KEY POINTS

• Plans for Inviting need to be baked into your program planning.
• Plan further ahead to promote well.
• List your signature invitation events.
• Create shareable content for members to pass on.
• Assign a person to oversee promotion/invitations.

KEY CONCEPTS

• Hospitality is a team sport.
• Create WOW experience at specific touch points.
• Know what matters most to a guest.
• Think short-term and long-term.
• Welcoming is about building connections.
• Make sure that what you're inviting people to participate in is worth their time and resources.
• Start with equipping your leaders to invite, welcome & befriend.

10 THINGS THAT LEADERS CAN DO TO INVITE

• Provide a slush fund for events.
• Know what's coming up that should be shared.
• Help capture testimonials.
• Create expectations for planning further ahead.
• Encourage leaders to "do less" programming.
• Help create a culture of reviewing, rethinking, and reinventing. You don't improve what you don't inspect.
• Centralize shareable content creation.
• Increase your promotional budget.
• Have leaders create their own list of people to invite.
• Provide leaders with a contact list for extending invitations.

What's most important or pressing?
What's important and can be easily implemented now?

COMMON NEXT STEPS

• Conduct a website audit.
• Create a Communications Team Roster.
• Create Branding Standards document.
• Write job descriptions for communication roles.
• Create a dashboard to measure impact/engagement
• Update your home page.
• Add the WHYS to you WHATS.

1.  Website (engaging, informative for visitors, has stories and pictures indicating vitality).
2.  Signage (helpful and easy to read).
3.  Congregational publications (indicate why you do what you do, look professional, white space).
4.  Greeters/Ushers (smile, introduce themselves, welcome them, invite them back).
5.  What other members (or congregations) say about your congregation.
6.  What denomination the visitor belongs to (be sure to explain any “insider” language).
7.  One’s perception of “church” or Christians in general.
8.  The freshness and quality of refreshments being served.
9.  The friendliness of members (say “hello” and introduce themselves, etc.).
10.  Visitors felt listened to when engaged by members.
11.  What visitors think about the person who invited them.
12.  What visitors think about the highest profile person (typically the pastor).
13.  Receptionists (yes, they are key ambassadors of your church).
14.  How visitors were referred to during the service (call them “guests”).
15.  Invitation to a morning tea/lunch/dinner by a member of your congregation.
16.  The visitor.
17.  Church name.
18.  Congregational advertising.
19.  The cleanliness, orderliness, and general attractiveness of the facility.
20.  The use of inclusive language that visitors understand.
21.  What the visitor believes and values.
22.  If a person from your congregation helped them in some way.
23.  Interaction with the pastor/worship leaders (Do you make yourselves accessible?).
24.  The sermon (engaging, relevant, memorable).
25.  A card or gift following the visit.

First impressions matter, and it’s important that guests feel welcomed, safe, and valued when visiting your
congregation. Use the ten tips below for improving hospitality, building on what you do well, and exploring new
ways to enhance your hospitality.

1. Expect new people. Update your website weekly, providing current information for people seeking a new church home. Include signage that highlights where the worship center, restroom, and children’s area are located. Provide an information center or table that is staffed by a volunteer. Offer designated parking for guests. If parking is limited, ask members to park in the parking spaces farthest from the building. Provide uplifting music before worship. Brew good coffee. Offer healthy refreshments. Have parking lot attendants say, “Thank you for coming, please join us next week!”
2. Provide an information packet for guests. Include a general brochure about the congregation and it mission and vision. Include information on educational opportunities, servant events, and small groups along with a letter from the pastor or program staff. Include a current newsletter along with how to sign up to receive the congregation’s blog postings, weekly e-newsletters, and Facebook notices. Provide announcements or specific invitations to upcoming events. Place these items in a colorful packet so that other members know that the person is a guest when they see the packet. Consider offering a prayer cube or a unique gift that they will regularly use and think of the church.
3. Recognize that guests fear the unknown. They’re wondering “Will I have to speak? Will they ask for money?” or “Can I participate in communion?” Get rid of other churchy or insider language. Start calling the worship bulletin a program. Let guests know that they’re welcome at any of your upcoming events. Explain what you do during the worship service and why it’s done. Communicate your vision in clear, compelling ways.
4. Train ushers and greeters. Train ushers and greeters to introduce themselves by name and to learn the names of the guests. Use ushers to seat guests, providing them with choice seats without regard to “owned” seats. Train staff and worship leaders to be “undercover” greeters who roam the sanctuary, lobby, refreshments area, and hallways; introducing themselves to people they haven’t met before (it doesn’t matter if these people are members or not). Avoid merely pointing them in the direction of restrooms or the children’s center - escort them to these locations. Introduce guests to other members. Train ushers and greeters to read the body language of guests and to avoid being “too friendly” to guests that seem more reserved or prefer to remain anonymous. Befriend guests; avoid making a sales pitch.
5. Get feedback from guests. Ask for feedback on your comment/prayer card in your weekend program/bulletin. Send a thank you note to guests with an opportunity for them to do an online survey that includes questions such as “This is what I noticed first . . . This is what I liked best . . . This is what I liked least,” or “This is what I am most looking for in a church.” Keep the survey brief and use it to find out if “insider” language was used, what values were communicated, if the experience was welcoming and engaging, and whether they’re inclined to return.
6. Hire or bring in “secret shoppers.” Use Vibrant Faith’s Church Hospitality Audit using a company like Guest Services to evaluate your congregation’s hospitality.
7. Create “wow” experiences. Provide guests with an umbrella escort in inclement weather. Place hand sanitizers around the building, mints in the restroom, and comfortable seating in the common areas.
8. Pay attention to the kids. Get down to their level when talking to them. Ask their names. Offer them a gift.
9. Create an inviting atmosphere. Remove the clutter and any eyesores from people’s views. Remove any barriers that prevent people from connecting. In the refreshments area, use smaller tables like you’d find at a coffee shop to create more intimate settings for conversation. Decorate your spaces and use color schemes you’d find at a nice restaurant, a coffee shop, etc. Gather ideas from Disney, Starbucks, and hotel chains about how they make guests feel valued.
10. Innovate and improve weekly. Have hospitality team members evaluate weekly. List what went well, what didn’t, and what could be done next time to enhance a guest’s experience.