Auditorium Section Hosts - "First Seat"

"Section" Auditorium Greeters/Ushers/Hosts

• Ideally, this position is best fulfilled by a married couple and enlist other members to match the guest's personality. These hosts are more “social people,” who can engage in potential longer conversations. It will involve 3 separate tasks; Greeting, Ushering, and Hosting. The Greeting aspect is easily understood. The Hosting duties will include making contact with Guests before and after services to introduce Guests to members. The ushering aspect lends itself to inviting guests to find the right place for them to "feel at home."
• This position is the biggest challenge due to the difficulty in staying focused on Guests coming into your area. We must have the help of the members of the congregation in not engaging our Greeters in lengthy conversation (several minutes). At some point we may decide to give auditorium hosts a ribbon to wear, that would mean they’re “working”, so please try to avoid being a distraction. While we want to "embrace" our members, this critical time can be the vital aspect of connecting to those who we want to become Christians or members.
• Another major roll of this couple is to manage our "Welcome books" used for attendance records, a major tool to "connect" with guests. It allows for starting a conversation as soon as church is finished. This has been our more personable way of gathering guest and member information. This has proven to be a more effective approach connecting with guests. These will be placed on the end of each pew in your section. At the designated time, the books will be passed down the row with each family completing their information until the book gets to the other end. When it gets to the other end, it is to be passed back to the end where it started. At that point they will be collected by the section hosts and delivered to the back of the auditorium. Please encourage the people in your section to connect with those next to them.
• We have valuable people to host at both morning services.
• Greeters in the balcony (2 first service and 8 second service). These Greeters will need to be in place 10 minutes before First Service and continue in this ministry 10-15 minutes after the service begins to be able to assist late-comers.
• Greeters on the floor of the auditorium (6 first service and about 10 second service). These Greeters will need to be in place 10 minutes prior to the end of class before 2nd service. They will need to stay on post 10-15 minutes after the service begins to be able to assist late-comers.
• As with other Greeters, care must be taken to keep focus on the people entering the auditorium; keeping alert for anyone looking lost or unsure where to go. The "Building Hosts" or floating Greeters at the auditorium doors may signal you or call you over if they make contact with a Guest so that a “seamless hand-off” can take place.
• These Greeters/Ushers will be responsible for finding Guests/members seats. It is awkward for a Guest to “climb over” when trying to find a seat, so the Greeter/Usher will take care of making room for Guests and member latecomers.
• It is important for these Greeter/Hosts to make note of where the Guests are seated so that immediately after services they can go make contact with them and introduce them to members in the area. Ideally, an invitation to lunch will be made by either a member or the Greeter/Host.