Lost in the Crowd
“I was a stranger…and you welcomed me.”
“Lots of people pray for God to send new people to their church. Few accept the folks God actually sends.”
At our last Partnership Meeting, I shared the need for our partners to be connecting with new people on Sunday mornings. Every Sunday we have 4-8 new visitor cards that are turned in. Every Sunday. Statistically, this is only a fraction of the visitors we actually have visiting on a Sunday morning. While we have a dedicated team who seeks out new visitors, we cannot reach every visitor in order to help them get connected to New City.
We need you!
Think of Sunday morning as your home that you are inviting guests to for the first time. A great amount of preparation goes into finding out your guests preferences (food allergies, etc.), cleaning the house, getting the kids rooms cleaned, etc. When your guests arrive they are greeted warmly at the door, welcomed into your home and treated like family. You talk and laugh and hopefully, if all goes well, you look forward to the next time you are able to get together. It is the same on Sunday.
Here are three practical ways to welcome visitors to New City on Sunday morning:
Look for one person, every Sunday, which you do not recognize. Say, “Good morning, how long have you been at New City?” This is a very easy way to tell if someone is new or someone you are just unfamiliar with. Invite them to sit with you and/or invite them to lunch.
Arrive at the 567, 15 minutes earlier than your normal arrival time with the express purpose of greeting someone new.
Sit closer to the stage so that there are more seats available for visitors towards the back as they come in.
Our hope is that a new visitor will feel welcomed at New City by all of us making these small changes and ultimately connecting deeper with Jesus.