Sharpening the Church's Welcoming Skills V

What about welcoming people who have never been or stopped going to church in the midst of worship? Much has been written about this question and put into practice. There has been much debate about seeker sensitive worship services or seeker oriented worship services and what the primary aim of worship is (is it evangelistic or is it meant to worship God?). Churches have held seeker services on Sundays and "Believer" services on Wednesday night. No matter what your strategy to make disciples or what you call your worship there are a few things to keep in mind about welcoming people who have never been or stopped going to church. Here are a few things that come to my mind:

• Make sure there are greeters (some call them ushers) at the worship space entrance. The guest should be greeted warmly and if you have a worship program (church bulletin) be given a program. If there is not someone who has already connected with them and it is not clear where they are supposed to sit then the worship space greeter should direct them to a seat and in the best case introduce them to someone else they will sit next.
• I believe in helping guests feel at ease right away. There should be some music playing in the background as people sit. Many guests will come a little early and so they will be sitting for a few minutes. Music and lighting can help raise their comfort level. I also find it is helpful to have something to read, like a worship program so they do not just have to gaze at their belly buttons while they wait for worship to begin. Having something to read also makes people more comfortable.
• Once worship starts it goes without saying that guests should never be singled out. They should never be asked to stand up and introduce themselves or have their friends introduce them. That is the surest way to ensure they will never return.
• Worship in the words of Ed Stetzer should be comprehensible. Even if you do not subscribe to the whole seeker sensitive/ oriented deal, your worship should be comprehensible to the person who has never been or stopped going to church. At New Season we explain everything we do and why we do it and this help makes liturgy and symbol comprehensible to all and meaningful. In our worship program, each worship element listed has an explanation under it.
• The message should always be applicable while staying faithful to the scripture. It should be understandable so the guest as well as those who already regularly attend can take something away, grow in their faith and devotion to God, and experience God's love.
• I am personally against the passing of the peace as I believe that it leaves guest uncomfortable as the "insiders" greet one another and slap each other on the back. Guests usually stay where they are shake a couple of hands and then wait awkwardly for the worship to continue. We still do this at New Season. It is amazing how quick traditions and the way we have always done things develops. It is not a huge deal for me and not so detrimental to our guests experience that I have pushed. On the benefit side, it can bring a warmth and level of vitality to worship.
• Announcements. Limit the number of announcements of insider information. Save announcements of this group's meeting and this next class for printed materials and other communication methods. The same with prayer requests that are spoken within the service. Again, it is insider information. Find another way for people to make those and to share those. That is the important thing. Jesus told us to pray. He didn't say we had to do in a specific form such as "sharing joys and concerns."

Those are some of my thoughts on making guests feel welcome in worship. You might disagree with them and that is OK. These are not things that strike at the heart of Christianity so we can disagree and still be brothers and sisters in Christ! :)