Love

Love drives this season and our daily lives as Christians. The unimaginable love of God for creation leads to the incarnation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, so creation reunites with God. Emmanuel.

Christ with us. But as we sing the Christmas carols, we must not forget that while we remember a story from a long time ago, we live in the presence of Emmanuel today.

We should not contain this love. Christ is the light of the world. He called us to take His light to the darkness through the ends of the earth. How are you spreading the Word? How are you inviting your community?

Christ’s birth was the beginning of a new story. One of redemption. One that we are currently in. A story from long ago but alive in us today. As we wait for the second coming of Christ, we are wandering through the middle of the story. With the second coming, our current story comes to an end, and we step into something new.

What are you clinging to in your story that you need to let the love of Christ heal? What relationships do you need to grow more through Christ’s love? How will you let Christ’s love speak to you this Advent season?

I pray that you have a very Merry Christmas and that the Lord speaks clearly and boldly in your life. That your hope, peace, joy, and love in Christ renews this season.

Here are some scriptures to Finding Joy in the Journey: 

December 22 – Matthew 2:7-8

December 23 – Matthew 2:9-12

December 24 – John 1:14

Joy

What brings you joy during this season? I love to decorate for the Christmas season. Usually, we wait till after Thanksgiving, but this year it was so tempting to start Christmas at the end of September. I was just yearning for some Christmas joy to finish out this 2020 year.

I also love lights at Christmas. My favorite thing is driving around looking at lights. It is just so peaceful. It makes me think about the star that illuminated the sky in anticipation of Christ’s birth. Being with family also brings me great joy. Now that we have children, it is even more fun to shape our traditions during the season. Our most favorite thing about the Christmas season is being with our church family on Christmas Eve. It is a time I look forward to every year. There is nothing better than gathering together, singing praises, remembering the birth of our Savior, and taking Christ’s light into the world as we leave. So much beauty in a room filled with darkness and the glow of candles raised while singing “Christ our Savior is born, Christ our Savior is born.”

Even though this year will look different for many of us, live into the joy of the season. Don’t keep your joy contained! Find ways to share the joy of the Lord with family, friends, neighbors, and your community. How can you live beyond yourself this season? Are you sharing your testimony about the work of Christ in your life with those in your midst?

Here are some scriptures to Finding Joy in the Journey:

December 15 – Luke 2:8-12

December 16 – Luke 2:13-14

December 17 – Luke 2:15-18

December 18 – Luke 2:19-20

December 19 – Micah 5:2-5

December 20 – Matthew 2:3-6

December 21 – Matthew 2:3-6

Peace

“Said the king to the people everywhere. Listen to what I say. Pray for peace people everywhere, listen to what I say. The child, the child sleeping in the night. He will bring us goodness and light. He will bring us goodness and light.”

I love almost all of our Christmas music. To pick just one favorite, I don’t know if I could do that. But Do You Hear What I Hear is probably on my top 10. Pray for peace, people everywhere. Peace that comes in the stillness of the night. The peace that we find in Christ and in community with each other. A peace that I think we often crave in our communities and society.

Peace is quite the opposite of what society pushes us towards in this season. While things will look a little different from COVID-19, I do not doubt that the season’s hustle and bustle will still be prevalent. Let’s take this year to strive for living into the peace that the season brings. Make space to pray and practice praying with your family. Where do you need God’s peace in your life? How can you show God’s peace to others? We don’t pray because we are limited or at our last option. We pray because we know where the power is.

Here are some scriptures to Finding Joy in the Journey: 

December 8 – Luke 1:26-38

December 9 – Matthew 1:18-21

December 10 – Matthew 1:22-26

December 11 – Luke 1:39-45

December 12 – Luke 1:46-56

December 13 – Luke 2:1-5

December 14 – Luke 2:6-7

Are you looking for activities to do this season? Here are some Random Acts of Kindness that your church families could participate in! Don’t forget to keep social distancing practices in mind.

