Warm Welcome
Nearly every congregation thinks it provides worship services that are warm and welcoming. In reality, effectively welcoming and engaging newcomers is a growing edge for most congregations.
While I recognized this challenge during my years in congregational ministry, I only began to grasp how widespread the issue was more recently.
During the five years leading up to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I visited more than 50 congregations in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. In addition to these visits, I’ve served as a mystery guest to evaluate the overall first time experience for a number of additional congregations.
Virtual Challenge
Many congregations are nearing the six month mark of worshipping virtually.
I’ve enjoyed watching several congregations evolve from simply livestreaming or recording and posting a video that approximated what would have happened in a pre-COVID-19 world to generating content and promoting engagement designed for the virtual experience.
Most of my recent experiences have included opportunities for engagement with an emphasis on the livestream or real-time experience. All of the services I’ve participated in live in recent weeks have created some way for newcomers to let the congregation know they are new, and to get connected to additional first-time guest resources.
So What?
While most newcomers will sit through an entire worship service in person, far fewer will linger as long online if the welcome and overall experience fails to resonate.
Whether in your sanctuary or online, your congregation has only one opportunity to provide a warm and engaging welcome to newcomers.
I’d welcome hearing more about how your congregation currently welcomes newcomers to the online worship experience (both those viewing live and those who watch later). And, feel free to share how that has evolved since your first online offering till present and/or how you are hopeful it will shift in the future.