I sat with a
pastor in his office as he shared some of difficulties he faced in growing the
traditional church. He told me that some
of their guest had shared with him that the church was just not friendly. As we talked, I asked him if all the church
members were unfriendly. He acknowledged that they had eight to twelve people
who were friendly and outgoing. I
challenged him to appoint each of them as greeters to seek out guest and
welcome them with a smile, handshake or hug, and thank them for coming to
worship. He had never considered
appointing happy and friendly people to seek out new faces. I call these people greeters.
The word
"greet" implies to meet, receive, welcome, cherish, embrace, salute,
address, or acknowledge a person in a specified way. Very early in church history members of the
church practiced greeting one another.
In fact, the Greek verb "aspazomai"
occurs about sixty times in the New Testament and echoes concern for the well-being
of the other person.
The practice
of greeting arriving guests can be found in Mark 9:15, and upon the parting of
company in Acts 21:1. Every church should train competent greeters to welcome people
as they arrive and to thank them as they depart for every service and event. The team of greeters should have a Head
Greeter to organize the greeters and to make sure that the needed number of
greeters will be present for each service, properly located in key areas of the
parking lot and at all entrances. Men,
women, and youth can all participate in this “customer friendly” ministry.
Greeters
should be the first to smile and to speak.
Greeters should call members by name, notice guests, and give special
attention to the guests. Remember, a
smile says a lot. Your words of welcome
will not be effective if you look unhappy to see them. The greeter should be one of the first people
to smile and express a customary welcome.
Remember to be
very polite, open doors, and give directions to the place there are trying to
find – worship center, nursery, etc. Greeters
need to offer other assistance to the people as they arrive. This may be
opening a car door, helping an elderly person out of a vehicle, or perhaps
carrying the diaper bag for the parent of a young child who is struggling. When it is raining, be prepared to meet
people as they arrive with a large umbrella.
Greeters need
to be constantly aware of the parking needs and the needs of the attendees
while outside the building. If people
seem to need help finding a parking spot, the Greeter should direct the person
to an area where parking is available.
If a person has a flat tire or trouble starting the vehicle, offer the
appropriate assistance.
Greeters are
the first impression of your church. If
you are friendly and knowledgeable, neat and well groomed, and polite and well
mannered, you make a good impression.
Here are a
couple of things a Greeter should not do. Greeters should avoid antisocial behavioral norms. For example, in most areas, Greeters should
not smoke. Some people have strong
feelings about smoking, and you may turn them away from our church - treat all
church grounds and facilities as a smoke free area. Greeters should not be walking around
drinking a beverage. If you are holding
something in your hand, or have something in your mouth, you cannot do the
things needed to represent Christ and our church in an impressionable way.
Like the
Greeter, the Usher is a very important
individual. Ushers represents Christ
at all times, impressing attendees with sincere and genuine hospitality. The Usher's primary task centers on the
worship services. Ushers must always smile
and speak a friendly word to others anywhere in the building. The Usher is to the worship service what
Greeter is to the arriving attendees.
The Head Usher
should organize the team and make sure that the correct number of ushers are
present for each service, properly stationed just inside of all entrances, and
that both male and female ushers are used for each service.
The Usher is to
hold worshippers who arrive late until an appropriate time for them to enter
the Worship Center, such as during a song, to prevent multiple interruptions of
the service. Ushers should be cheerful
and polite when welcoming, seating, and instructing guest.
Occasionally
the unexpected will happen. When it does
happen, the Usher must remain calm and act in a polite and thoughtful manner. A good usher will think ahead concerning what
to do if a certain situation arises. A
good Usher will plan for and know how to handle falls, fainting, and sudden
sickness. He will know how to call for
an ambulance, fire department, or police. The question is not if these things
will happen, but when these things will happen.
It is the
Usher's responsibility to see that worship progresses smoothly and that the
worship leaders are not interrupted. If
someone faints, it is not the pastor's job to handle the situation. It is the Usher’s job and they should know
how to handle the situation. The pastor
and worship leaders are to lead the congregation in worship, few things are
more important than the worship of God. There
are very few, if any, reason an Usher should ever interrupt the leaders of
worship or the flow of the service.
One emergency,
which few churches are prepared to handle, is fire. Ushers should know how to evacuate the
building. Have a plan in place in case a
fire should erupt. It seems that when I travel, the hotel I am staying in
always have a fire alarm either during the night or early morning. During a
stay at a resort in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the fire alarm was
triggered. The resort was well prepared
and I was greatly impressed by their preparation and evacuation procedure. I feel better about this particular resort
and I have highly recommended it to other people. It was nice to know that they were prepared
and knew how to help their customers exit the fifteen story building safely. Churches must be equally prepared. We cannot assume that since we are at church
only a few hours each week that we do not need to prepare.
The one item
Ushers normally know about is the receiving of the tithes and offerings, and
yet it is often done awkwardly. The
pastor should teach the Ushers how to receive the Offering and explain the time
in the service where the offering will be received. He should be sure to reflect any change in
the normal routine. The pastor and
Ushers should develop the best procedure possible to receive the tithes and
offerings in an orderly manner as quickly as possible. Sometimes it helps to rehearse the
procedure. This should always be done
with new Ushers.
At the close
of service, the Ushers should open the doors at the appropriate time - usually
at the close of the benediction. The
Ushers should locate themselves at each exit in order to share verbal
appreciation to the worshippers for attending.
Let the worshippers know that you are happy that they came to worship
God. The usher is God's mouthpiece to
say "thank you!"
The Greeter
and the Usher represent three individuals. First, you represent yourself, and you
should desire to make a good impression upon others. Secondly, you represent the church. The church you serve expects you to represent
them well, and if you do not, they are disappointed. Third and most importantly, you
represent Christ. The greeter’s and
the usher’s friendliness represents the smile and touch of Jesus and makes the
worshipper feel the love of Christ.
The Greeter
and the Usher both assist the pastor by allowing
him and the other worship leaders to lead God's people in worship with the
peace of mind that whatever unexpected thing occurs, there are well prepared
capable Greeters and Ushers to handle the task.
These are extremely important jobs.
Do not take them lightly.
