Hospitality in the Bible

Hospitality—reception and entertainment of strangers

A. Kinds of:
Treacherous . . . Judg. 4:17–21
Rewarded . . . Josh. 6:17–25
Unwise . . . 2 Kin. 20:12–19
Critical . . . Luke 7:36–50
Unwelcomed . . . Luke 9:51–53
Joyful . . . Luke 19:5, 6
Turbulent . . . Acts 17:5–9
Forbidden . . . 3 John 1, 9, 10

B. Act of:
Commanded . . . Rom. 12:13
Required of church leaders . . . 1 Tim. 3:2
Discipleship . . . Matt. 25:35

C. Courtesies of:
Protection provided . . . Gen. 19:6–8
Food . . . Luke 11:5–8
Washing of feet . . . Luke 7:44
Kissing . . . Luke 7:45
Denied with indignities . . . Judg. 19:15–28; Luke 10:10–16

D. Examples of:
Abraham to angels . . . Gen. 18:1–8
Lot to angels . . . Gen. 19:1–11
Laban to Abraham’s servant . . . Gen. 24:31–33
Joseph to his brothers . . . Gen. 43:31–34
Pharaoh to Jacob . . . Gen. 45:16–20
Rahab to the spies . . . Josh. 2:1–16
David to Mephibosheth . . . 2 Sam. 9:6–13
Martha to Jesus . . . Luke 10:38–42
Lydia to Paul and Silas . . . Acts 16:14, 15
Barbarians to Paul . . . Acts 28:2, 7

Hospitality Ministry (Introduction)

Hospitality Ministry 
(Also known as Greeters Ministry)

God has called His followers “as they are going” to take the gospel with them, Matthew 28:18-20. At the same time, we read in 1 Corinthians 14:23-24 and James 2:2-4 about how unbelievers may come into the assembly and have an impression of God. We are representing God at all times and we can constant learn how to improve our impression for our creator. At every assembly we have precious opportunities to share God's love through our words and actions because we are the body of Christ.

 

You are a "somebody"
Sometimes you hear that "nobody is doing anything" and we call attention to the "somebodies" who are representing our Creator. Sometimes God put's an impression on a Christian's heart that says, "somebody" needs to welcome or serve a guest or Christian. God loves "somebody" and you are a great somebody. Thanks for being the somebody who represents God well.

Did we have any first-time Guests attend last Sunday or today? How many have we had the past month…the past year? Those Guests were God’s gift to us. How did we receive them? Did we show God our appreciation for these gifts? Did we treat those gifts as they deserved to be treated by having a plan in place to integrate them into the body of Christ, or did we just say a quick thank you and move on? Not one of these Guests showed up at our doorstep haphazardly. By leading that Guest to us, God is giving us the privilege of working with Him to move someone forward in their journey toward Christ. How can we accomplish the goal of making a first-time Guest into a productive member? The methods and strategies of this service have proven to be one of the best ways in the country of advancing a first-time Guest to a second-time Guest to a regular attender and finally to a productive member of not only our congregation, but of God’s kingdom. By all of us being on the “same page” and presenting a consistent feeling, we can improve our odds of keeping the “seekers” here and not letting them slip through the cracks. Let’s begin thinking together…
I’ll never visit your church again! These are words no church wants to hear. Do you know that your guests will make this decision within seconds after walking in our door?

The church is a family that is expecting Guests. What do we do when we’re expecting Guests into our homes? We prepare. Upon arrival we show them around, show them where the restrooms are, and give them a comfortable place to sit. We do everything in our power to make sure our Guest feels welcome and respected in our home. Let’s work as a team so Guests will feel right about their choice to check out the Lord’s body.

The "Welcome" a person receives will give a person a real sense of where they belong. If they feel like they are in a place where they don't belong, then the congregation has lost a real opportunity for embracing them with the love of God. Generally speaking, when “unchurched” people enter our doors, they typically know few, if any people. They certainly hope to find warm greetings and friendly faces. First impressions are powerful. The first 30 to 90 seconds usually establish that biggest impression and most will have decided in 7 minutes. From that perspective they will look at everything else. Every successful retail business knows the importance of being friendly. We can reflect on our own experiences at Wal-Mart, Chick-Fil-A, or your favorite restaurant etc.

