W.A.C. stands for Welcome and Conciliation. WAC is a church plant that is trying to reach people who wouldn’t otherwise go to church: the broken, the poor, the lost, and the hopeless. We know that God has called us to be a blessing to our community and that it’s not about us but rather about glorifying Him by serving others and being His hands and feet. Since we started, we’ve done that through street evangelism, food distribution, neighborhood cleanups, and more. But most importantly, we’ve been teaching people about Jesus’ love for them and inviting them into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
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Welcome Acronym For Church
w e l c o m e letter meaning
The welcome acronym for the church is a tool that churches can use to guide their approach to welcoming newcomers and creating a warm and inclusive environment for all. Each letter in the acronym represents a word that highlights a key aspect of the church’s welcoming efforts.
W - Willingness to Serve: The first letter of the welcome acronym reminds us of the importance of having a heart willing to serve others. By embracing a servant mindset, church members can actively look for opportunities to welcome and assist newcomers in any way possible.
E – Embracing Diversity: The second letter encourages the church community to embrace diversity. In today’s society, churches welcome people from various cultural backgrounds, races, and life experiences. By embracing and appreciating these differences, the church can create an atmosphere where everyone feels valued and accepted.
L – Love in Action: Love is a central theme in Christianity, and it should be evident in the way the church welcomes newcomers. The third letter reminds us to put love into action by extending kindness, compassion, and genuine care to those who enter the church’s doors. Welcoming others with love reflects God’s love for humanity.
C – Connection: The fourth letter represents the importance of building connections within the church community. Welcoming newcomers goes beyond just greeting them; it involves creating opportunities for them to connect with others, find support, and build meaningful relationships that foster spiritual growth.
O – Open Hearts: Having open hearts refers to maintaining an attitude of openness and acceptance towards newcomers. It means approaching each person with a non-judgmental mindset and making them feel safe to share their stories, struggles, and joys without fear of being judged or rejected.
M – Ministry of Hospitality: Hospitality is a ministry that all church members can participate in. It involves creating an inviting atmosphere for newcomers, offering assistance, and making them feel at home. By actively engaging in the ministry of hospitality, the church demonstrates Christ’s love to all who enter its doors.
E – Encouragement: The next letter reminds us to provide encouragement to newcomers. Starting a new journey in a church community can be intimidating, and encouragement plays a vital role in helping newcomers feel supported and motivated. By providing words of encouragement and offering resources to aid in their spiritual growth, the church can empower newcomers on their faith journey.
Church greetings and welcome: In addition to the welcome acronym, churches often have specific greetings and welcome messages to make newcomers feel valued and at ease. These greetings can range from a warm handshake or hug to a simple smile and friendly hello. By extending a genuine welcome, the church sets the tone for a positive and inclusive worship experience.
Welcome speech for church revival: Church revivals are special events focused on spiritual awakening, and a welcome speech sets the tone for the revival’s atmosphere. Using the welcome acronym during the speech can emphasize the church’s commitment to hospitality, love, and connection during this time of renewal and growth.
Welcome speech for church youth program: Youth programs are an essential part of a church’s ministry, and a welcome speech helps set the stage for a positive and engaging experience. Incorporating the welcome acronym into the speech highlights the church’s willingness to serve, embrace diversity, and encourage and support the spiritual growth of young people.
Sabbath welcome Bible verse: The Bible provides many verses that emphasize the importance of welcoming others and extending love and hospitality. One such verse is Hebrews 13:2, which says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing, some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” This verse reminds the church of the significance of welcoming newcomers and the potential blessing that awaits when extending hospitality.
Welcome Acronym For Church FAQ:
What is the meaning of the welcome acronym for the church?
The welcome acronym stands for:
- W - Willingness to Serve
- E – Embracing Diversity
- L – Love in Action
- C – Connection
- O – Open Hearts
- M - Ministry of Hospitality
- E – Encouragement
How can we embrace diversity in the church?
Embracing diversity means valuing and appreciating the differences in the people who come to the church. It involves creating an environment where individuals from various cultural backgrounds, races, and life experiences feel included and accepted.
Bible verse: Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This verse reminds us that in Christ, we are all part of one body and highlights the importance of unity and inclusivity.
What is the role of the ministry of hospitality in the church?
The ministry of hospitality involves creating an environment where newcomers feel welcomed and included. It includes actions such as greeting newcomers, offering assistance, and making them feel at home in the church. Every member of the church can participate in the ministry of hospitality and reflect Christ’s love to all who enter.
Bible verse: 1 Peter 4:9 – ”Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” This verse encourages believers to extend hospitality willingly and without complaint, highlighting the selfless nature of this ministry.
Welcome Acronym For Church
The speech is sincere and brief and will be easily understood by those who hear it.
