I’m grateful for the many worship services that I’ve attended in my almost 18 months as director of congregational development. The diversity of our worship experiences is an asset of our conference! I’ve also learned something that probably should have been obvious to me: Our church buildings have a lot of doors. 

On the one hand, this can be a wonderful metaphor for the numerous ways that a person can enter a life of faith, but to a first-time visitor, it can be a little intimidating. More than once, I haven’t been sure exactly which door to enter, making me wonder that when Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock,” in Revelation 3, it may have been because the door was locked! 

It can be intimidating for a visitor to attend worship, especially since more and more people have no past worship experiences. I attended a service in a church in Chicago in September and overheard a person say, “This is my first time and I have no idea what to do.” 

The holiday season is a good time to take a fresh look at your practices of hospitality. A few things to think about: 

Does your web site or Facebook page state clearly what time your worship is? I’ve been a little surprised at how often I have to search around a church’s web site to find this information. 

Do you have signage outside your church that makes it clear where people should enter? Better yet, are your greeters outside so visitors see welcoming faces? Even better yet, does the pastor do this from time to time?  

Do you have a designated person on the lookout for visitors to give them a welcome and warm hello? Asking one or two people to be roving welcomers is important. 

Along with several leaders from our conference, I recently attended the Leadership Institute of Resurrection—a United Methodist Church. Pastor Adam Hamilton still to this day hustles out to the parking lot in order to greet new people after he gives the benediction. Even though he pastors a church of thousands, he knows the importance of connecting with individuals, especially those who have the courage to attend worship for the first time. 

We should do all we can to make sure there are multiple entryways for a person to establish a relationship with Jesus. But we also need to make sure those doors are always open and easy to find.