I was encouraged and inspired reading the pastor’s note in the Green Bay Church newsletter this month. Pastor Titus Naftanaila shared some simple yet practical tips for making our church family friendlier, and all of us can be blessed, and be a blessing, by acting on them.
One statement he made stood out to me, “No church is automatically friendly. We normally are shy to meet new people and we are friendlier with people whom we know already.” That is certainly true, and we all can do better at being more aware of others around us.
Here are the great ideas Pastor Titus shared for building a friendlier church:
1 Take your time before and after the service to meet and greet someone you have never met before. Introduce yourself to them and discover something about them. Don’t apologize you did not do it before. Just mention your interest to know them better at this time. We all have someone we never talked to, even if we noticed them frequently.
2 Introduce someone you know to others. You are the best person to introduce them to the pastor, the elders, or other church members. A guest or a newcomer needs several new friends in order to consider our church a home church.
3 Invite them to attend or be part of a small group such as Sabbath School, a study group, and/or a social event. Small groups should never replace the church, but they can provide an excellent opportunity for deeper socializing, vulnerability, and spiritual development.
4 Follow up with them. Make a phone call, send a text, reach out to them on social media, send a card. Reach out to them and make them feel both desired and valuable.
Next Sabbath morning, let’s start doing this, and begin creating a friendlier church for the uplifting of God’s work.
Juanita Edge, Communication Director