All the possibly tricky issues are covered
Although it might appear simple, the speech covers a number of potentially complex issues succinctly.
These are:
offering a welcome freely, regardless of the visitor’s motivation. That is “just looking,” or seriously considering the church as fitting their needs.
removing unspoken questions by giving a clear statement about what’s at the heart of the church. The visitor does not have to guess. They have something solid to base their decision-making process on.
giving an invitation to discuss issues personally.
For example: “… so if you ever feel like just another number, we’re doing something wrong and I give you permission to tell me about it.”
The implication of that invitation is powerful. The message it gives is: “You are valuable. I care, we care, enough about you to give you time. I am not above or better than you. You are free to tell me where I have gone wrong.”
providing a clear means of creating a connection. E.g., “Fill out one of our connect cards” or by completing a prayer request.
having a welcoming pack to give to visitors. It’s something tangible they can take away that contains the church’s essential details and contacts. (In this speech, it’s a “bulletin”.)
looking into the future, anticipating what’s ahead if the invitation to join is accepted
honoring the guest: “Allow us to serve you.”
You’re welcome to take it, shape and change it to fit your needs.
Church welcome speech sample
I want to take a moment to extend a very warm welcome to everyone who’s visiting us for the first time this morning. Whether you’re just having a look or are searching for a place to worship, we’re delighted to have you here.
To give you some idea of what we’re all about, I’ll quickly sketch some of our foundational beliefs.
Our vision says this: Getting and growing people in relationship with Jesus.
So first, we’re all about Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus was who he said he was—the Son of God who came and died for our sins. So if this is your first time in church, we hope that you get to know Him as we do, because He’s truly what life is all about for us!
Image: Quote – Every person who walks through our doors is important to us, so if you ever feel like just another number, we’re doing something wrong and I give you permission to tell me
about it.
Secondly we’re all about people. Every person who walks through our doors is important to us, so if you ever feel like just another number, we’re doing something wrong and I give you permission to tell me about it.
As a group of God’s people we care about you and your family and we’re here not only to feed you spiritually but to help in any way we can. We love doing it and it’s why we exist!
Image-Quote: We hope to cultivate and grow meaningful and positive relationships with others, but we also go further by getting and growing in relationship with God.
Thirdly, we’re all about relationships. We hope to cultivate and grow meaningful and positive relationships with one another, but we also go further by getting and growing in relationship with God. Christianity is all about a Person, and less about a set of rules. That means that we exist to be in a relationship with someone, that’s Jesus, and merely not to obey a religion.
That’s us in a nutshell!
I want to encourage you to fill out one of our connect cards that you’ll find in the bulletin you got when you came in. Just write your name and e-mail or phone number on there, since we’d love to stay in touch with you and let you know about some exciting upcoming events we’re planning for the next few months.
Also, if you’ve got a specific prayer request, please take the courage to write it down on that same piece of paper (there’s a space for it), and put it in the prayer box at the back of this room when you leave.
We’d love to pray for you, but if you don’t ask us, there’s nothing for us to pray for, so I encourage you to make use of this opportunity and allow us to serve you in this way.
Enjoy the rest of your worship time with us, and God bless you!
About this example speech
Leon Potgieter, a devout Christian, wrote this sample of a brief welcome speech to the church. At the time he gave it to me to share, he, like me, owned and ran a website offering public speaking help.
Other useful resources
Here are three more valuable resources to help with church-centered communications:
A study (Jan. 2012) by the Barna Group
revealed that nearly seven out of 10 respondents (68%) said when they attend church they feel “part of a group of people who are united in their beliefs and who take care of each other in practical ways.”
It’s very interesting reading.
Church Welcome Verses
Our God is a welcoming God. He welcomes anyone and everyone who believes in Jesus into His family. While He lived on earth, Jesus always welcomed anyone into His presence or to wherever He was preaching at the time.
With Jesus as our example, we should never be shy about welcoming others. Whether it’s welcoming friends into our home, visitors into our church, or just saying hello to a stranger on the street, as Christians we should display the welcoming attitude of God.
To help you study this welcoming attitude of God, here are seven Bible verses to get you started:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28
This verse epitomizes God’s welcoming attitude. This reminder was written to the early church. It went against their culture to welcome people different from themselves (Greeks, slaves, etc.) – just like in today’s world, there are some people we might find it hard to welcome based on our cultural expectations. But if someone is a believer in Christ, they are the same as we are, and should be welcomed.
“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” Matthew 5:46-48
This verse is about welcoming everyone, not just fellow Christians. This does not contradict the previous example, though; if anything, it takes the welcoming concept to the next logical step. It’s easy to welcome those like us (other Christians), but what about those who are so different that they’re not even believers? Welcoming those who have nothing in common with us should be one of the distinguishing marks of Christians.
