Six months ago, my husband and I began searching for a new church home. As we visited other congregations, I joked that we would join the first church where someone invited us to lunch. Six months and seven congregations later, we\u2019re still waiting for that invitation.<\/p>\n
In our former church we had, from time to time, entertained church visitors in our home or at local restaurants, so I did not think my suggestion was unusual. I loved hearing the stories of how visitors found our church, where they lived, and what they did.<\/p>\n
I once wrote a note on a bulletin telling my husband I would invite the young couple at the other end of our pew home for lunch. \u201cWhat will you serve?\u201d he asked. I named a meal-in-a-bag food I had in the freezer. The couple loved it and said they purchased it themselves on occasion. We had a great visit although, I must admit, they never returned to church. But surely not because they had not felt welcomed.<\/p>\n
Visitors seek to connect with God through worship and teaching, and church members serve as a crucial link: \u201cNow then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ\u2019s behalf, be reconciled to God\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:20).<\/p>\n
Entertaining visitors need be neither fancy nor threatening. Rest assured, visitors are eager to get to know you and learn more about your congregation. They don\u2019t want to drive miles and then return home without connecting with someone on a personal level.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m finding, though, that when we visit churches, we rarely receive invitations to participate in activities outside of the morning service. Certainly, we could just sign up and attend. But there\u2019s something warm, friendly, and hospitable about a congregation that embraces visitors by extending invitations.<\/p>\n
Here are my suggestions as a visitor.<\/p>\n
Visitors come to church for many reasons. Perhaps they\u2019ve drifted from a fellowship and long to reconnect. Perhaps they\u2019ve suffered \u201cfriendly fire\u201d in their own congregation and seek a safe place to worship. Perhaps, like my husband and me, they simply feel it\u2019s time for a change.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reason they come, give visitors a reason to stay. With a little thought and effort, they will leave your fellowship feeling loved and cared for, embraced by the arms of one of Christ\u2019s ambassadors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Six months ago, my husband and I began searching for a new church home. As we visited other congregations, I joked that we would join the first church where someone invited us to lunch. Six months and seven congregations later, we\u2019re still waiting for that invitation. In our former church we had, from time to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":285,"featured_media":25877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,1036],"tags":[971,87,1067,584],"yoast_head":"\n