Every Sunday morning, dozens of volunteers in red t-shirts arrive early to services at Providence. Men, women, and children gather for a time of prayer before they take their posts at the front doors, the first-time guest table, the coffee bar, and the doors to the worship center. They’re ready with a welcome and a smile for all who enter.
The distinctive red shirts mark these brothers and sisters as members of the hospitality team. But the church’s call to welcome and extend hospitality isn’t only for those in uniform. Even if you’ve never worn the red shirt or a lanyard with your name, you, too, are a member of this team!
In her helpful little book, Welcome: Loving Your Church by Making Space for Everyone, author Jen Oshman suggests that every church member is a greeter. In the same way that every member of the church is sent out as a missionary, every member enters the church as a greeter. As we gather together as the people of God, we welcome others into the gathering.
Paul gives this instruction to the church at Rome in Romans 15:7: “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” This welcome isn’t a superficial greeting, because it’s rooted first in the welcome that’s been extended to us. So before we turn to welcoming one another, can I encourage you first to meditate on how Christ has welcomed all those who put their faith in him?
Jesus Christ has welcomed us into the eternal fellowship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are embraced in the love that the Father has had for the Son since before the foundation of the world (John 17:20-26), because by faith we are united with the Son! We are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19). We are members of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:26). We have received adoption as sons and heirs (Gal. 4:4-7).
Jesus secured our welcome by giving up his very life. We who were once strangers and far off have now “been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:12-13). He gave freely, generously, and sacrificially to welcome us into a restored relationship with God and fellowship with one another.
Brothers and sisters, if we’ve been welcomed in this way, then Paul’s command to welcome one another takes on a new weight. It’s our joy and privilege to welcome one another! We aren’t welcoming other believers into a private club or society, but through our greetings, our hugs, and our handshakes, we get to embody the welcome that is already theirs! We welcome one another as brothers and sisters, as fellow sons and daughters and co-heirs, as fellow citizens, and as members of the same body. And for the unbelievers in our midst, our welcome is an invitation to respond in faith to the welcome that Christ extends.
Our Sunday gatherings are a weekly opportunity to welcome one another freely, generously, and sacrificially, as Christ has welcomed us. But what does that look like, practically speaking? How do we all embrace our role on the hospitality team?
Draft your “rules of engagement.”
Author Rebecca McLaughlin shares three simple “rules of engagement” that govern her family’s approach to welcoming:
- An alone person in our gatherings is an emergency.
- Friends can wait.
- Introduce a newcomer to someone else.
These rules aren’t inspired, but they are intentional rules for family life. This family has taken time to consider together how they’re going to welcome others. They’re looking out for and moving toward those who are alone. They’re prioritizing welcoming those who are alone or new – not because friends are unimportant, but because there’s other time in their calendar for friends. And they’re helping to widen the circle of relationships, inviting other church members into the role of greeter.
Your rules of engagement may look different, but take the time to work through simple principles you can keep in mind. Who can you move toward? What sacrifices might you need to make to prioritize welcoming others?
Get others involved.
As you’re drafting your rules of engagement, talk through them with your family, your friends, and your community group. If you tend to talk with the same group of people on Sunday mornings, commit together to look beyond your circle. As you meet newcomers, look around for others you can introduce them to. Remember, we’re all members of the hospitality team and all called to welcome one another. So don’t do it alone!
Welcome beyond the church walls.
Our fellowship may begin within the walls of the church building, but it doesn’t end there. Genuine hospitality is quickly becoming a lost art in our culture, so consider how meaningful an invitation into your home could be. Generously and sacrificially welcoming one another may look like putting soup in the crock pot on Sunday morning and inviting a new family over for lunch. It may look like inviting a few new friends to gather for coffee, or perhaps it’s simply inviting the newcomer you just met to visit your community group.
Start with prayer.
Let’s learn from our hospitality team, who start their Sundays with a time of prayer. As you prepare to gather with the church on Sunday mornings, take time first to rejoice that Christ has freely, generously, and sacrificially welcomed you. Pray that the welcome you’ve received would overflow in the welcome you extend on Sunday morning. Ask the Spirit to guide your conversations and to give you eyes to see those who need the tangible reminder that they have been welcomed by Christ.
All this for the glory of God.
One of my prayers for Providence Church is that we would grow as a welcoming church and that the ranks of our hospitality team would grow as each member embraces his or her role as a greeter. But Romans 15:7 reminds us of the greater goal: “Welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” The end goal here is not good Google reviews or being known as friendly people. The goal is that God would be glorified as we welcome one another! May the welcome we extend point to the joy and satisfaction that we have because we have been welcomed by Christ.
