Entertaining Angels

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." -To the Hebrews (13.2)

Years ago, Jennifer Smith-Morris wrote a short article in Christianity Today called My First Sunday at Your Church (Summer 2001, Vol. 23, No. 3, Page 45).

She and her family had just moved to a town in Georgia, and they were trying to find a new church family. They had been very involved in their last congregation. They visited four different congregations over three months. The experience was so disheartening; she and her husband almost quit looking. She described one experience:
"Good morning! And isn't it a fantastic day!" says the greeter, handing us programs.
"Yes. I'm so glad it's cooling off."
"Are you visiting?" he asks.
"Yes. We just moved here."
"Isn't that grand!" he says, stepping back and looking over our shoulders. "Mr. Charlie! And how are you today?"

Again and again someone offers a … "I'm so glad you came," without smiling at all, quickly moving on, job finished. I am itching to ask about the women's Bible study, choir practice, and Sunday school. But then they're gone, chatting with a good friend in the next pew.
After wandering around between Sunday school and church, trying to find a door to the sanctuary that doesn't open into the choir pit, we're late. The sanctuary is nearly full, but there's one empty row-at the very front. So we walk past hundreds of eyes, "new people" on parade.
As we settle the kids, a lady on the end whispers to someone behind her, "I just don't know where John and Steve are going to sit now." I chose the deacons' row. I cringe and turn, searching for another pew to move my family to, but the place is packed and the music is starting.

After the service, I buckle my children into the car, pile the take-home papers and Bibles on the dash, and I start to cry."

They eventually found a congregation that adopted them, but she offered four suggestions to help visitors feel at home. [This is NOT just a job for the elders, deacons, or teachers. All of us are part of this church family, and as a family we want to be welcoming.]

1. Develop a greeting ministry with the visitor, not the greeter, in mind. Members are expected to seek out and speak to specific visitors for at least three consecutive weeks. Be the visitor's guide, escort, and personal 'information desk.' Be near in case they need you, but don't smother them. Invite them to sit with you
.
2. Choose hospitality over visitation. Invite the guest to your home for dinner following worship. Even hot dogs and potato chips, completely at ease in an open atmosphere, make it easy to ask questions about the church.

3. Recognize Children and Adult Sunday classes as initial contact points. Greeting new students and their parents warmly, with interest, is encouraging. Learn people's names. A few private moments of attention beforehand will go far in helping visitors feel at home.

4. Become visitors for a day. Those who have belonged to the same church for several years may not remember what being a visitor is like. A simple exercise can resensitize you: visit a church where no one knows you. Go without knowing what to wear or what ministries are available. Pay attention to how you're received. Ask yourself how you'd feel if you were looking for a church home right then. Note what this church does well, and what it doesn't.

The author said that many people visiting the congregation for the first time are ready to make our church family their church family if they're welcomed. "Welcome," she wrote, "does not happen automatically. It involves intentionally setting aside natural habits to show genuine caring. It involves welcoming your visitors in the same way that Christ would: with open hearts."

Shawn