What's happening at the door?
Roy Todd talks about a practical and often neglected aspect of church life – the welcome.
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The 10 second rule
Sometimes in church life, things we think are major aren’t nearly as important as they really are. While leadership can often be engrossed in issues of vision that shape the “big picture”, there are some incredibly crucial things that can easily be overlooked in the process. Like, for example, what happens at the front door as people come into the building.
When I first started out in ministry, I remember a church invited me to preach on the basis of another minister’s recommendation. The leadership didn't know me and I didn't know them. So three weeks before my speaking appointment, I decided to make the most of my anonymity by attending one of the services in that church. This, I thought, would give me an idea of what I’d speak about when it was my turn a few weeks later.
I arrived ten minutes early and took my seat. Five minutes before the service began, a well dressed man with an angry look on his face came walking purposefully towards me. He proceeded to press his face close up to mine. "Excuse me," he said in an infuriated tone "you're sitting on my seat!" Meanwhile, the other people sitting near-by heard the commotion and instead of sympathising with me, just stared as if I’d committed the unpardonable sin! It was one of those moments where I literally wanted the ground to swallow me up.
I moved and sat somewhere else. It really wouldn’t have mattered to me if dead people had been raised to life in that service. So far as I was concerned it would still have been a dreadful experience. For all that man knew I might have been a “lost” person desperately seeking answers. Just say I had? That means that the only thing I would have learned in that church was that one of the members was more interested in his dearly beloved seat than he was in me!
However, three weeks later I returned to the church, this time to be the guest speaker. I'll never forget how I introduced my subject. I looked down to where the man was sitting on "his seat" and excitedly announced my title. "Tonight, I'll be speaking on the theme, 'Would you give up your seat for Jesus?'" I think it was the best sermon I ever preached!
Who stands at the door and welcomes people into your church? Is it the miserable people who find it difficult to smile and easy to be negative. If so, I have one piece of advice for every church leader. Remove them ASAP. They’re doing more damage than you can imagine.
You see…I used to think it was my preaching that was most important for reaching un-churched guests. Then I thought it was the programme. But I've since realised it isn't. As crucial as those things are - it's actually the welcome people get when they come through the door.
Every church leader should be aware of the 10 second rule. This is the short period of time that determines whether or not a guest will ever step foot back inside your church again. It’s their first impression. And we do well to never forget that first impressions last.
During those first 10 seconds, a first-time guest will apply all five human senses, sometimes literally and sometimes metaphorically. Let’s think about them
Sight
This is someone’s first impression of what they initially see when they arrive. Is it visually appealing or unappealing? Are the frontline team smiling and communicating positives? Or do they look miserable, communicating negatives? This largely determines whether it will be a positive or negative experience.
Touch
This is the initial person to person contact – the first ‘feeling’ that a guest will have about this new experience. Is it warm and inviting? Or is it cold and clinical? Remember…whoever welcomes people into your church carries more influence than most leaders ever realise. They represent the church and everything it stands for. Is it a true and fair reflection on all the hard work of leadership behind the scenes? If not, then leadership needs to find a representative who is.
Sound
These are the first few words spoken in this new experience. Are they friendly and encouraging? Or are they distant and disinterested? Are they affirming of guests – or do they communicate a sense of being threatened by them? What’s communicated here will have a massive impact on the guests time in your church.
Taste
This applies more metaphorically than literally. The first ten seconds will show how appetising this new experience is going to be for a first time guest. Has the welcome been lovingly prepared with conviction and care – or is it just thrown together at the last minute, unconcerned about whether it’s palatable or not? Does the guest feel wanted or not? Will they dine off your spiritual food again? Well, this depends on how appetising you make it in the first ten seconds.
Smell
Why is it that so many churches smell of gas? For a first time guest, if the initial impression of your church is of a bad smell – then it makes big statements about the church itself. It says ‘they don’t care enough to even clean the place up for visitors.’ Leaders…make sure you snuff out bad smells! Make your church a pleasant environment – free of stinks. It really doesn’t take a lot to do it.
In the mind of a first-time guest - if those first ten seconds are a negative experience then it will sour whatever else happens, no-matter how good the service seems. Too often, leadership forgets this.
Ghandi was deeply touched by the Christian message. His problem wasn’t with Christ but with insensitive Christians. In some churches he visited, he encountered blatant racism and was treated like an unwanted guest. In later life, he famously said “I like your Christ. I don’t like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”.
In the retail business, there's a scheme called the "mystery customer". It’s nothing new and the idea is simple enough. A company employee will discreetly go to one of their stores posing as a customer. They have criteria on how it’s to be judged (friendliness of staff, helpfulness, cleanliness, personal hygiene, customer care, etc). Then they’ll write a report on their experience whereupon action must be taken by the store to improve on areas of weakness before the next unannounced visit of the "mystery customer". How would your church fare if a similar scheme operated in Church – the “mystery visitor”?
Archbishop Temple said “The Church is the only organisation that exists primarily for its non-members”. So here are four good questions every church leadership ought to regularly ask as a basic starting point:
1) What might a first-time visitor think and feel like when they come to our church?
2) How easy is it for non-members to get to know members of our church?
3) How well do we facilitate and encourage meaningful friendships?
4) How vulnerable do people feel they can be without being judged?
In the midst of all the stuff about vision, remember that what happens at the door really matters. So don’t forget the 10 second rule!
© Roy Todd, 2008.
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