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The Parking Lot, Evangelism At Work

Make a “Fuss” Over Guests

By Lynette Hawkins

What happens when visitors arrive a little late? Are there any parking spaces designated for worship guests? It may be time to take a look at reserving a few spots near the door for visitors. Too often worship guests drive in a parking lot to attend service but get frustrated and leave because the closest parking space is four blocks down the street. Churches that desire to grow attendance take extra steps to make a fuss over worship guests. Special visitor parking spaces are a simple way to say visitors are truly welcomed. When a guest rides up and sees the visitor parking spaces immediately they’ll know some one cares. Even if those spaces are filled, the fact that you cared enough to reserve spaces sets a positive tone before a guest ever enters the sanctuary.

Giving attention to guests makes people feel special. People do appreciate it. One church with very limited on-site parking reserved their entire parking lot for guests during a special holiday event. Guests enjoyed the luxury of off the street parking while members parked on the street. Another pastor shared with me that they offer shuttle buses from their remote parking so that people do not have to walk. All of these ideas point to one clear point, parking lots matter.

Parking lots are evangelism at work. Making the most of this area may lead to more return visits and happy Sunday morning worship guests. Here are a few tips to give to the facility team who manages your parking lot:

• Keep the parking lot clean and free of debris.
• Repair pot holes.
• Clearly paint the lines for parking spaces.
• Consider special visitor parking spaces up front.
• Add directional signs leading to the sanctuary
• Consider valet parking for seniors and adults with physical challenges
• Offer shuttle buses and greeters to assist in remote parking areas.

Written by Lynette Hawkins, a senior Awesome Insight consultant. She is an author and presenter. You can read more of her articles by subscribing to BMG Awesome Insight Newsletter for Church Leaders. The ideas shared in this article are  just a few of the concepts shared in the A.R.K.: Attract, Reach & Keep, a seminar for pastors, church leaders and evangelism teams.

This article cannot be duplicated and distributed without the permission of the author. Contact info@awesomeinsight.com.

ã Copyright 2008 Lynette Hawkins.  All Rights Reserved

Will They Be Welcomed If They Come?

Welcoming …the Heart of Evangelism

By Lynette Hawkins

Will guests feel welcomed if they get invited this holiday? I can’t help but ask this question. When I think about the conversations I have had with church folks who go quiet when I ask, “have you invited a non-churched friend to visit this year?” The odd look some people give about evangelism or sharing our faith often makes me ponder the question, what would happen if these people did invite someone? As we prepare for the holiday season, giving thought to preparing our hearts and minds to openly welcome others to share the Good News of Jesus Christ is something we all must pray. It takes so much for a non-churched person to get up the “nerve” to walk in the doors of a sanctuary. Our most earnest prayer is that members will greet each and every person with sincere, Christian love.

“Make every effort to show your Christian love” is the “M” step we share in our W.A.R.M. approach to welcoming shared in our Awesome Welcome! seminar. When we invite and bring others to the love of God, our hearts and minds must be open to receiving them and building friendships. As I shared in a recent seminar, friendships are just one way we can continue to share our faith one-on-one and nurture those growing in faith. Showing our Christian love through friendship can strengthen one’s faith and demonstrate a welcome that illustrates our love for Jesus. If you are not sure how to “make every effort to show your Christian love”, start with a prayer for friendships.

Take a close look at how you welcome guests this upcoming holiday season. Communicate with members, ushers and greeters how to warmly greet new friends this season. Be sure they know the importance of making every effort to show their love. If you’re not sure what to let them know, here are a few ideas from our Awesome Welcome! seminar. We’ll share even more in our upcoming teleseminars beginning this Friday and leading up to the holidays:

• Pray.
• Warmly smile.
• Speak first.
• Always introduce yourself
• Take the time for small talk, like the kids’ names and ages.

• Connect to what you have in common.

Written by Lynette Hawkins, a lead Awesome Insight consultant. She is an author and presenter. You can read more of her articles by subscribing to BMG Awesome Insight eNewsletter for Church Leaders. The ideas shared in this article are  just a few of the concepts shared in the A.R.K.: Attract, Reach & Keep, a seminar for pastors, church leaders and evangelism teams.

ã Copyright 2008 Lynette Hawkins.  All Rights Reserved

This article cannot be duplicated and distributed without the permission of the author. Contact info@awesomeinsight.com.

Is Your Church Outwardly Focused?

