Greeters and Pastor Meetings: Top Ways to Welcome Guests at Churches
April 16, 2025
A survey conducted by Lifeway Research is shedding light on the most effective ways for U.S. Protestant churches to make guests feel welcome.
Christianity Daily reports that the survey of 1,003 Protestant pastors took place last year between August 8 and September 3 and examined which methods of welcoming visitors worked best.
The most popular practices, according to the survey, were having greeters at church entrances and providing guests with an opportunity to meet with the pastor after the service. 91% of the pastors surveyed expressed their support for these methods.
The least popular method of welcoming guests was asking them to stand during the worship service, a practice supported by only 16% of the churches surveyed.
Four out of five churches said they ask guests to fill out a printed card for follow-up, while 38% said they use an online form and 28% have books in the pews to provide visitor information.
More than half the pastors said that they host information sessions where newcomers can learn more about the church or set aside time during worship services for regular attendees to welcome guests.
According to Christianity Daily, roughly 41% of the churches surveyed say they provide gifts for new attendees, including mugs or cups, pens, books, gift bags and baskets or food and drink items.
The survey also revealed that church size plays a role in how newcomers are greeted with larger congregations of 250 or more tending to have greeters in the parking lot while smaller churches, with 50 members or less, are less likely to have greeters.
The study shows an apparent decrease in welcoming practices compared to just a few years ago.
Scott McConnell, the executive director of Lifeway Research said, “As churches’ attendance slowly rebounded after COVID, many of the ‘new’ people were simply being welcomed back. As guests today are likely first-time guests, churches will have to once again prioritize communicating with them well.”
Photo: top, Credit: Unsplash/Sam Balye