First Impression is the First Step

One major aspect of the Assimilation ministry of any church is the first impression that people receive when they immediately drive into your church parking lot. At that moment, customer service is in high gear. Now some people would say, "This is church, this ain't Wal-Mart, they should want to be here." Well, grumpy old man, keep saying that and then wonder why your church doesn't attract new people.

Why can't we be better than Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or any other "secular" place when it comes to customer care? We are doing something much greater than any of those businesses - kingdom work! We should do our absolute best for the cause of Christ. People are searching for answers, and when they actually get the nerve up to visit a place where they don't know anyone, we should make every effort to make them feel welcome, wanted, and perfectly at home within our walls. The isolationist "me-first" attitude of many church-goers needs to out the window when it comes to having open arms and open doors to the lost world.

So, the very first thing that needs to be established when it comes to first impressions is the attitude of your people. Jesus came to heal the hurting and the sick, not the healthy and "got-it-all-together" crowd. We should have the same attitude. What should that attitude look like? Great question.... here are just a few answers:

1. EVERYONE is welcome and treated equally. It doesn't matter what they look like, what they are wearing, how they smell, how well their hair is combed, what color of skin they have, what kind of clothes they wear, or even where they have been the night before. God made them, he died for them which means he loves them, and we should welcome them.
2. Treat everyone they way you would want to be treated. Be friendly. Say hello with a smile. Offer a warm handshake.
3. Your building should scream "you are welcome". If you don't have guest parking sections - make some. You should have people in the parking lot greeting guests and offering to help if needed. Your ushers should smile when they hand them the bulletin and your greeters should walk up and talk to your guests and look to learn more about the guest rather than talk about themselves. If your church is big enough, have a guest welcome desk with information about your church and various ministries.
4. Pastors - you should zero in on guests in your church. Not only should you have a "welcome time" in your service, you should have some type of reception at the end of your service to say hello. Most churches actually give a gift to all of their guests who visit their church.
5. Look for ways to help those who are guests - I tell our volunteers at First Euless all of the time to be on the lookout for those who have that "lost" look. The "deer in the headlights" look. The people who keep looking up at the ceiling for answers on where to go and what to do. I want our volunteers to engage them. Ask them how they can be helped and then walk them to where they need to go - do not point. Think about the last time you were at a department store and could not find something. Your experience was much more pleasant if a worker walked up to you and said, "How can I help you?" and then actually stayed with you until you were completely satisfied. We try to do the same thing.

Those are just a few of the initial thoughts of proper attitude. Be looking for the next post on Assimilation very soon....