• Make a card for a soldier

• Pick up litter

• Make cookies for a neighbor

• Donate toys to your favorite charity

• Tell silly jokes to make someone laugh

• Donate food to your local food pantry

• Let someone go ahead of you inline

• Take coffee to your teacher

• Call a faraway friend or relative to say hello

• Take supplies to an animal shelter

• Do a chore for someone in your family

• Give a compliment to a friend

• Take treats to a fire or police station

• Pay for a stranger’s coffee

• Leave a happy note for someone to find

• Pass out stickers to kids inline

• Give treats to the mail carrier

• Smile at everyone you see today

• Do a secret act of kindness for someone

Hope

Advent. The season we journey through with anticipation of the first coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. A season where we focus on hope, peace, joy, love, and the birth of our Savior. It is easy to rush through to Christmas morning.

But as we go through each week living into the promise of hope, peace, joy, and love that this season brings, we are also walking through a time of darkness—a time before our Lord walked the earth over 2000 years ago in human form. Today, a time as we remember His first coming in anticipation of the second. There are so many things during the Christmas season to celebrate and participate in, but when it comes down to it, we focus our hearts and minds on the hope found in Jesus. 

We all know how different this year has been. Some of us or our friends have been walking through some dark times in 2020. We, as believers, find hope in Jesus. But those that do not know the Lord may feel even more isolated and alone during this time. This week, take time to be in prayer for those that may not see the hope that comes through salvation in Christ. 

Hope keeps us moving forward when we are unsure where we are or where we are going. Hope begins to bring light into the darkness we are wandering in. Hope brings life and reason to press forward. The hope and belief that Christ will come again keeps us moving day to day into a deeper relationship with Him. Because of our hope, we share Christ with others so that all may know the hope, peace, joy, and love found in Christ.

Here are some scriptures to Finding Joy in the Journey:

December 1 – John 1:1-5

December 2 – Isaiah 9:2-7

December 3 – Isaiah 11:1-10

December 4 – Jeremiah 33:14-16

December 5 – Luke 1:5-10

December 6 – Luke 1:11-17

December 7 – Luke 1:18-25

Consider doing a Reverse Advent Calendar this year. Each Day, add an item to a box. On Christmas Eve, donate the contents to a food bank. Here is a list below, but you can also check with your local food bank or food ministries to see what items they need and accept.

Dec. 1 – Box of Cereal

Dec. 2 – Peanut Butter

Dec. 3 – Stuffing Mix

Dec. 4 – Boxed Potatoes

Dec. 5 – Macaroni and Cheese

Dec. 6 – Canned Fruit

Dec. 7 – Canned Tomatoes

Dec. 8 – Canned Tuna

Dec. 9 – Dessert Mix

Dec.  10 – Jar of Applesauce

Dec. 11 – Canned Sweet Potatoes

Dec. 12 – Cranberry Sauce

Dec. 13 – Canned Beans

Dec. 14 – Box of Crackers

Dec. 15 – Package of Rice

Dec. 16 – Package of Oatmeal

Dec. 17 – Package Pasta

Dec. 18 – Spaghetti Sauce

Dec. 19 – Chicken noodle soup

Dec. 20 – Tomato Soup

Dec. 21 – Canned Corn

Dec. 22 – Canned Mixed Vegetables

Dec. 23 – Canned Carrots

Dec. 24 – Canned Green Beans

Hospitality - Evaluate and Connectional Plan

We have looked at several ways to start or improve your hospitality team at your church. One important key is evaluation. We should do some form of evaluating for everything we do.

Before you start adding different things to do in the realm of hospitality, take time to assess your current methods and procedures.

Can you answer these questions or statements?

• A young parent needs to change their child’s diaper, where do they need to go?

• Someone needs to use the restroom.

• A guest asked about getting baptized.

• A new guest wants to take their children to the 3-year-old and second-grade class.

• A recent guest is looking for a Sunday school group.

• A guest wants to give an offering, but they didn’t get a chance to during the service.

• A guest wants to know if there is a women’s ministry, Children’s events, and family stuff.

As the pastor or staff member, these answers may come easy for you. But do they for Jane that has been attending for three years?

