Heavenly Father, you have welcomed us into your kingdom
and your heart’s desire is to draw every human being to yourself.
Grant us clear eyes to see people as you see them,
sensitive feet to stand in their shoes,
and warm smiles to welcome them in your name.
Give us such generous hearts,
that our church becomes a foretaste of heaven
where every soul you send us finds their loving home
in the community of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Church House Publishing
Church House
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3AZ
ISBN 978 0 7151 4219 6
eISBN 978 0 7151 4271 4
Published 2009 by Church House Publishing Fourth Impression 2011
Copyright © Bob Jackson and George Fisher 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored or transmitted by any means or in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission which should be sought from the Copyright Administrator, Church House Publishing, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ. Email: [email protected]
Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised. Copyright © 1970, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, a division of Hodder Headline Ltd. All rights reserved.
The opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the General Synod or The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England.
Designed and typeset in Ergo 10pt by Jordan Publishing Design, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Printed in England by Halstan & Co, Amersham, Bucks.
Why welcome?
Session 1: Discover: making the church more visible
Session 1 outline
Session 2: The premises: making them more inviting
Session 2 outline
Session 3: A welcoming God and his welcoming people
Session 3 outline
Session 4: Belonging to the church community
Session 4 outline
Why welcome?
I (Bob) have been the visiting preacher at literally hundreds of churches. Even if my wife arrives with me she tends to become invisible at the church door. All too often where I have been feted, my wife has been ignored from the moment she received a hymnbook to the moment she finished her coffee. I should add that my wife really enjoys meeting people. But in many churches nobody even takes the trouble to say ‘hello’ and find out. Almost invariably, if church leaders have told me in the vestry what a friendly church this is, then my wife will assuredly have been ignored – what they mean is they are so friendly with each other they have no inclination to befriend the stranger.
Most churches think they are a friendly church because church members are friendly with each other. We may not realize how unwelcoming we appear to the outsider. The sad truth is that 90 per cent of the people who try out our churches fail to join them. In many churches it is normal not to speak to newcomers. We are not usually openly hostile, we just ignore them and eventually they go away.
But churches that do welcome and befriend the stranger are creating the sort of growing, flourishing community Jesus wants his church to be.
Everybody Welcome is about making welcome central to all we do and the people we are. Just think what the impact would be if not 10 per cent but 25 per cent or even 50 per cent of the people who try out your church succeed in joining it!
Welcoming newcomers into the worshipping community is a ministry not just for the clergy or other leaders but for every member of every church.
Everybody Welcome is a course for every church-going Christian who believes that belonging to their church is good for them and can be good for others. The title indicates not only that everybody should be made welcome but also that everybody should be welcoming.
Everybody Welcome aims to change your church by three routes:
| 1 | helping every individual to have a welcoming approach to newcomers. So it is important that as many church members as possible take part in the course. |
| 2 | identifying priorities for decision and change. At the end of the course the church council or other leadership group should identify priorities and then develop and implement an action plan for improving the church’s welcome and integration of newcomers. |
| 3 | setting up a Welcome Team, whose specialist ministry is to help newcomers through to being contributing members. |
Welcome as a growth strategy
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