5 Mistakes You're Making With Your Guest Services - Episode 304
Jul 12, 2023
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A podcast discusses the common mistakes made in guest services at churches. They emphasize the need for intentional hospitality and having dedicated leadership for guest services. They also highlight the importance of post-service hospitality for engagement. The hosts share valuable insights from conducting secret shopper visits to over 100 churches. They discuss the significance of low commitment steps to engage new visitors and mention a secret chopper service provided by the unstuck group.
Creating a welcoming atmosphere is crucial for growing churches, with a focus on positive first impressions and engaging experiences for first-time guests.
Clear leadership and designated teams are essential for effective guest services, ensuring consistency and intentionality.
Churches should prioritize creating a culture of hospitality where everyone actively engages with guests, making them feel seen, valued, and welcomed.
Deep dives
Importance of a Warm, Intentional Guest Experience
Creating a warm and intentional guest experience is crucial for growing churches. It is one of the two key areas that set growing churches apart from others. Churches should prioritize creating a positive first impression and an engaging experience for first-time guests. This includes having welcoming greeters, clear signage, and creating an environment that is friendly and inviting. By focusing on the guest experience, churches can create a welcoming atmosphere that encourages guests to return and invites them to get connected.
Mistake: Lack of Leadership in Guest Services
One common mistake in guest services is the lack of clear leadership. Many churches fail to have a specific leader and a designated team responsible for guest services. When no one takes ownership, the hospitality experience can be inconsistent and lack intentionality. In order to have effective guest services, churches need a leader who will create a hospitality team and set expectations for engagement. Additionally, church leaders should pay attention to the post-service hospitality, as it is a crucial opportunity to engage with guests.
Mistake: Being Friendly but Not Welcoming
Being friendly within the church community is different from creating a welcoming atmosphere for guests. It is important for churches to prioritize creating a culture of hospitality where everyone aims to engage with people they don't know. Friendliness should extend beyond church members interacting with each other. Churches need to train and equip their members to actively engage with guests, making them feel seen, valued, and welcomed. This includes training volunteers, providing clear guidelines, and creating opportunities for guests to connect and have meaningful conversations.
Mistake: Insufficient Team Size and Visibility
Having a sufficient number of volunteers and making them easily identifiable is crucial for effective guest services. Churches should ensure that they have enough team members in various areas, such as parking, door greeters, welcome desks, and ushers. Additionally, volunteers should wear identifiable attire or lanyards to make it easier for guests to approach them for assistance. A well-staffed and visible team helps create a positive first impression and a welcoming environment that encourages guests to feel comfortable and supported.
Preparing for Young Families with Kids
Churches need to prepare and cater to the specific needs of young families with children. This includes creating appealing and safe environments for children's ministry that are fun, engaging, gospel-centered, and organized. Decor and ambiance should be child-friendly, and safety measures, such as secure check-in processes, should be in place. Understanding the importance of children's ministry in attracting families, churches should invest in creating an experience that kids enjoy, which in turn, helps parents feel more confident and comfortable.
A positive guest experience is one of the key areas that sets growing, healthy churches apart.
That's why, this week, we'll continue our series on common mistakes churches make on the weekend with a conversation around creating an intentional guest services experience. This Episode is Sponsored by BELAY It’s easy to feel like we have to do it all. But doing it all is not only impossible—it’s a recipe for burnout. If you feel like you’re overwhelmed trying to do it all, BELAY can help: BELAY is a modern church staffing organization with fractional, U.S.-based Accounting and Virtual Assistant services. They’ve spent over a decade helping busy leaders just like you accomplish more and juggle less. To help you learn what you can start delegating today, BELAY is offering a free resource for our audience, the Top 25 Tasks a Pastor Can Delegate to an Assistant. (Message and data rates may apply. Terms & privacy: slkt.io/4OdL.) For the full episode transcript, links mentioned during the show, and to download the Leader Conversation Guide, visit this episode's Show Notes at theunstuckgroup.com/episode304. Join the Live Conversation on Social Media
If you're listening on Wednesday when the episode first releases, join the live conversation The Unstuck Group's team will be having on social media about this week's topic. We use hashtag #unstuckchurch on Twitter. Or you can join in on Facebook.
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