The results of the American Belief Study from ACS Technologies revealed that first-time visitors to a church or parish said a warm and friendly environment was highly important to them. While this is a great insight, the authors didn’t design the study to discover what traits visitors saw as warm and friendly.
As a follow up to the 15,000-person ABS study, ACST and Campbell Rinker asked another 1,075 American Christians what specific actions they agreed would be warm and friendly, on a five-point scale where a rating of five was “Very Warm and Friendly.”
Respondents rated the following nine actions as leading all others, smack dab in the middle between “Somewhat Warm and Friendly” and “Very Warm and Friendly.”
- Someone at the door greeting you with a smile
- Seeing a friend in attendance
- Someone personally inviting you to attend again
- Someone in the church offering you a seat
- Someone personally inviting you to a church activity
- Seeing other church attendees smiling
- Someone engaging you in conversation
- Hearing all visitors welcomed by a church leader
All of these cues are aspirational; they are good things for any fellowship to strive for. Post greeters at the door and greet newcomers with a smile. Make sure a leader welcomes all first-timers from the podium.
On deeper examination, though, it becomes clear that most of these warm and friendly cues (seven out of nine) rely on church members themselves. A church or parish can fulfill both the greeting and welcoming function exceptionally well, and still achieve only a small part of what it means to be warm and friendly.
The warmth of a fellowship comes down to the rest of the attendees. It is up to the rest of the church body to create a welcoming environment once a visitor gets inside.
Regular attenders must look like they’re happy to be there! Interacting with each other with enthusiasm and warmth gives off a friendly vibe. The study results, though, say that this is just the first step.
Attendees must take on the challenge of recognizing newcomers and interacting with them – whether it’s with a smile, a wave, or an introduction. The attendees themselves must extend the external welcome of the greeters to the inside of the church by chatting with newcomers, inviting them to sit nearby, engaging them in conversation and following up with them. It’s up to the church to intentionally function as a whole welcoming body, not just the greeters.
It’s also critical to let newcomers know that they are not only welcome on that day, but to future services, masses and gatherings as well. Is there an upcoming church picnic or other function? Invite the visitor. Do other meeting times exist during the week? Don’t let the visitor leave without suggesting they attend.
Of course, not everyone is comfortable with the notion of putting themselves out there and being welcoming. It could help if leadership were to coach all attendees, not just the greeters, in how to be welcoming. Everyone becomes a greeter. What are some effective ways of getting a conversation off the ground? Asking questions, sharing personal stories, and inquiring about shared interests are all good icebreakers. It might be a good idea at some point to ask all attendees to role-play these types of interactions with each other as a way to get comfortable in that role.
Through it all, a church with a healthy attitude will have few inhibitions and few pre-conceived notions about visitors. Genuine enthusiasm toward visitors in all your interactions with them is vital to ensuring they feel comfortable about coming back.
Methodology: Online study of 1,075 self-identified American Protestants and Catholics weighted to reflect generational groups at large in the US population, conducted by Campbell Rinker in January 2024 on behalf of ACS Technologies. Margin of error at 3.0% with a 95% confidence level.