Have you ever invited someone to church? Maybe you picked them up, walked them through the door and sat with them through the service. If you have, then you know how nerve wracking it can be. All of your focus is on your guest. Did everyone speak to them? Was everyone friendly? Is the pastor going to give another message on giving? Sadly, I’m sure we’ve all been to churches where we wouldn’t invite our “unreached” friends. Heck, I’ve even caught myself inviting people to other churches, because the church I was attending at the time was so flaky.

At our most recent Launch Team Meeting, my challenge to our team was to act as if
everyone who walked through the door was their own personal guest. Not just “a” guest, but “their” guest. And not just any guest, the kind of guest that only will only come to church once. As a church, every Sunday may be someone’s “one shot” at getting their friends to come. These people are sometimes risking their friendships in order to get the “one shotters” in our doors. What an awesome responsibility we have to them! The way in which we handle it says everything about our church and us as individuals. Were we friendly enough? Did the Pastor say the right things? Was the media on target? Were the people friendly? How was the music? Were the people friendly? See a pattern yet? Reaching “one shotters” (patent pending) is as much (if not more so) about how they “feel” once they cross the first threshold as it is inside the auditorium.

So, how does your church make it’s “one shotters” feel welcome?