“When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.” Luke 9:11
If we’re to follow Jesus’ example, then we should be as welcoming as He is here. Not only did He treat the crowds with kindness by welcoming them, but He also did something for them—he told them about the kingdom and healed them. Being welcoming is more than just saying hello; it’s finding ways to bless people.
“When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.” Acts 15:4
Here is another good illustration of Christians welcoming other Christians. In this case, “they” are Paul, Barnabas, and others traveling to Jerusalem on a mission for the newly-birthed church. This passage reminds us to be not just welcoming in general, but to welcome and serve workers in the church. Anyone who works for the church, whether they are a missionary, an elder, or the groundskeeper, should always receive a warm welcome from other church employees and fellow believers.
“And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.” 1 Samuel 25:6
Peace: this is one of the simplest and easiest ways to ensure that you always have a welcoming attitude. Focus on peace—in your heart, your home, and in the words you say—and everyone around you will feel welcome.
“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Romans 15:7
If any verse serves as a blatant reminder about Jesus’ welcoming nature, this one is it. Jesus died for us so that we could be welcomed, sinless and reborn, into the presence of God. Dare we exclude or ignore others for our own petty reasons when Jesus sacrificed himself to make us welcome?
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25:35-36
This is probably one of the most well-known verses about welcoming others. It speaks specifically to those who might initially be hard to welcome – the poor, the sick, or anyone who we consider “different.” But our kindness is not only a reflection on Christianity as a whole, but it’s a direct reflection on how we think about Jesus.
Church Welcome Ideas
Fresh church welcome ideas are essential for church growth. Without new ideas, churches can fall into old habits where members stay in their normal clicks, making it easier for newcomers to go unnoticed. New people can also go unnoticed simply because they feel uncomfortable amid a group of strangers and won’t reach out on their own.
These newcomers may also have never been to church. Or newcomers might only be visiting a church after a long absence from worship services. Both of these conditions only add to the discomfort of the newcomer.
Make your visitors feel welcomed and comfortable. Welcome visitors to church with tried-and-true methods used by ministries across the globe. Use these 24 ideas that will show you how to welcome visitors to church.
1. Don’t Start from Scratch – Download Free Welcome Materials
Many churches are short-staffed and might not have enough regular volunteers to meet their communication and graphic design needs. This makes it hard to build the church connection cards to capture the contact info of newcomers or to build amazing material for your church welcome packets. That’s why one of the best church welcome ideas your ministry can practice is to use free templates to build the materials needed to welcome visitors to church.
And lucky for you, we’ve built a complete kit of templates to help you get started on building a comprehensive welcome packet for newcomers. Download our free church welcome kit to get…
- 8 church connection card templates.
- Church verse & quote cards for your welcome packets.
- 40 amazing welcome quotes to use in your printed material.
- Free welcome message templates for visitors and new members.
2. Church Welcome Ideas Visitor Parking Lots
When people visit a church, they have expectations of how they believe they should get treated. If your church doesn’t have a hospitality ministry, you might be missing opportunities to convert visitors into members.
One feature of a hospitality ministry to welcome visitors to church, is creating a warm and welcoming experience for visitors. Often, the first point of contact between visitors and ministry members is the church parking lot.
We’ve all visited businesses, and there are designated parking spaces for special circumstances. Stores have special parking for online order pick-up. Schools have designated parking for parents picking up students.
To welcome church visitors, you can adopt this same practice. Designate parking spaces based on average attendance. If you only have a few visitors each Sunday, you can post signs reserving two or three spaces near the building for visitors.
Megachurches have the luxury of designating entire parking lots for visitors.
3. Greeters
Another arm of the hospitality ministry is door greeters. These are often the first people visitors interact with when they arrive at church.
Greeters get stationed at different locations around the church campus. A greeter can be in the parking lot, at the front door, or assigned to various entry points.
Their purpose is to welcome new people to the church. A smile and friendly hello can go a long way in making a person feel accepted.
Simple tasks like opening the door, pointing the visitor in the right direction, or helping someone onto a transportation cart will be a warm touch. Each touch lets the visitor know you have a compassionate church and are happy they chose to worship there.
Churches with a youth ministry also have greeters. Teen members have the responsibility of escorting teen visitors to the youth sanctuary.
4. Welcome Center
Something to consider when planning you church welcome ideas is including a church welcome center. They are a modern concept focused on welcoming visitors to the church. A welcome center is as simple as a table set up outside the sanctuary. Or your welcome center can have an office room strategically located near the entrance of the church.
If your church has a bookstore, the welcome center could have a space inside or next door.
The purpose of the welcome center is to provide answers to visitors. Questions can range from “Where is the ladies’ room?” to “Do you have a nursery?”
