Practical Church Newsletter ⛪️

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In order to make new guests at your church feel welcome, you need to acknowledge that they are there. At the same time, you need to do it in a way that doesn’t make them feel called out or awkward.

Remember, no matter the size of your church, most new people will think, or at least feel, like they are the only new person there. Acknowledging new guests lets them know that you expect people just like them to be there.

The best way to do this is to include this in your announcement slot every week (ideally your first announcement).

Here is a practical way to do it:

Ensure you have a graphic on your screen(s) that is explicitly for them. Below is what we use every week at New City.

The following is the basic script we use (and yes, we say the same thing every week). Feel free to adapt and use it for how it best suits your church.

Welcome to New City Church. My name is [speaker name] and I serve on the [name of serve team, or staff position, etc. Give some reference for who you are]. And I just to welcome you and say thanks for spending your Sunday morning with us at New City.

In the seat back in front of you, you’ll notice this connect card [our speaker always brings the connect card with them for announcements]. We invite you to fill this out, and after the service you can drop it off at the teal table in the lobby. If you prefer to do it digitally, you can text NCCconnect to 97000.

After the service, I’ll trade you a Chick-fil-A gift card for your filled-out connect card and answer any questions you may have.

Also, we know finding a new church can be hard. You don’t know anyone, you might not know the songs, and you can feel out of place. So you encourage you to Try 3 at New City. I want to invite you to come back three times to New City Church because we know it is hard to get to know a church in one Sunday.

After three weeks, you’ll know if this is the church for you.

The Practical Church podcast will return next Wednesday, May 8, on an every-other-week basis. In the weeks in between episodes, the Practical Church newsletter will be sent out giving you more practical tips and resources.

Next week on the podcast I’ll share 7 ways to increase giving at your church. Not yet subscribed? Do so below so you can get the episodes sent right to you.

To submit a question for a future podcast episode, click here.

Do the sources of information I expose myself to each day support the type of lifestyle I want or distract me from it?

More Resources to help you in ministry 🙌

Here are more ways you can get the help you need:

1. Join the Practical Church Facebook group. Connect with 2,300+ pastors and ministry leaders to get help and feedback from others.

2. Check out Mission Support so you can enjoy being a pastor again.

3. Click here to submit a ministry question to be answered on a future Practical Church Podcast episode.

P.S. How do we know Peter was a rich fisherman?

By his net income.

Want more from me? You can connect with me online on Twitter/X and Instagram.