[0:00]
G'day and welcome to the one thing. We're going to take a little bit of a break over summer and we'll be back mid-January. In the meantime, we thought we would play some of the episodes that you thought were the best. Enjoy.

[0:30]
We're going to take a little bit of a break over summer and we'll be back mid-January.

[1:00]
We do, we do. Because you have pressed play on another episode of one thing we're calling this one welcoming where churches get it wrong and how to fix it. Today's podcast is brought to you by KidsWayers Academy. The KidsWayers Academy is an online platform that seeks to equip people in discipling kids. The Academy is a flexible platform that offers courses for both parents and volunteers. Why not explore the growing number of courses in the KidsWayers Academy today? Head to the website kidswayers.com.au.

[1:32]
And now back to the podcast. Well, if that is not a clickbaitable title, where churches get it wrong and how to fix it. I feel like we're going to give some of the answers today and speak about some of the areas you want to push into as you think about your integration and welcoming culture in church life. But can I just say online resource library, there's a whole bunch of resources we look to be stacks. We looked at this topic a few years ago and also there's a whole bunch of resources across the network.

[2:02]
I reckon it's always good to go and chat with someone else who's doing something similar. So I know it sounds like I started with the toolbox but I want to keep saying we've got lots of excellent people thinking about this space across the network. It's so important to get it right, isn't it? Because we've got a lot of well, let's start there Scott. Theologically speaking, what is behind the idea of welcoming people to church? Well, I kind of start with Acts 2, just that kind of picture of our life together. And I think that's what we're wanting to see in a church space and it seems like it's ideal.

[2:35]
Everyone shared as I had resource but they met regularly. There's a sense that they enjoyed hanging out with each other, gathering together. So we're talking about our life together and we're also talking about hospitality as well. So just a few verses kind of stick out for me. Hebrews 13, too, do not neglect to show hospitality. Now it's interesting that the ride of Hebrews has to point that out. But we ought not neglect hospitality. One Peter 4-9. Show hospitality again.

[3:07]
And Peter points out without grumbling. And then the last space that I kind of want to go to is Romans 12-9, where it's actually gift in the church. So just recognising that there are some people who are better at hospitality than others is the thing that I want to point out. Just as there are some who are better at generosity and administration and teaching. I think hospitality is one of those rare gifts. So if you find that person who just knows how to create vibe and welcome people to their home. I just love it. The heart of that word for hospitality is the concept of love of strangers.

[3:41]
That's actually what our God is like. He's a lover of strangers. And we're of course a stranger from him because of our sin. But he loves us and welcomes us. And of course for us to then run church in a way that's not loving towards strangers would just be completely out of place. So yeah, that was kind of the final place I was going to wear. It's got to come from an expression of the gospel and overflow of the gracious, slavish love that we've been given to Jesus. And our church is ought to be those places. And in some senses this is kind of where that ecosystem thinking works so well.

[4:15]
So if we do have this welcoming culture, we have this rich life together. That order overflow into our love for each other, our love for God. Order overflow into our mission space. People want to be part of this church that demonstrates and has this life. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well let's think about it Scott. Where did churches or head wrong? How is it possible for churches to get welcoming wrong? I've got a few things to sort of talk about.

[4:45]
I guess firstly just not thinking about welcoming at all. So we talk regularly about you want to be warm and you want to be deliberate. I think a lot of churches actually aren't deliberate about this. Now that's because the average Christian I think walks in a church. They'll come to church. They'll walk over hot coals to come to church. You know if they're in the habit, this is what we do. They'll go to church whatever they don't care if they get an art that's biscuit. They don't care if they get welcomed at the door. In fact they know where their seat is. They know what to expect. But unfortunately that's not the average person often come in a church.

[5:16]
So I think we become comfortable. I think we just forget about our first experience in this space. And so the first thing is not thinking about welcoming at all. I reckon one of the things that plays into that is when a church is planted they are so hungry to keep any newcomer that comes. They really pay a lot of attention into what's it like to be a newcomer here. But I wonder if sometimes for established churches once they get beyond that viability stage that they value the newcomer less.

