Counsel #3 — Be Welcoming

Picture: Counsel #3 — Be WelcomingCCL 106.1

If a church wants to keep visitors, it can't just ignore them!^{[135]https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2009/11/welcoming-and-retaining-your-visitors} It is crucial to have friendly greeters at every entrance. Greeting strangers might feel awkward, but it's an easy job. No special skills are needed—just smile and welcome people. Greeters are crucial. They're the first to spot visitors, the first to connect and get their info for follow-up, prayers, studies, or support. They're also the first to notice if someone's missing. It's a simple but powerful way to serve Jesus!CCL 106.2

“Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” Romans 15:7CCL 106.3

“Our people who encamped on the ground, sought to make the visitors as welcome as possible, and thus testified to them that they were seeking to follow Christ. It is the privilege of every one to have a drawing influence, through the endowment of the Holy Spirit. The Christian is to have an atmosphere surrounding his soul that shall be full of pleasantness, courtesy, and kindness, and represent the Spirit of Christ… Human influence, deriving its efficacy from heaven, is ordained of God as an instrumentality by which the transforming, sanctifying power of the truth may be demonstrated.” Ellen White in The Review and Herald, September 25, 1894, par. 4 CCL 106.4

Reflect: How can you support the greeter ministry at your local church?CCL 106.5