Our church is a community of people who believe in the power of love and kindness. We believe that life is sacred, and we’re working hard to make sure that our church feels safe and welcoming to people from all walks of life.
We also believe that God loves everyone, and wants us to show His love by serving our neighbors in need. That’s why we have programs like [program name], which helps provide food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities to local families who are struggling financially.
We want you to feel welcome here at [church name]. We want you to know that when you walk through our doors, you will be greeted with open arms by a community of people who care about each other deeply. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that your time spent with us is a blessing for both you and us. We look forward to seeing you soon!
We celebrated the fact that we have been able to live in this country for almost two years now. We are also celebrating our growth as a community and as a group of people who are working together to make this world a better place.
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Church Service Opening Remarks
Churches are in a crisis. Though 63% of Americans identify as Christian, 32% attend church once or twice a month. Many young people rarely if ever attend church, regarding services as being too boring or stifling.
If you want to expand your congregation, you need to take steps to make everyone feel welcome. Delivering great welcome speeches is one effective step. But getting a handle on how to give a welcome speech in church can be complicated.
What tone do the best speeches strike? How can you be welcoming to everyone without being too pointed about it? What should you do except speak?
Answer these questions and you can create a wonderful and welcoming space for everyone to worship in. Here is your comprehensive guide.
General Welcome Speech Examples
- We are so blessed for our short time together and thank God for uniting us as one. …
- We would also like to extend a warm welcome to any newcomers. …
- Hello, we are so happy that you have chosen to celebrate with us at our place of worship. …
- Many of you may know why we honor this day.
Understand the Occasion
Your welcome speech should reflect the event you are welcoming your guests to. For an average Sunday service, your tone should be upbeat and encouraging. But for a more somber occasion like a funeral, you may want to be a little more stoic.
You may need to give some practical information in your speech. If your service needs extra time or if you are serving food, you should include those details in your remarks. You should include a brief description of your service so your audience knows what to expect.
When in doubt about your welcome speech for church, look at these church quotes and speech ideas. See what tone the speakers strike and what welcome speech details they provide.
It is almost always appropriate to open with a prayer. If you’re suffering from writer’s block, consider leading the congregation in a prayer that reflects on the occasion in some way. You can also read an excerpt from the Bible or another religious document.
Give a Warm Greeting
Your welcome speech should always begin with an introduction of yourself. “My name is…” is all you need to say, though you can add other details. If you are a pastor or priest at another church, you should say that, so people don’t confuse you with other staffers.
After your introduction, you can transition into the body of your speech. A remark like, “I am so happy to welcome all of you,” is a good transition. It serves as a greeting to your audience and lets you move on.
Try to avoid using cliches like, “I welcome you on behalf of…” Many people have heard remarks like these, and they have lost their power. You should also avoid introducing someone else unless you are requested to do so.
While you are giving your greeting, put a smile on your face and raise the pitch of your voice slightly. You can gesture with an open palm, which signifies openness and hospitality.
You can also greet anyone coming onto the stage after you. Make sure to say their name and rank and give a brief summary of what they are about to say. Don’t ask for applause, as your audience will likely clap as they come up.
Create Emotions in Your Audience
Smiling and shifting your tone up is a good way to make your audience happy. You can also use creative diction and action verbs to inspire your audience and encourage them to listen to you.
Try to avoid using adverbs or adjectives, and instead find verbs with similar meanings. If you want to say, “We’ll get through that quickly,” you should say, “We’ll speed through that.”
Many people tell jokes to satisfy their audience, which can be risky. A joke can be inappropriate during a formal or somber occasion, and the joke may not land correctly.
If you are going to tell a joke, try doing a pun or wordplay. Never make a joke at someone else’s expense, unless you are being self-deprecating, but that can also be risky. Instead, try something like rhyming. It may not be funny, but it can catch your audience’s attention and connect two ideas together.
Be Brief
Welcome speech examples are rarely more than 150 words long. Your speech is not the time for an exegesis of the Bible or an introduction for a guest. Say what you need to say to start the occasion and then move on.
Consider writing out your speech word for word and seeing what details you can cut out. Besides adverbs and adjectives, you can cut out any details that the priest or pastor will say later.
Save church announcements and in-house business for another occasion. You can send out reminders about upcoming events in emails and text messages.
Accommodate First-Time Church Visitors
Words of welcome before worship should be appealing to first-time visitors to your church. Don’t say, “Welcome members of my church,” as a greeting. You can say something like, “Welcome brothers and sisters,” instead.
You can also say something like, “If you are visiting us for the first time today, we’re happy you are here.” Don’t point out first-time visitors in the audience because this can make them self-conscious. Feel free to give visitors directions to your welcome center or the bathrooms, especially if you have a large church.
You can say something to put your first-time visitors at ease. “We won’t ask you to stand up or participate during songs” can be comforting for some people.
Though you shouldn’t promote upcoming events, you can point out that you meet every week and the visitors are welcome to return to your next service. You can also mention a newcomers’ gathering.
Introduce Your Church
Your speech should serve as an introduction to your church as a whole, not just your service. You can include your church’s mission statement if it is one or two sentences long. If it’s longer than that, you can condense it into a brief description.
You can also mention any unique features of your church, like the year it was founded. Highlight only one detail in your speech so you don’t spend too much time talking about your church’s history. You can discuss any other relevant details in a sermon later in the program.
Accompany Your Speech with Visuals and Handouts
Visuals can underscore what you are talking about and entertain your audience. You can put a simple graphic behind you that welcomes guests to your church. You can find stock art online for free with welcome messages, or you can make your own.
If you have guests who may not hear you properly, you should have a transcription of your words on the screen. Make sure you select an appropriate font like Times New Roman that is easy for people to read.
You can also put flowers around the lectern or on stage. Try to find flowers associated with Christ that are reflective of your service. White lilies and orchids are extremely popular in churches because they signify purity and faith.
Another effective way to put guests at ease is to give them something. At a minimum, they should have a Bible and songbook so they can follow along with the service. You can also hand out bottles of water and snacks that they can consume during the occasion.
Church welcome materials can include church connection cards and fliers. You can leave them at the front of the room for first-time visitors to collect, or you can have someone hand them out.