When you enter a Wal-Mart store, you are met at the door by a person who has one job to do. His job is to greet you and welcome you to the store. If you have an item to return, he helps you do that. If you need a shopping cart, he gets one for you. Why is he there? It is his job to make sure you do not sneak any open packages into the store? Is he trying to make sure you are not going to shoplift? Is he there to weed out the riffraff? Of course not! He is there to welcome shoppers.

Long ago Sam Walton and the rest of the leadership at Wal-Mart realized how important it is to greet each customer. They knew that a simple smile and one or two acts of assistance would make you, the customer and consumer, much more likely to enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart. That, in turn, would make you want to come back.

The business world understands the principle of making people feel welcome. We can learn from their example. “While hotels, restaurants, and stores all around us serve their Guests with intentional care, we often let ours wander in and out of our presence with no specific intent for showing them how important they are to us.” The helpful information to follow will point out a few things that help people determine whether or not we are naturally a church that wants guests here. There are a few steps that will improve a congregation from one that outsiders view as cold and distant to one that is warm and friendly. Some has to do with natural actions, other with welcoming terminology, and some with sharing relevant information.

Christ's church should genuinely be the most hospitable place in the world. Just like in the business world, it doesn't just stop with the greeter at the door. We want our guests to get a sense throughout their experience that everyone who is connected with the organization cares about them, because God has called us to reach the lost. We should intentionally give “outsiders” and “insiders” a time to experience God and His love.

I feel the Edmond Church of Christ is blessed with something that is rarely found in some congregations. This is why we are unique to God’s kingdom. Because of our size, we are blessed with many resources and avenues to meet a wide variety of needs. Usually large churches have a corporate culture rather than a personal service and family feel. God is challenging every one of us to grow in both of these areas to continue to reach more lost people and reach more deeply into one another’s lives.

Skip to other points in this thread. Or click on the link to the side. This is my ongoing "working" of hospitality ministry.

Hospitality Ministry (Introduction)
Warm Embrace
Hospitality Takes All Kinds
Have A Positive Attitude
People Matter
Parking Shuttle
First Impressions
"First Face" Greeters
Bulletin Greeters "First Information"
Building Hosts "First Feet"
Auditorium Section Hosts - "First Seat"
Classroom Hospitality "First Family"
"Lasting Heart" Impressions
Commitment to Guests
How to Make A Great First-time Guest Impression
Welcome Center - Information Central
Training and Equipping
How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Follow Up...
Guest Retention
First Time Guest Experience
The Visitor
Hospitality -- Open Your Circle
Embrace

Warm Embrace

A Warm Embrace

At the Edmond Church of Christ, we have three major movements for carrying out our mission for Christ; GO, EMBRACE, and CONNECT. It is in the movement of embracing our community around us that a real demonstration of lovingly receiving our guests is expressed. This initiative was launched in late 2012 going into 2013. Scripture calls us to “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7. This is not an option, but a call to express Christian love in a practical way. It is our attitude of gratitude in response to the love of God we have received. Herbert Samuels says, "Life is like a mirror. If you frown at it, it frowns back. If you smile at it, it returns the greeting."

We are called to go, embrace, and connect. We want to be better than "good," we want to be known for our genuine hospitality. Let us make the best effort to let people know how valuable they are to God and to us. They belong here -- as together we all grow deeper in our relationship with God.

Through experience I've learned that people quickly forget what you said, people soon forget what you did, but people cannot forget how you made them feel. Sermons and class can shape our minds, but Jesus impacted lives through embracing and conversation. We can share God’s impact on our lives and how He’s touched our hearts and souls by reaching out to others.

The primary goal of a hospitality ministry team is to join with Jesus in building relationships. The environment we create for our guests is vital, but even more important to representing God.  The way we treat those visiting our services matters to them and their feelings toward Christ’s church. None of us would put a sign on our building or wear shirts that guests are not welcome. Yet, from an unbeliever's (sometimes believers) perspective, we communicate that we don't care if people are there. We fail to embrace others and one another. Years ago it was popular to have Romans 16:16 as a bumper sticker, "All the churches of Christ greet you" yet when guests would come into our buildings they were not sincerely greeted. We send many subtle messages that are understood as negative. Why not develop good habits of intentionally expressing clear positive messages of the love of God. Let’s embrace them with the love of God.

