Training launched to extend warm welcome to people intrigued by church

Two church growth consultants are encouraging churches across the country to set up 'Welcome Teams' as part of a drive to make Church more 'sticky' for those who drop in to special events or feel the urge to try out a Sunday morning service.

Everybody Welcome, published by Church House Publishing, is designed for use by small groups or Parochial Church Councils as a way of focusing on making their church’s welcome extra special and encouraging those who try church out to come back again and again.

It draws on evidence that 85 per cent of people visit some kind of church every year, and that up to three million people in the UK would go to church if someone invited them back.*

The materials, to be released this week, include a leader’s manual, booklets for members, and a DVD including interviews and footage showing the power of a good (and not so good) welcome. Previews can be viewed online at www.everybodywelcome.org.uk.

In Everybody Welcome, the Ven Bob Jackson (Archdeacon of Walsall and a Growth Officer in the Diocese of Lichfield) and George Fisher (Director of Parish Mission for the Diocese of Lichfield) compare church to a football ground hosting a crucial game:

"When we gather together for worship we are like members of a team taking to the pitch on match day. Will the team produce a world-class display – a thrilling end-to-end game or a dull-as-dishwater draw? Will the team inspire every visitor in the stadium to pick up a ball and have a go?

“We each have an essential part to play in the worship offered. The aim: to give glory to God by enabling everyone to be active and fully involved team members, not passive spectators. Visitors and newcomers are an important part of that community. But the things that are normal and relaxing to us may be strange and fearful to them. So how can we take care to usher in the newcomer to God’s presence while not diluting the regulars’ worship-encounter with the living Lord?”

Arranged over five sessions, the course’s advice draws on the writers’ experience to include tips on:

• Taking the opportunities created by special community events and key annual services to reach new people;
• Checking that the church notice board and website is up-to-date, and that they use accessible language and avoiding off-putting lists of church office-holders;
• Ensuring that the church entrance is clean, tidy and well-lit;
• Appointing ‘door welcomers’ who could consider greeting people outside the church door to welcome people inside;
• Checking the availability and quality of refreshments after the service – and considering installing a kitchen or tea point if necessary (or asking people to bring flasks of hot water to make drinks, if necessary!);
• Analyzing whether the service itself is as engaging as possible – looking at elements from the leadership and sermon style to the choice of hymns;
• Using opportunities to join Christian nurture and teaching courses, or service to the church and wider community, to help people feel they belong to the church family;
• Training a dedicated ‘Welcome Team’ who will look out for newcomers and sensitively encourage them along to other services and events.

Reflecting on his motivation for creating the course, Bob Jackson comments: “In my experience in the West Midlands, many people have tried out their church again

through initiatives like ‘Back to Church Sunday’**, and huge crowds are turning up at Christmas. God is sending us more people, especially young ones.

“Just think what the impact would be if not 10 per cent but 25 per cent or even 50 per cent of the people who try out our churches succeed in becoming regular congregation members.

“It is even more vital than before that we in the churches know how to welcome and integrate newcomers into the church community. I hope and pray that this course will help churches become truly welcoming communities.”

Everybody Welcome, priced £14.99 for the leader’s manual (ISBN 978-07151-4190-8), £3.99 for the members’ manual (ISBN 978-0-7151-4192-2), and £24.99 for the DVD (ISBN 978-07151-4191-5) are available from Christian bookshops from Friday (31st July), or by mail order via the web at www.everybodywelcome.org.uk.

* ORB survey commissioned by the Church of England, September 2007; and Churchgoing in the UK, Tearfund, April 2007.

** Back to Church Sunday is a growing international initiative where, on a given Sunday, church members are encouraged to extend a personal invitation ‘back to church’ to people who used to go to church but have stopped going for whatever reason. Figures based on returns from dioceses which took part in 2008 suggest that more than 37,000 people took up the invitation to try church again – with more than 31,000 of them ‘coming back’ to an Anglican church. This year, Back to Church Sunday is on 27th September.

Item from: The Church of England