This is why evaluation is vital.

• Does your signage clearly show where to go in your church for different rooms and bathrooms? If you have multiple stories or buildings, is it clear to guests where worship is or where classrooms are or nursery?

• What is your current hospitality flow?

• Who makes up your current hospitality team?

• Who are your greeters, ushers, point people, and what are their current roles?

• What does your digital presence say to people?

• Is your main door for entry clearly marked?

• Do you have evident guest parking?

Here’s an activity for you to do, and I hope you do because it can be eye-opening.

Take some time to walk inside and outside your building. Put your visitor glasses on and look for things that might be out of order, unclear on directions, piles of clutter, no lights on. Outside, are the main doors marked, is there trash, how does the flower beds look. We get used to the spaces we are in a lot. We may not notice baseboards peeling, paint chipping, or broken furniture, but guests often do. Take some time at your next leadership meeting to walk your space and see what you can fix or freshen up.

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The final piece we will look at in this series is the Connection Plan. Use all the information we have talked about to develop your Connectional Plan. Essentially, this is the whole goal of a hospitality focus, connecting with visitors. We will look at three parts of connecting. 

Connecting People from the community to our doors.

Make sure you have an updated website, social media presence, planning events in the community, attending community events, serving in the community, well-lit building, welcoming and updated outdoor church signage.

Connecting People Entering our Doors to our Pews

Here is space for the Hospitality Team to shine! With a strong team of greeters, ushers, hosts, friendly faces, and a Connection Corner, guests are more likely to connect to your church community and come back again.

Connecting People Sitting in our pews to Each Other

Have a physical or digital Connect Card available for guests to fill out. Please don’t make them overwhelming. Sometimes just getting an email to follow up with is enough. If they feel like they have to fill out a loan contract with all their info, they are less likely to fill it out. If you want to have a guest gift at a Connection Corner, having them bring their Connection Card to that area after the service is an excellent option for further connection.

Create a plan for slowly implementing them into your routine.

• Gift – we are glad you are here

• Email or phone call follow up

• Few more visits, where are you looking to connect?

• Join XYZ group of kids or youth ministry

• Looking for more areas to grow

• Where would you like to serve

It can take 3 – 6 months for a visitor to attend your church before they fill out an information card. This means relational interaction is critical. Here is a growth experiment. Identify three to five areas to prepare and implement for the coming Advent Season. How are you going to grow your connectional outreach?

Hospitality - Logistics and Planning Part 2

Last week we looked at internal logistics to help you prepare for a hospitality team. Let’s look at some external elements that will help pull your hospitality team together smoothly.

Provide guest information online

Your website is your new front door in welcoming people. If you do not have a website up, please consider getting one. Most people these days look everything up online before they choose to go somewhere. Visitors are looking at your sites to see who you are and what you care about. Ensure your service time is clear on the site and ministry programs and children/youth programs. Make sure the church address is written for GPS linking and your phone number as well.

Address Guests from Stage

Welcome your guests from the stage but do not call them out or have them stand up. A simple glad you are here and thanks for choosing to spend an hour of your time with us today goes a long way. Invite guests to visit your connect corner or information desk after the service. If you wanted to have a first-time guest gift, this is the perfect place for that.

Sit in the Middle

Now I know we are all creatures of habit sitting in our usual places all the time. However, sitting in the middle of the row is helpful and welcoming to visitors. It is awkward when you have to cross over people to get a seat. Leaving space on the end also lets those arriving a little late space to slip in comfortably.

Put the Words on the Screen

If you are using screens in your service, you probably always have the lyrics to songs on the screen. But are you putting the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostle’s Creed up there as well? For visitors that were not raised in the church or Methodist traditions, these small changes help create comfort and do not leave anyone out in their space to respond.

Easy Connection

Make it easy for your guests to get connected to your church community and activities. Have clear next steps you are asking guests to take. After they have visited several times, they may be open to more information about getting more involved. The faster you can get a guest connected to a group, the more likely they will stay for the long-haul.

