Why most churches greet you like it’s 1999

Carey Nieuwhof Aug. 28, 2024

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So, by now, your church is streaming online, has an email list, and is all over social. Almost every single church is. Here's the question though. When you welcome people to your church during your in-person services, do you still behave like it's 1999?

Strangely, most churches do. I've been to very large, high-budget churches who have a digital presence everywhere and—for whatever reason—still welcome people like it was back in the day when the cassette ministry was booming. I even caught myselfdoing this at times. The good news, the fix is quick, simple, and free for all of us.

Is my glaring omission yours too?

So what do you say when you welcome people to your church? For years, many hosts (including me) have said something like:

Welcome to church! We're so glad you're here. If you're new here, we'd love to connect! Drop by our guest services desk. We'd love to connect with you there.

Today, we'll be here for about 65 minutes, sing some songs together, open up the Bible to see what it means to us today, and pray together. (Then we share one or two announcements we want everyone to know.)

See what I missed there?

Did you catch it? I said ZERO (as in nothing at all) about our online presence. Nothing about our social media. Nothing about our app. Zippo about our podcast. Nothing.

Yet 95% of the people (or more) are sitting there with their phones in their pocket.

This is the opportunity you're missing

If it was actually 1999, people would have to drive to your church or to someone's home to connect with someone else from the church. Or they would have to buy (or pick up) a cassette or CD to listen to a message or series.

For the most part, in ministry you would show up in peoples' lives occasionally at best.

Now, you can show up in a person's life every time someone checks their phone courtesy of social media, email, your app, your podcast, and more.

I realize that's a double-edged sword. There are definitely people you don'twant showing up in your life every day.

But I'm guessing there are some people you'd really appreciate hearing from regularly.

What if your church became one of them?

What if people were genuinely thankful to hear from you during the week?

See…you and I have moved from a world in which we had the ability to encourage people once or twice a week, to a world in which we can connect daily.

This isn't just a promotional thing (don't miss our big cheesy dinner Tuesday night!),it's a discipleship thing.

Seriously, you can gain permission to speak into people's spiritual journey regularly.

Publish helpful, useful content, and people will sign up to follow you. Don't, and of course, they'll unfollow you. The online world gives you instant feedback on whether you're helping people or not. Just check your stats.

The fix is so simple

So don't miss this simple fix. If you're publishing helpful, online content, then just make sure you mention it Sunday morning.

Behave on Sunday morning like you can help someone during the week. And the easiest way to help them, encourage them, inspire them, and inform people during the week is via social media and your online presence.

So talk about that.

This is what we say now when we welcome people at Connexus:

Welcome to church! We're so glad you're here. If you're new here, we'd love to connect! Drop by our guest services desk. We'd love to connect with you there. Today, we'll be here for about 65 minutes, sing some songs together, open up the Bible to see what it means to us today, and pray together.

We'd love to stay connected with you this week. The easiest way to do that is by following us on social media. You're welcome to take out your phones right now and follow us on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, or simply use the QR code on the card in front of you. We also love hearing from you and this is great way to keep up the conversation.

Then, during the week…help people. Encourage, inspire, and occasionally inform.

If you hand out a program or bulletin, make sure you include how to connect with you online.

And if you have a website, have a prominent place to follow your church on social media. People will connect with you 100x more on your social media platforms today than they ever will on your website.

Bottom line? If you've got any online presence, talk about it on Sunday morning. Strangely, so many churches still don't.

The change is free, easy, instant, and everyone can do it. Just change what you say when you welcome people.

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Carey Nieuwhof is a former lawyer and founding pastor of Connexus Church. He’s the author of several best-selling books, including, Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the Seven Greatest Challenges That No One Expects But Everyone Experiences. Carey speaks to leaders around the world about leadership, change and personal growth. Learn More »

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