Pay Attention to Your Own Signs

Is your church outwardly focused enough? This question may be hard to answer if you have never really paid attention to what you do or don’t do as a congregation. With summer being a time to pause, it may be a good time to take a self evaluation of where your congregation stands on reaching out to others. Recently, I spoke to a new pastor of a medium sized church. To his surprise every ongoing ministry, Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Sunday morning worship service and even the music was focused on “just us”. Could that be your church too?

Inwardly focused churches take a narrow position; its all about them. The other characteristic of most of the inwardly focused churches is that they are in more of a maintenance mode than a growth mindset. Based on my conversation with an interim pastor who has seen several inward focused congregations, this list seems to be a good starter checklist for the signs of inwardly focused congregations:

• No active evangelism team
• No active outreach activities in place.
• No welcome packets for visitors
• No welcome brochure or general information available about the ministries.
• Little communication of activities beyond the members’ newsletter.
• Changes in worship times are done without regard to notifying the community.
• Church office phone’s voicemail speaks to members with no inviting message.
• Very few directional signs to key places in the church.
• No visitor follow up.

Do any of these sound familiar? If so, it truly is time to take steps toward reaching out to others. Evangelism is invitation.

Written by Lynette Hawkins, a lead Awesome Insight consultant. She is an author and presenter. You can read more of her articles by subscribing to BMG Awesome Insight eNewsletter for Church Leaders. The ideas shared in this article are  just a few of the concepts shared in the A.R.K.: Attract, Reach & Keep, a seminar for pastors, church leaders and evangelism teams.

ã Copyright 2008 Lynette Hawkins.  All Rights Reserved

This article cannot be duplicated and distributed without the permission of the author. Contact info@awesomeinsight.com.

Do Walk-Ins Feel Comfortable at Your Church?

Ask Yourself: How Do We Treat Walk-Ins?

How does your congregation greet those in the neighborhood who come off the street? Depending on the neighborhood and the church, some neighbors get treated better than others. A few months ago, I visited a church located in the heart of a neighborhood that had experienced drastic change. The community had become more closely linked to drug activity and unpleasant news. However, the members of this church mainly lived in the suburbs or in the “good parts” of this changing community. As I sat in worship service that Sunday, a gentleman from the neighborhood walked in. He did not wear a tie or polo shirt but instead had on a heavy winter coat and a worn hat. Immediately as he entered he pulled off the hat and sat down in the last row on the right side. I noticed the usher and others looking at him with somewhat a stare. I could not help but wonder, did the people here show him Christian love? As we begin to plan for the new season, it may be time to take a look at how we welcome walk ins.

“Everyone is welcomed.” I read that on the lawn sign of a church. It made me stop, smile and feel good all at the same time. However, I could not help but wonder do we really mean EVERYONE? Welcoming people who may not look like us, worship like us or live like us should be a part of every evangelism plan. Training the hospitality ministry, staff, volunteers and others on how to communicate a spirit of love may need to go on top of the things to do list. As the seasons change and school starts, someone may decide to wander off the streets and into your church. A smile, a warm hello and a sincere interest in them may be all that’s needed to connect them to Christ and your church. Afterall, what would Jesus do?

Large or small, take a close look at how your church communicates to those who may appear “different” from you. Bring to the attention of everyone the importance of treating others the way we desire to be treated. Below are a list of questions to engage others in conversation. Encourage your evangelism team leaders to ask these questions at their team meetings. Then list what needs to change.

Invite Your Members to Invite Friends & Strangers!

Equip Members to Invite

How do most formerly non-churched people end up on the doorsteps of churches? Research shows more than 70% come due to personal invitations. Identifying ways to equip members to invite may be one of the the best ways to encourage your members to invite others to worship. When I say equip, I simply mean to give them the tools (flyers, emails, calling cards, etc.) to be able to easily say, “come and see.”

Congregations that desire to attract newcomers must identify ways to make inviting easy. How do we make inviting easy? The ideas are endless.

Reaching the non-churched means we will need to extend an invitation. When we truly desire for members to invite others, we build in the invite factors that equip members. Here are a few ways to empower members to invite their friends and strangers too!

Written by Lynette Hawkins, a lead Awesome Insight consultant. She is an author and presenter. You can read more of her articles by subscribing to BMG Awesome Insight eNewsletter for Church Leaders. The ideas shared in this article are  just a few of the concepts shared in the A.R.K.: Attract, Reach & Keep, a seminar for pastors, church leaders and evangelism teams.

ã Copyright 2008 Lynette Hawkins.  All Rights Reserved

This article cannot be duplicated and distributed without the permission of the author. Contact info@awesomeinsight.com.