The most important factor in determining if a church is warm or cold is not the quality of the sermon. It is not the beauty of the singing, the quality of the Bible classes or the visitor information packets. The most important factor in determining if a church is warm or cold is enabling guests to find at least one friend.  If they find a friend, they will want to hear a good sermon. They will want to participate in beautiful singing. They will want to attend meaningful Bible classes and they will be interested in the printed material you present. If they do not make friends, the rest does not matter. A warm church has people who will be friends to guests, but they go beyond that. Those friendly people who make contact with guests make sure that several people are introduced. The guests are not dropped in a classroom or on a pew and expected to seek others. Instead, the friendly people introduce them to others. That makes a warm church.

It is important to send missionaries to the field. It is important to reach out evangelistically to our community. However, if a person or a family comes to our worship service and we do not reach out to them, we are missing one of the best opportunities to carry out the Great Commission.

The major aspect we started in 2012 was "Section Hosts." We continue to train and replace hosts families in this area. We have sections hosts assigned in designated areas of the auditorium to embrace, assist, and connect with members and guests. Their main purpose is to be hospitable and create a culture of people feeling welcome. Section Hosts collect the welcome books which allow for communication with us (secondary benefit for recording our attendance). If you are interested in learning more about being a "section host," please contact Kevin for more information and training.

As we develop a more effective Hospitality Team Ministry, let us continually tell our church family how important they are to the process. Make sure the members know that they are part of the “hospitality team” even if they are not part of the formal Hospitality Ministry. Then we will be a truly warm and embracing church that is the most hospitable place in God’s world. 

God and the early church never took people lightly, and we count it an honor when someone visits our assemblies. Our hospitality ministry is striving to drastically improve in a variety of areas. The newest part is coming soon with "section hosts.”

The service industry racks up billions of dollars each year in sales because people loved to be waited on hand and foot. But this idea of being served didn't just start with the hospitality industry.

Jesus' disciples thought they were going to get a taste of the good life. After all, they were going to be hanging out with the savior of the world. They kept waiting for Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom, and they postured themselves to be his right hand men. But didn't understand Jesus' purpose on earth.

Jesus came to earth to serve. He traveled from town to town spreading God's life-changing message, healing those in need, confronting the oppressive religious leaders of the day, and ultimately, giving his life for anyone who was willing to accept him. Jesus showed the disciples what it meant to serve, but they missed it.

Servanthood is a litmus test for the Christian life. Do we find ourselves in the same boat as the disciples, expecting to be served rather than to serve? If so, we are missing out on all that God has for us. We take our cue from Jesus, serve someone else and discover just what it means to live life to the fullest.

"And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mark 10:44-45

Hospitality Takes All Kinds

Ministry Team Diversity

While being part of a team, it requires knowing your personal role and responsibilities. Also, each role should understand somewhat of how each he fits in the larger concept of the team. Some will require more people skills or intuition to “connect” with a guest. Other roles will require more mobility. And still others will require a more in-depth working knowledge of information.

So far, we have looked at the general concepts to a successful Hospitality Team Ministry. There are significant things at each stage. Those begin from the very point of interest to considering attending a worship assembly. It may begin with an advertisement, church sign, invitation by a friend, or a spiritual thought from within. Each one of those creates some expectations as they arrive on church property. The experience of love from that time until they leave the property and the follow-up will drastically determine whether they will want to continue a relationship.

Now that we have some information to begin with, let’s take a look at the process. The goal of this section is entitled; “From the Street to the Seat”. This will walk us through the four initial areas of contact which will influence the way our first-time Guest perceives our church family by the way they are; Greeted, Directed, Treated, and Seated.

Greeted, Directed, Treated, and Seated.

Now, I want to throw in some possible and probable perspectives that guests will have. It is important that we understand their perspective as God brings those gifts of people our way.

Greeted- (Guest #1’s perspective may be that society says Christians are self-absorbed and think only of themselves).

Welcomed with a smile -“Everything speaks to first-time Guests; everything.” The Following is a list and description of the various “positions.”

Have A Positive Attitude

Be Enthusiastic

Consider where they are coming from emotionally. Observe their body language. Connect with them emotionally.  This final responsibility is the most important of all. Everyone associated with the Hospitality Ministry Team must—must—be enthusiastic, positive, and see the bright side of things. This is more important than all of the details mentioned above. Guests want a positive experience. It is hard to recover from a nonchalant greeting. An enthusiastic greeting lets guests know they can expect an uplifting and enjoyable experience as they approach God together with the rest of your church family in Bible classes and worship.  Enthusiasm can be faked, but it will be recognized as fake. Constantly remembering the significance of the task that hosts perform will generate genuine enthusiasm.