The welcome center is equipped with information about the church and its ministries. Volunteers also have communication devices to connect with other volunteers who can answer specific questions.
It’s customary for most churches only to have an operational welcome center during church services. Visitors can speak with the church receptionist or secretary during regular office hours.
5. Visitor Seating
Visitors attending your church may come with a member of the church. However, some visitors attend on their own. If you have numerous unaccompanied visitors each week, consider creating a visitor section.
You always want visitors to have a good experience. Since they’re your guest, they should have the best seats in the house.
The visitor section should be located near the front of the church and close to an aisle. Have the seating designated for visitors to avoid members using the seats. You can open the available seats to anyone coming in after the service begins.
It’s the responsibility of the church ushers to monitor seating. Someone is assigned to the section to provide visitors with assistance. This can include providing a hymnal, Bible, pen, or offering envelope.
6. Visitor Welcome
There’s a segment to welcome visitors to the church in every church service. A designated person stands before the church and asks visitors to stand. Next, they offer scripture and thank their guests for choosing the churches as their place of worship.
At smaller southern churches, it’s a custom to allow visitors to introduce themselves and share the name of their home church. They may also add where they are from and who extended the invitation to come to this church.
You may also see some churches encouraging members to greet visitors with a hug or handshake. Of course, this practice may be on hold due to the pandemic. Otherwise, the choir sings an uplifting uptempo song to set the tone.
During the formal visitor welcome, the pastor can invite visiting clergy members to join them in the pulpit. Failure to do so can be misconstrued as a sign of disrespect for visiting clergy to sit in the pews.
7. Visitor Packet
It’s customary that the ushers pass out a visitor welcome packet during the visitor welcome. The purpose of the packets is to gather information about the visitor and share information about the church. This is a must to add in your church welcome ideas.
Important items for the visitor packet include:
Visitor Card
The visitor card is an index-sized card that solicits demographic information about the visitor. A popular way churches entice visitors to complete the card is to say they will send end-of-year contribution statements.
If your church utilizes church management software, you’ll want to enter information about church visitors. One is that it makes contribution reporting easier. Two, it allows you to stay in touch with visitors.
Tithe Envelope
Churches use tithe envelopes to collect offerings. Design the envelopes with a section for contact information. It also allows the person to identify as a member or visitor.
Prayer Card
Often, people visit churches when they’re experiencing a life crisis. They only give their name and contact information to receive personal prayer or a follow-up call. Offering a prayer card is a discreet way for the visitor to solicit prayer.
Scripture Bookmark
Include a bookmark with an encouraging scripture as a small token of appreciation. Popular scriptures include:
- 1 Peter 4:9
- Hebrews 13:2
- Leviticus 19:34
- Psalm 122:1
- Romans 15:7
The bookmark should also include the church’s contact information, website, and number for the prayer line. As an added touch, include a customized ink pen and mints or chewing gum.
8. Swag Bag
Is your church big on branding and has a large budget for converting visitors to members? If so, you should consider providing first-time visitors with swag bags as one of your church welcome ideas to help grow your congregation.
Swag bags are different than visitor packets because they include welcome gifts. They have brand-name gear to promote your church. Consider items from your church book store like a small journal, custom t-shirt, or a branded bottle of hand sanitizer.
You could also include a bottle of water and a bag of chips. Or a coupon for one complimentary item from the bookstore with a maximum purchase price.
The goal of swag bags is two-fold. You want to make first-time visitors feel appreciated. Second, it is a way to market your church.
Cut expenses by providing visitors with a redeemable coupon for the swag bag. They can redeem the coupon at the bookstore or welcome center.
Since swag bags are for first-time visitors, you’ll need a process to document when someone receives a bag. You can also include an expiration date for the swag back and make it non-transferrable.
9. Visitor Reception
After you welcome visitors to the church, invite them to a welcome reception immediately following the church service. The reception is an opportunity for the pastor to greet visitors formally.
The new member’s ministry will have representatives to share information about joining the church and attending new members’ classes. They can also answer questions about the church and various ministries and services.
The kitchen ministry can prepare light hors d’oeuvre and punch for attendees.
10. Invitation to Join
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
The invitation to discipleship is a very important stage of the church experience and is a great church welcome idea. Every time the church doors open for a service, prayer meeting, or ministry meeting, the invitation to join should be extended.
One may think this is redundant behavior. However, you never know when visitors or the unsaved are among you.
The invitation doesn’t have to be a long and drawn-out process, especially at meetings. Ask those in attendance if they are saved and want to join the church. Gather their contact information and pass it on to the new member’s ministry.
Of course, it is more formal to give the invitation during the Sunday service. During church services, people are asked to come forward. The pastor says a prayer, and they are then escorted to the new member’s room to complete paperwork.