The church was packed as an usher found room for us to sit. We were on vacation and had heard it was Visitor’s Day at this particular church, so we decided to visit. We sat sandwiched between other worshippers, curious as to what would make their Visitor’s Day remarkable. The most memorable part of the experience was how we were greeted.
Nobody said hello. One woman attempted to grab my baby for a cuddle, without even so much as a smile and was unsuccessful. There were a few smiles exchanged. But in a facility full of hundreds of people, it was disappointing to see that no one would even greet us.
We can learn from the experiences of others. We can choose to do things differently at Henderson Highway Church. Each opportunity to smile, greet and interact with a guest is an opportunity for them to meet Jesus through us. A great way to ensure everyone gets noticed is to apply the ‘Circle of Ten’.
Let’s picture ourselves each standing in the middle of a 10-foot hula hoop. With a hoop that wide, those ten feet are bound to bump into someone else. In a full sanctuary, we will each bump into many someones. What if we got into the habit of greeting everyone who came within our hula hoop range? Look behind, in front, to the left and to the right. Those are the people to share a warm smile with, a handshake, a simple greeting.
The beauty of the ‘Circle of Ten’ is that everyone is working with the same range. The person next to you, the leader up front, the child in the parents’ room–we are all in the middle of a 10-foot hoop too. This creates overlap so that no one is isolated.
Let’s take time to greet everyone who comes within our circle, particularly those we don’t know well. This will ensure that they are noticed and welcomed.
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This is part of our Practicing Hospitality series. Visit the introduction page to read the other articles in the series.