A hospitality ministry is not as important as the Bible. It is not as important as worship. It is not as important as a daily living sacrifice to God. If all of these things are so much more important than a Hospitality Ministry Team, why bother? If your congregation is not friendly, loving and warm, guests will never get past that and move on to all those things that are more important. That is why the task of the Hospitality Ministry is so important.

Also, while everyone in the body of Christ is very important, the lost souls are important too. Please consider what Jesus said in Luke 15.  The one lost sheep (1 %) gets the focus of the 99 who don’t go astray. The lost coin (10%) gets the focus over the 9 accounted for at the time. The lost son (50%) is at the heart of two sons when one is lost. So, let me encourage us as a body to not exclude one guest at the expense of our chit-chat with a member. Don’t neglect the “opportunity of outreach” as one of God’s gifts. We need to build a culture that understands our friends and brethren can catch-up with one another at some other time, but right now we are doing mission work. In fact, hopefully they learn the value of how much God loves lost people.

Remember the importance of the first 7 MINUTES. It is all the time it takes a first-time Guest to decide whether or not they will come back. This is before they sing one song, hear one prayer or hear one word of a lesson! The clock is ticking and time is short to make a great first impression. Once a bad impression is made, it is virtually impossible to change it no matter how good everything else is that ensues, because everything else will be filtered through the “eyes” of that impression. 

People Matter

Names

Remember their name and share your name. This adds a feeling of value to them. Names are important. When a greeter introduces a guest to a few key people, he will no longer view your church as a cold institution. Instead, the guest is more likely to view it as a warm, loving family.

Think about being genuinely interested in them. If members use guests’ names, their opinion of the congregation goes up. If a greeter calls the guest by name later, after worship or during a Bible class, their opinion of the congregation goes sky high. Most of us think we can’t remember names. Most think it is a talent that some have but they don’t. However, remembering names is a skill that can be developed just like any other. There are a couple of things that you as Greeter can do to improve your memory of names.

Your name is valuable too. An important aspect of being a Greeter is to be identifiable as one. Some may have a name badge to identify us as Greeters. This not only will identify us, but it will make it evident to our Guests that we’re organized and that we value Guests who are sent our way. Assimilation is simply well-planned Biblical hospitality through service. The head of the church is the greatest server of all time. Doesn’t it follow that we should be the ultimate example of such service to our Guests? With the right attitude and culture in place, we can serve in a way that will truly touch lives for God’s kingdom.

Say the person’s name. Self-improvement courses say to repeat the name three times to learn it. That is good advice, but it seems artificial to say, “Good to meet you, Patrick Davis. What brings you our way this morning, Patrick Davis? Well, Patrick Davis we certainly hope you enjoy your time with us.” Try this approach. In order to remember a name, be sure you hear it. When someone introduces themselves to you if there is any doubt say, “I’m sorry. Please repeat your name. Patrick Davis? Well it is good to meet you.” As you guide them to the next connection point, introduce him to others by name. “Larry, I want you to meet Patrick Davis. He’s one of our guests this morning. Patrick works in the office building near your shoe store.” “It’s been good to meet you Patrick. I think you’d really like our young adult class. Paul (or what the person’s name is) can help you find the classroom and introduce you to some of the people in the class.”

After you meet a guest and they leave to go to Bible class or into the assembly, one of the best things you can do to help you remember their name is to write it down. Our welcome books help in this area. Section hosts should do their best in this area. By simply writing it down, you have reinforced the memory process. The difficulty is remembering the name, not the face. Even if you have a dozen names written down, before the morning is over, you will likely remember which face goes with each name. Writing it down also helps you to keep a mental note of who is visiting. Next time you are greeting, take your list of names, review it and you are more likely to recall the name of a person who comes again. You may not always remember the name when you meet the person again, but think how powerful it will be when you do. One of the best ways to use the information immediately is to review the list quickly before the end of the worship service. As soon as the service is over, seek out guests and express your appreciation for their visit and use their name. Carry an index card or a small pad of paper and a pen. Do this exercise. It will be worth it. 

Introduce Yourself with Your Full Name So People Will Remember It

https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-simple-change-that-will-make-you-a-more-powerful-networker

Parking Shuttle

Shuttle Ministry
A humorous glimpse of our new shuttle ministry
Posted by Edmond Church of Christ on Wednesday, September 2, 2015