I’ve been attending worship at churches all over our conference for two years now. It’s been a fascinating and eye-opening experience to be a visitor again, so, for what it’s worth, here are a few things I encourage all of our churches to stay on top of: 

Make it easy for visitors to find out what time you worship, where you’re located and where one can park. I’m a bit surprised at how hard it is on some web sites to find out what time the worship service is and where the church’s is located. Make sure these things are the first things that a person can find when they’re on your website or social media page. Pay special attention to how it comes across on a mobile device.

I stand at the door and knock . . . and I mean I have done this literally. Many of our church buildings have multiple doors. Help guide visitors with signs or banners or, better yet, real humans so they know where to go. It hasn’t been unusual for me to try a door and it’s locked, which isn’t a great feeling.

A smile goes a long way. We’ve been told over and over the importance of a friendly greeter and it’s still not unusual for me to go into a church and make it to my seat without having one person say hello to me. Even if you have a hard time finding volunteers, the pastor can also serve as a greeter. I did this most Sundays when I served at what was then Christ UMC in Deerfield and often got positive feedback for it.

Jettison the jargon. Or at least limit it. Bulletins can be great to let folks know about committee meetings, but see what you learn after you ask your newer folks go through your service and circle words they are familiar with. Familiar UMC shorthand like SPRC and UW in Faith or words like “narthex” or “benediction” can be mysterious for visitors.

Online worshipers are people, too. It’s easy to forget the people who are watching online so please continue to welcome and acknowledge them throughout your in-person service. Jason Moore led two workshops for the conference a few weeks ago and gave a good tip: Take a small white board and place it in the front pew or wherever people might not be sitting, but make sure it’s visible. On that white board, write down how many online worshipers you had last week. It can be a simple reminder to not forget about them. 

Here I am, Lord. Whether through an attendance pad or a QR code, please make sure visitors have a chance to say, “I was here.” More and more often it's that case that if someone comes to worship in person, they probably have already watched a service online so they’re curious. And once a person signs in . . .

Favor the follow-up. Do you have a follow-up system in place for those who do sign in? When I was serving at Urban Village, we made sure a visitor got a hand-written thank you note and we made sure they started getting our e-newsletter. If a person came more than once, they got an invitation to have coffee with a pastor. What follow-up system makes sense in your context?

Some of these suggestions may seem basic, but they’re worth reviewing in your own church. Now more than ever, we need to make sure our visitors are as welcome as possible!