The visitior has become what I have been training myself to spot wherever i go (correction, I picked this up in Victory Outreach San Diego). Everyone there is trained to spot the new comer…and the goal is to keep at least one out of every four visitors…pretty great goal if you ask me. My next blog is going to be about what I learned on our texas crusade (Austin, San Antonio, Houston)…but this really stood out as well. How important is the visitor to me? Do i go out of my way to make the visitor feel welcomed? Do I do more than enough or do I stop at only what i have to do? How much of a priority is it for me to spot, welcome, connect and plug in the new comer? I’m learning that for Church Growth…it’s very important. Read the following anonymous poem and leave your comments.
“I never complain. I never create a scene. When I go to church, I never offer an objection if the usher leads me down the long isle to the front seat, while all the members of the church crowd the back seats and fix their curious gaze on my embarrassed march. No, I just take my seat. I’m a nice visitor, I never growl aloud while I have to push by and walk over the feet of selfish church members who hog the aisle seats and would not move out of their favorite places if it meant the salvation of a soul. Oh no, I just sit down meekly. I’m the ideal church stranger, I never reprimand young people who sit behind me chewing gum, whispering and giggling. Oh no, I’m too polite for that.
At the close of the services as I walk toward the door, I never make a scene if nobody speaks to me or shakes my hand. No, they gather in little cliques ad don’t bother me. I’m the nice visitor to the church.
And I’ll tell you what else I am- I’m the stranger who never comes back. That’s my little revenge for not being welcomed, I know when I’m not wanted. I can sense when the church members are cliquish and unfriendly. I can tell when they lack interest in the spiritual welfare of the visitors. I, of course am too cultured and too nice to say anything, I just go to some other friendly, more hospitable, and more spiritual church – or don’t go to church at all. I wouldn’t make a complaint – I’m a nice visitor. I just don’t go back. And there are millions of us who could be reached by a little hospitality and warmth. Are you just a nice complacent church member, or are you genuinely concerned about the spiritual condition of a stranger and visitor?”
ROB & BIG [dreams] 