Saturday 3 December 2016

Welcoming to Worship--How to Do It

Welcome

This is my format for the Welcome to Sunday worship
  • ·         Doxological Greeting
  • ·         Welcome visitors
    • Fill out the Welcome Card
    • Don’t be shy—reach out to the members
    • Exhortation
    • Post-service Fellowship
  • ·         Who We Are
  • ·         What to Expect
  • ·         Short prayer for visitors

Welcoming the congregation to worship affords good ministerial opportunities. First, it sets the tone for the worship service. This is well illustrated by the way that that radio talk show hosts or late night talk show hosts energize their audiences at the start of the program. The worst welcomes are the dull, lifeless, and unconsidered “Good morning” utterances, which are designed to elicit the obligatory response, “Good morning.” The congregation does so with equal dullness.
In contrast, our first words to the congregation should be inspirational and doxological, perhaps something like, “Blessed be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who has gathered us together in the name of his Son Jesus, who was crucified, buried, and risen from the dead in power and great glory.” The creative worship leader should prepare the welcome in advance, crafting a welcome that is appropriate for the People of God.
While worship leaders should formally welcome everyone, the emphasis should be on welcoming visitors. Visitors are often a bit unnerved by their unfamiliarity with a church. Worship leaders should speak words to reinforce visitors’ decision to attend and put their minds at ease. Be sure also to give a word of exhortation, encouraging visitors to grow spiritually or to get involved with the congregation, etc. Alert them to after worship fellowship opportunities.
Part of any welcoming is asserting to the visitors who the congregation is. Baptist theology teaches that the local congregation is nothing less than the People of God. The descriptor needs expansion. I suggest a four-point expansion, each reinforcing sermonic points. The first two points might recall
the previous week’s sermon, and the latter two might anticipate the sermon to be preached that day. Here is the “Who We Are” segment for one of my service in a sermon series on Philippians:

·         Who we are: First Baptist Church, the People of God
o   A people that has been granted the privilege of participating and sharing in the Gospel of Christ
o   A people that has been filled with a joy unspeakable, so that whether we are in chains for the sake of the gospel, or defending and confirming it, our joy overflows
o   A people united in Christ so that, despite the diversity of our backgrounds, perspectives, and cultures, we stand firm as one, contending for the gospel
o   A people confident that he who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete in until the day of Christ

The “Who We Are” segment not only introduces the congregation to the visitors, but it also casts a vision of the congregation’s identity, which is exhortational.
The Welcome should inform the congregation of anything unusual that has been planned. If it is a Communion service, make note of it; likewise, announce special speakers or musicians, etc. I often joke that we will not be handling snakes today.
The Welcome usually takes 3-4 minutes, and should be concluded with a very brief prayer for the visitors.