Share Online

Invite your congregation to share your messages online. Even if you are live streaming, it helps create a digital hospitality space when people share the messages and other things your church is doing on their social platforms. If they are watching from home, they can share when the live stream starts. If they attended in person, they could share later that afternoon.

Mini Sermon Videos

If you can break your sermon into smaller videos, you could make two to three 30 – 90-second videos from the sermon to share on social media. Then link it to the full message for people to go view. If guests are watching your content online, they may be more likely to come to see you in person eventually.

Bathrooms

How hospitable are your bathrooms? Most people will visit these as they are in your building. Ensure they are stocked with paper towels, soap, toilet paper, sprays, and whatever else you might think people would need. Do you have a baby changing station of both men and women’s bathrooms? Maybe have a table that ladies can put their purses on. Do kids need a step stool to reach the sink? These are all things that help people feel more welcomed. Something for a few Sundays before Mother’s Day would be to have cards in the men’s bathrooms for people to take if they need a card!

Connection Corner

Consider creating a space that is centralized for information for regular and new attendees. Returning guests may wonder where to get information on how to get more involved. Making a central location makes it easier to find your information and to meet new people.

Building a Culture

Encourage your regular attendees to greet new people. Again, some people may be comfortable with just a hello, while some will want to go deeper. That is ok. Just make sure that people are aware of when new guests are present and that they are acknowledged. It’s better to have six people say hello than everyone assume the visitor has been greeted and no one actually said hello …

These are just a few ways to prepare to welcome your guests genuinely and organically. Find what fits your church’s culture and strengthen those areas. Don’t be afraid to try new things and to stop something if it is not working. Next week, we will look at some ways to evaluate your hospitality habits and look at a connectional plan.

Hospitality - Logistics and Planning Part 1

The second segment of our hospitality focus will look at the logistical side of internal and external preparation, evaluating, and your current hospitality flow.

Let’s start with the internal. These are areas that you can plan for and train your team, so they are ready to serve in these different areas.

Define who is on your team.

Your team may look different based on your congregation’s size, but regardless of size, you can create a strong hospitality team that reflects your church and community’s culture and needs. Who is on your team? Greeters, Hosts, Floaters, Ushers, Connect Center, etc. Depending on your church building layout, you may want to keep greeters at the doors that people enter. Then have hosts or floaters that can help connect those people to the Sanctuary or other church rooms depending on when they are coming. Ushers can be placed in your Sanctuary areas to help people find their seats as you are getting ready for services to start. Suppose you have space for a Connect Center or Information Desk. In that case, it is helpful to have a volunteer or two stationed there to answer questions and share other information about your church activities with guests. Some churches even have a small gift for first-time visitors.

Monthly Rotation

Building a monthly rotation will help ease the weekly requirement of your volunteers. It may take some time to rotate, but finding a pattern that works for your church will help prevent burnout. Rotation will also help build consistency and familiarity for your attendees and makes it easier to remember if you have the first Sunday of each month. Work on building a sub-list because it will never fail that something will come up last minute, or someone will get sick.

In-Place On Time

Define what is on time! Usually, for a hospitality team, that means 10 – 15 minutes before the service or Sunday school classes start! This timeline also provides space for last-minute setup or prep. Check everything and be in place before people start coming into the building, so you are ready to welcome and assist those attending that day. Stay in the position for 20 minutes into the service and return 5 minutes before the service ends to greet people as they leave. 

I remember a Sunday when I happened to step into our foyer after our worship set when the sermon started. It was 25ish minutes after our start time, and no one was in the foyer. This isn’t usually a surprise as most people by this point have found their way into the Sanctuary. This Sunday was different, though. I saw the second part of the story unfolding, too late to get outside to help. What I witnessed was a young couple with twins in carriers. They were halfway across our front lawn, walking to our East parking lot to their car. I am confident that they arrived late and wanted to put their twins in the nursery but couldn’t find where the nursery was. Instead of walking back through the empty foyer to the East parking lot, they walked across the front yard. If we had had a greeter linger on the doors after service started, this family might have found where our nursery was and stayed for service. We put up better signage after that as well.

