in their pew/chair!
- The church facilities were dirty.
Now we could talk in depth about that list, but what is the common theme throughout every item… Doesn’t it represent a church that is self-serving, not serving the interest of others?
Why do most churches have a stand & greet time during worship? They say it’s to meet guest, but isn’t it really so they can say hi to each other? Research shows that 9 out of 10 guest do NOT like to stand & greet during worship!
Church members are not very concerned with having good signage, with providing information for guests, with making sure classrooms & children’s areas look safe, clean & welcoming to parents who have come for the first time.
Why?
Because it’s home for them. They’re not worried about it.
In all fairness, through their research they also found people who had great experiences as first time guests at a church & returned to the church they had visited. So here are the top 10 reasons people returned to a church after the first visit.
TOP 10 REASONS PEOPLE DID RETURN TO A CHURCH:
- Someone asked the guest to sit with her.
- People introduced themselves to the guest.
- There was clear signage.
- There was a clearly marked welcome center.
- The kids loved the children’s area.
- The children’s area was clean & sanitary.
- Guest Parking was clearly visible.
- The church did not have a stand & greet time.
- The members were not pushy.
- The guest card was simple to complete.
So what’s the defining characteristic of this list?
I think the common theme is that this kind of church put others first.
It’s the church where, after the game, everyone is pulling out blue trash bags to clean up.
It’s the church that’s not self-serving, but self-sacrificing. That’s not self-centered, but centered on the needs of others.
This is why serving others matters, because it makes guests feel wanted & welcome!
So what makes a church a welcoming church?
Peter said it this way in 1 Peter 4.9-10…
Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Literally, Peter reminds the church to be friendly to strangers!
AND…
To use the gifts God has given you to serve others!
From the very beginning, the church was designed to be the one place where every person was welcome! When we make people feel welcome, we have an opportunity to make a difference in their life.
Peter tells a church made up of different kinds of people that you are to be difference makers in each others lives. This is counter cultural in a me centric CULTURE. This is counter cultural in a me centric CHURCH.
The way of Christ is different. It’s always others first.
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