How to Help Guests Feel Welcome in God’s House, Pt.6

5. Escort, don’t Point.

Have you ever been to a store, asked for something that you have just spent the past 20 minutes of your life hunting for, only to receive a store employee willing to POINT TO IT, as if you can see down their arm into a laser like scope that magically enables you to see through shelves to the product you are looking for.  This can be frustrating and I’m sure its not what they were trained to do; what they were trained to do most likely is to escort the customer to what they are looking for – to go the EXTRA MILE!

I love it when an employee is willing to walk me over to the product instead of sending me off on another wild goose chase. In the church, we can really love on our guests by simply refusing to point and instead “escorting” them to their desired destination. If they are looking for the restrooms, and you are thinking, gee they are just down the hallway, resist the temptation to simply point it out, if they felt comfortable they would have just ventured out on their own. Take an extra minute, go the extra mile, and walk with them, who knows you might even spark up some conversation and make them feel even more at home in God’s House! And when people feel at home in God’s House they are more likely to invite God to feel at home in their house!

At TheDC the God-Experience starts in the parking lot, in fact I believe it starts the minute people pull up our website, pull onto our street, and park in our parking lot.  We have smiles and team members with name tags ready to ESCORT & not point. I know we can get better in this area, but I love seeing a team of passionate Christ-followers own the vision and boldly step up to help others feel welcome in God’s House.  We call them parking lot attendants, greeters, and ushers – we also have a hospitality team that is responsible for preparing coffee, treats, water, and literature on the seats so every guest has an unforgettable experience with Jesus.  Its all connected to each other – and its all about escorting people one step closer to Jesus!