Multiple Services

If you have multiple services, make sure you prepare time for cleaning up and re-organizing on breaks. Even between Sunday school hours and service, take time to reset. If you have volunteer teams switching out between the two- or three-time frames, make sure communication is clear, and the transition runs smoothly.

Safety Procedures

Having your hospitality team know your church’s safety and emergency procedures would greatly benefit the midst of an emergency. Do your ushers and greeters know how to evacuate your church amid a fire alarm going off? These are the type of things to define as a small team and have specific people lead, so mass chaos doesn’t take over.

What is Hospitality

What is hospitality? Is it physical space or how you interact with others? Is it internal or external? How is hospitality relational? Do your current hospitality systems show that you are present or vacant for visitors?

What stands out to you about the following hospitality statement: 

From the moment someone walks through the door, we want them to feel like family, just as Christ welcomes us (Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 15:7). Maybe it’s the smile, the handshake, or the friendly personality that eases their mind in walking through our doors for the first time. We want them to come back to a place where they freely worship, freely feel at home, and freely encounter Jesus.

Does any of that resonate with you? Are you thinking that sounds perfect! It’s a great goal, but it takes hard work. We often say that we want visitors to feel like they are a part of our church family, but often we forget that our personal family lives may not be all that hospitable. We have to learn how to be hospitable as Christ was.

How do you shape hospitality to fit your church culture?

Before you jump to who welcomes who and what sign to put up, define your church’s culture. Knowing your church culture and dynamics is a big step in welcoming more people into your church.

Know your church to some degree and the vision/mission of your church body.

Know your church culture to some degree and the vision/mission of your church body. For example, do you call new people attending your church service visitors? Seekers? Guests? How formal is the language you use in your church and services? Does that fit the community culture? The church culture?

Be Authentic

What does being authentic look like to you? Is that a quick hello and welcome? Is that a long chat about who and where they are from? Is that maybe helping them find a seat with or without you or helping them find the nursery or bathroom? There is no wrong answer with these because it should fit each person’s level of authenticity. We all know when hospitality is being forced and at what point that makes us feel uncomfortable. Know your personality and comfort zone and live into the hospitality level that fits best for you to be authentic to those visiting. I like to think of myself as the second line of hospitality. If my husband and I are going somewhere new, he is usually the one first to engage and introduce himself to new people. We are both extroverts, but I tend to say that he is your initial greeter, then I come in and learn about who you are. And once you’re in the inner circle of the Montgomery household, you are in for life. Know your comfort level and then push it just slightly towards discomfort so that your visitors feel welcome in your church home.

Planned and Organic

So, which is better and more authentic, planned hospitality, or organic? The answer here is a little of both! It would be best if you had a plan. You need to know who will greet each Sunday and who is available to help visitors get settled and find their way through your building. But it is also essential to leave space for organic interactions and flow. Sometimes volunteers will get sick or not show up. It is ok to be ready to adapt to those situations. Knowing how your greeters and host teams will interact with all church attendees helps create a smooth culture of welcoming so that your visitors do not feel isolated or put in the spotlight.

Relational Building

Go above and beyond what is expected to welcome a guest. Hospitality, in its simple form, is just actions that pave the way to start relationships. Have a general knowledge of the church’s mission and vision, worship services, ministries, building layout, etc. This way, you can help guests find their way comfortably and confidently in your building. Let’s say someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer. Don’t panic! Take the opportunity to say, “That is a great question, let’s go find out” and then go with the guest to your connection corner or staff member that will know the answer. Don’t chase someone down for an answer or look confused and say I don’t know. Taking them to the person helps introduce them to someone else and not be left alone without their question answered. This starts building trust.

In the next segment, we will look at logistics and planning for hospitality teams along with internal and external checklists to help guide you in either creating a group or taking your team to the next level. We are getting closer to holiday seasons, and even in this COVID year, you will have visitors coming to your church. So, let’s prepare so relationships can organically start to grow!