FINE-TUNING YOUR LIFE Part 6 - Making Your Church A Better Place to Go – D

FINE-TUNING YOUR LIFE Part 6
Making Your Church A Better Place to Go – D

By Pastor Gary Wayne

In fine tuning your life. Making you Home a better place to be. Making your Church a better place to go. Making your Community a better place to live.
“If I wanted my Sunday morning services to be a better place for visitors, I would _____.”

Text: Hebrews 13:2

How many of you grew up with your parents telling you, “Don’t talk to strangers?”
Well for children that’s important, but for adults wanting to make visitors feel welcome, this is a terrible saying.
So today, we want to change that message and say, “Do Talk To Strangers!”

Why don’t we? Sometimes we have such important things to say to our friends, that we can’t wait.
Sometimes we are consumed with our own problems, we can’t handle anyone else’s.
Sometimes we come to church so rarely ourselves we can’t tell who the visitors are. “Hi, are you a visitor? No, I’m a deacon.”

But I think for the most part, we get distracted, and I think most people don’t know how to talk to someone we don’t know, and it’s so awkward we don’t even try.

This morning, I want us to develop good FORM in talking to new people.
Just remember the acronym for the word FORM.
F = Friends – Do you have any friends that come here? Or that live here in town?
O = Occupation – What do you do for a living?
R = Recreation – What do you do for fun in this area?
M = Marriage – Do you have any family?

Go down this list, and by the time you go through this, you will have spent at least 30 seconds in quality conversation with someone that will help make them more comfortable.

In the survey “If I wanted my Sunday morning services to be a better place for visitors, I would _____.”
Some people responded as if they had my notes from this message already.
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Meet them as they come in and seek to be genuinely interested in them and make sure they know that. Smile at them, welcoming them, remember their names and ask questions about them and listen to them. I would take up the attitude in Phil 2:3 -in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Let them know they are important to me and to God. Also, I’d give them a hug if they seem open to do so.

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Be friendly and welcoming, introduce yourself, if they have children tell them about the nursery and children's church and toddler care. Point out the sermon notes. Continue to be friendly after church if given the opportunity and invite them to come back.
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Make sure no one came without leaving with at least one new friend.
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Come ready to serve as well as receive by praying for the service, the pastor, the worship team, and the spirit of God to move. Be available to respond to their needs.
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I want to look at what I think is an important “To Do List” in greeting visitors.

1. Come to the service praying for visitors who will be there.
I covered this a lot of this last week. “God, I pray for any visitors at our service today. Help them find the healing God that you are.”
Let this paradigm shift be our normal thinking.

2. Come bringing visitors.
#1 reason people come to church is invitation.
When there is no invitation from someone here, most choose a church based on its convenience or comfort level, not because of its doctrine.
We know doctrine is VERY important, but comfort usually surpasses.

3. Come early. Why? Because visitors come early. When you go somewhere new, remember how awkward it can be to be there before most people arrive. Those of you that have attended here for a while, the awkward stage is over. But to go and be early, (actually on time) and watch people come in and be friendly with each other but ignore me is ugly.
Why come back if I am not wanted?

4. Come and take the worst seat. Why? So my guests can have the best seats in the building. Where do visitors want to sit when they come? In the back, and on the outside, so if things get weird, they can make a break for the door.

5. I would make sure visitors didn’t sit by themselves. (unless they want to)
When you see someone come in and start to look for a place to sit, go introduce yourself, use your best FORM, then ask them if they would like to sit with you, or if you can sit with them.
Be there to answer questions like, where do my children go for service?
Where are the restrooms? Where can I take my crying baby?

6. I would come to church. We might think, it doesn’t matter if I go or not today, nobody will miss me. If you are not at service, then you can’t reach out to minister to visitors. We don’t go to service to get, but to give, to minister.