Why the blue shirts? Tink back to the last time you went to any location with a public face—a restaurant, hotel, medical facility, school, office building, or church. Maybe you approached with at least mild trepidation: “I hope I can find it,” “I hope there’s parking,” or maybe “Which door is the main entrance?!” Once inside, perhaps you glanced from side to side looking for directional cues like a directory, clear signage, or an information desk.
Our church campus lacks some of these clear cues. We have multiple entrances, and what signage we have is often located down long hallways from where you enter or where you want to end up. Our layout doesn’t lend itself to a central information desk that a person can see immediately upon entering.
Tat’s where our blue shirt brigade and other designated welcome volunteers come in. Tese members and friends serve in ways that provide a warm greeting, friendly smile, and helpful assistance to new guests, along with those who have been part of FPCA for a long time.
Our welcome teams, who guide guests and greet at exterior doors, not only direct newcomers to key spaces but also help members and friends who have mobility challenges, crutches, or infants navigate our entryways and stairs. Each member of our various teams—whether traditional worship usher, alternative worship greeter, or welcome team member—receives training and wears an FPCA photo ID on a lanyard while they are serving. Te IDs, along with the blue shirts that many team members wear, are printed with the church logo to indicate that these are “go-to” people who can answer questions and find information.
All churchgoers seek a sense of belonging. Some are trying out our worship, peeking into the nursery to see if it seems safe and orderly, hoping our restrooms are clean, and wondering if the coffee is palatable. But all want mostly to sense that they will be accepted, welcomed, and embraced—gifts, needs, joys, wounds, and all.
Tat’s where you come in. No matter what color shirt you wear and whether or not you have a lanyard, our mission is to live God’s love in the way of Jesus Christ by welcoming the stranger and beginning relationships that point people to God. But if you have a willingness to smile and a welcoming, accepting heart, Connections is a ministry you should check out.
For more information on serving in any aspect of Connections Ministry, contact Adam Tavolaro at
adam.tavolaro@fpcallentown.org or 610-395-3781, ext. 30.
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
THE GIFT OF FIRST-TIME VISITORS
Author Nelson Searcy lays out a number of challenges to churches in his book Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church (Baker Books, 2008). Some key excerpts:
“Next Sunday the Spirit of God will prompt hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and millions around the world to visit a church for the first time. The Sunday after that, He will do it again. God is consistently blessing His Church with regular guests. Are we doing all we can to accept and honor His blessing?”
“Gifts from God are given freely—and strategically—and God expects us to handle what we’ve been given with the same strategic care. First-time guests are extraordinary gifts full of unparalleled potential.”
“Not one person who comes through your door comes haphazardly. By sending that guest to you, God is giving you the privilege of cooperating with Him to move someone forward in their journey toward Jesus.”
—MATTHEW 18:20
“Seven minutes is all you get to make a positive first impression. In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back. That’s before a single worship song is sung and before a single word of the message is uttered.”
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