[5:46]
Which is a real shame because we go into sovereignty. He's bringing every single person to our church who ever comes each week. So God in his sovereignty has deliberately got this person amongst you. And you really want to be just as hungry for the very first newcomer you a church had. Just as much as a thousand newcomers you've had because behind it is the God who's brought them anyway. And we've got to move. We've still got to be hungry no matter how viable our church is for anyone who arrives. I reckon there's a danger here Scott in of what I would call satisfactory under performance in a welcoming space

[6:22]
where churches who have got beyond the viability stage get comfortable. We have a lovely crowd here. We like these people. If this newcomer doesn't come or doesn't have a great experience. Well we're viable. We love the people who are here. And it's satisfactory. Church will still keep going. We've got one level. It's not satisfactory. It's just under performance in terms of what is that the heart of issue which is just love for strangers. Yeah. There's dangers there. And I think what you're also pushing into is not only thinking about the newcomer of church.

[6:54]
But thinking in this space rightly. We're also thinking about the community life, the body life of our existing, you know, rust that on members as well. So we often talk about connection, care and community in this space. I think connection piece is often there. Pastoral care. I think most people think there's not pastoral care there often because I think it becomes acute when you actually need it. And it's not there. So you go, there's no pastoral care. The third one, community.

[7:25]
We're not often paying attention to that and realizing that it actually needs to be deliberately paid attention to. Yeah, yeah. I think it's really, really nice. Now look, thinking that welcoming is just a handshake at the door. Or is that a problem that you're seeing in churches? Well, I reckon that's the second thing to sort of push into. I think often when most people are thinking to it, they'll just think, need to say, get out of someone as they come in. They need to get a flyer or something that, you know, they can hang on to and that's kind of it.

[7:59]
But we need to be thinking about during the service, pay by upfront how they welcome us. We need to be thinking about actually being welcomed in the seats. Now, that's a culture thing, but it can also be an intentional practice of your welcoming teams as well. So, you know, someone, the person who's sitting alone, the person who's new, that, you know, the needs things explain to them, you know, particularly with kids going out or a welcoming section in the middle. So, again, that's an upfront thing, but also a deliberate alongside thing.

[8:31]
And then I guess the third thing that I think's often forgotten is, well, we've done the handshake at the front door and seat get a, but actually after the service, we want to again be intentional as well. So, is the welcoming warm? Is it deliberate? And you need to be thinking, I always say from car park to car park. So, as a person's coming in, but also as they're leaving. So, after the service, is there a welcome table? Is there a clear next step for the new person, a church?

[9:01]
Hey, if you're here, we'd love you to get a grab a coffee or we'd love you to stick around and continue to fill us with us. If you want to find out more about the church, go over here, go and meet this person. So, the job of the welcomeer doesn't just finish once the handshake's been done, it should continue throughout the service. And then one final thing this space is, I think often our teams are too small. And so, we need to think about actually resourcing them and having enough people. So, think about the number of doors, think about the number of exit points.

[9:34]
That's a useful guide to how many people you might need to have. But think also about the distance between getting into the car park and getting into the church. The other thing I'd say is, think about putting someone from your mission team in your welcome team. Because they can sit next to the person who is demonstrating that they're kind of very new to church. They're often not seeing, they're not standing and sitting at the right times. Putting a mission person next to that person, I reckon is a great staff of love.

[10:05]
Just stand next to the love of the new camera among you. Yeah. Although some of those things are like, what it's like when you're actually in the building and you're coming, well, it can actually start even before they arrive, isn't it? What are you noticing about that space of welcoming? Yeah, yeah, good. So, I think the third thing to pay attention is to, actually, there's a bunch of people who, we're not welcoming because they actually know what to find. They're not what to find. So, we talk often about being the church. You know, you want to be the church so people know they don't go to.

[10:35]
I think often that happens because our website, our website, I guess our new front door of the website is not actually great. We're not able to find out about the church or find out what's expected. There's a whole episodes we can point to that can help you think about that. I think the other thing is signage. So, often I go to churches and the signage is, you know, it's overgrown. You actually can't see clearly where you meant to come. And again, it makes sense for the person who's been there time and time again.

[11:07]
But if a car park is at a distance or if there's not like a clear front door, you know, we need to fix that up. You might be listening and thinking, that's not our church, but can I say there's lots of churches that I visit. And I'm keen to be there. And even if I'm at the right location, even from the car park to the right part of the building, sometimes that's completely unclear for me and I'm left. And you feel awkward. It's just not easy to be wondering around going where actually should I be. I can remember wanting to visit a church plant.

[11:37]
And it was growing one and we were new to the area. So we were actually like, we were live. We were thinking we could join this church. We went around and around the block trying to find a car sparse. I had four young kids at that time. We were deep in prams and locking kids in car seats and things like that. And so we drove around 15 minutes and then drove back home. We literally couldn't get a seat. We are on the first wanting to walk over hot coals. So the other thing to think about is if car parks are a premium,

[12:09]
having a space for guests, encouraging your regulars to park further away. And again, all these things are culture set as their paying attention to the outsider. Well, Scott, if we're thinking about things that are going wrong or could go wrong, not thinking about welcoming at all, number one, thinking about welcoming is just being at the handshake, number two. People not even be able to find you. That's a third one. What's a fourth one? Yes, so fourthly, thinking about your building and its impact on welcoming.

[12:39]
So what's the relationship between your building and welcoming? As I've already said, you need to be thinking about resourcing your teams. They need to be thinking about entry points, exit points, how far away is the car park? You can control any amount of exit points you've got right. So that's not so easy to leave. But also, thinking about things just like doors. So we've just had a renovation at our church in Sydney, Von Church. It was a very old 1850s stone building. And you know, they sort of arched the arch door from play school.

[13:12]
That was the entrance. It's quite dark. It's quite small. There was a garden and a few other things in place. It wasn't very welcome. Now, the architect's an amazing job. They have opened up the whole space. You can see through into the building. The doors are open in terms of the welcome as they're out the front. And when it's raining, they have umbrellas so they can still be out the front and welcoming people. So they're not inside. You can actually see them and they're actually drawing you in. But the building actually has a space, you know, draws you in.

[13:45]
So four things, just real simple one. Think about the blockages that your building may have and pay attention to them. Some of them can be really quick fixes. Some of them are very costly fixes like the one that we did. Some of them also, the team things are important. The amount of churches I visit and they have what I would call a walk of shame, which is a dish that to get into the place where the service is. There's this 20, 30 meter long walk where it just feels like everyone's watching me. Whereas the brand you come here often just want to be able to get in comfortably easily.

[14:16]
Just watch if your church has a what I would call a walk of shame. Often that is a moment where you need your welcome in team walking with someone to their seat. So that it's far easier for them to actually sit down and gauge. What's a fifth one? The thing is just the team or the pastor that welcomes, it's not a church thing. So you need to be paying attention to your welcoming culture. In many ways, this is modeled by the team and it's modeled by the pastor. But what you're wanting to hopefully see happen over time is that everyone welcomes

[14:47]
but also everyone knows, hey, if you're new here, he's what you go to. Or if you're checking out Jesus, hey, we've got this great course. This is the person to speak to to find out more about how to find out about Jesus. Or he's the Bible that we give away to everyone who's new. So everyone kind of being responsible for it or being aware. And that's your welcoming culture. So paying attention to that. Yeah, absolutely. Well, look, I reckon we could keep on going. We've all sorted out. I do. I want to keep going. I've got two more.

[15:18]
Just kind of come as we go. So I'm going to add a six, not having a big enough team. I think I've said it on a couple of points, but it needs its own point as well. So not having a big enough welcoming team is what often see. We just need two people or we just need one person. What happens on the big day when it's a baptism or when it's just a big Sunday? So paying attention to those days where you know you're going to have more people so that you can actually follow up and capture people. Now, I've also talked about having mission people on that as well.

[15:50]
The other one I just want to add as well is not having a system to actually record names and get details taken follow up. Now, it can be very simple. A piece of paper is a system. A WhatsApp group, a Facebook, you know, a closed Facebook group that you share those ideas. But you need a system for getting names. A lot of churches don't have that. As I said, very, very comp, you know, simple system is a clean piece of paper which has the date at the top of the Sunday and then just name and contact data.

[16:22]
And so important, Scott, isn't it? Because when you think about welcoming, it's all about loving people and it really is hard to love someone if you can't contact them. And so how do you keep loving them? Post the event is we've got to get their details, simple as that. And so one final one is taking too long to follow up the newcomer. So you want to be doing that in the first sort of 24 or 48 hours. Now, I realize a lot of our listening audience are pastors, they're busy.

[16:53]
A key part of this is building a team of people who can do this so that it's not going to be blocked by you. And these are hard ones for pastors often to delegate and hand out because they love the ministry, they love people. They want to, you know, definitely welcome the newcomer. But again, hopefully your church is growing. Hopefully you've got more people that you can deal with. Having a number of people that you can do this means you can actually have a quick and personal as well. And often I think that comes back to that hunger isn't it? Not losing that hunger for the newcomer if you're a church plan or even if you're established church that's been going for generations.

[17:25]
That level of loving care which actually brings you hunger to contact that person as soon as you can after the Sunday. You can't underestimate the importance of that. Yeah, yeah. Now, if they're all the problems and all the issues that we're causing, what are the ideas to fix your Scott? Okay, well, we're running out of time. So as I said, this is always going to be a bumper episode. There's going to be lots of nuggets in it. Paying attention to the first sort of three minutes after the service. Scott, could you, I reckon that should be checked to the first 30 seconds. Don't worry about three minutes. It needs to be 30 seconds after the service.

[17:56]
What needs to happen in the first 30 seconds? So again, reminding congregation to have a conversation with someone to catch up. So an actually giving permission. And it might be helpful every say five to six weeks to say, go and find someone you don't know. Again, you're giving permission to people to have those awkward conversations. Have you been coming here a long time? I actually don't know your name. So give permission to do that. But in that first 30 seconds as well, point people to awards the next step.

[18:26]
Hey, welcome table. We'd love you to stick around for a cup of tea. I have like a 35 minute rule. If there's lots of people hanging around after 35 minutes, for me, I go out. These guys have paid attention to actually their culture. They're welcoming culture. Yeah, that's 36. That's what I harp on on it just to leave it more going. Just imagine you sat down in silence at the end of the service for 30 seconds and you're in newcomer and no one spoke to you. That is a really awkward length of time. This is a key ministry of a church that you've really got in it. In small group ministries, people could do that in for decades.

[18:58]
People serving under music team, they can do that for years. Your team around welcoming newcomers has got a window of 30 seconds or a minute before the service start. Or we've had someone first arrives. And that's 30 seconds after a service finishes. They've got to get that ministry right every week. And I've got 30 seconds to get it right. Really critical to get that done well. Two final things. Every six months walk through the visitor experience from the perspective of a new person.

[19:28]
So we'll put a link in the show notes to a couple of secret chopper forms for you to look at. But every six months I reckon it's worthwhile for the welcoming team. Just to think through, you know, to relook at signs, to think about some blockages. But, you know, do that. And you can also walk through that experience by actually speaking to people who have recently joined the church. What was your experience like? So actually asking new people who have joined the church. They've obviously stuck. Something's happened that has caused them to do that.

[19:58]
So ask them. Final one. Visit another church to know what it's like to be a newcomer. Especially on your holidays. I would especially with, you know, onboarding new people to welcoming teams. Encourage them to at least think into that space about what it feels like. But also encourage them to, you know, step out and do the awkward thing. Holize a great time. I remember exactly what it's like to be a newcomer and bring that to your own church and try and make the best possible experience you can. Okay, Scott. It's still one thing.

[20:28]
What's the one thing people need to know about welcoming well in church? Well, it's going to be a principle. Be warm and deliberate. What's in the toolbox? Well, as I said, we've got a whole bunch of resources on the online resource library. So check the show notes. You'll be able to pick up a whole bunch of resources. I talked about that secret shopper form as well. Again, a really useful form. Over four pages will look from your website. Get you to think about your toilets. A whole bunch of stuff that you just kind of forget as well.

[21:00]
And a third resource. A consult. One of the key parts of the consult that we do is a secret shopper experience. And I reckon that's a really useful part of our consult. That you actually get a sense of someone actually coming in and helping you think about all those things. Excellent. Look, if you have a topic that you'd love us to cover here at the one thing, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at resources at reachAustralia.com.au. It's been great having you on board listing today. I'm Peter Blanche.

[21:30]
I'm Scott Sanders. Chat soon.