If you’ve just stumbled upon this post, it’s probably because someone’s asked you to give welcome to church speeches—or maybe it’s something you do regularly and you want to improve. We’ve got you covered.
Not only will you find 10 welcome to church speeches to kick off your next church service or large event, but also some suggestions for keeping your people engaged beyond your Sunday service.
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Are Welcome to Church Speeches Necessary?
Whenever you have a large number of people gathered, it’s important to round them up and focus them on the fact that you’re all together. Even though we’ve come to call this initial address a “welcome speech,” it’s so much more than that.
When done right, a welcome speech gets people focused, sets the tone for the meeting, gives some sense of the agenda and outcomes, and gets everything off on the right foot.
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Welcome Speech For Women Event
There are a few factors you need to take into consideration when writing this welcome speech for your church’s Women’s Day celebration.
Research
- One of the most important things you need to show the congregation in this speech is that you know what you’re talking about. Therefore, make sure you do some research into your church and talk of past events that occurred at your church in relation to Women’s Day. You should also mention a brief history of the church and all the celebrations that you’ve all experienced together.
Use Additional Material
- During the speech, you could read a poem to help commemorate the day or read out a famous quote to help summarize the feel of the day. Also, you could enlist the help of former Pastors and perhaps get female members of the church to say a few words.
Body Language & Speech
- It is important that you speak in a very pleasant and friendly tone yet be dominant enough so people will take notice. You are part of this church so don’t act like a stranger and relax amongst the congregation. Make sure you look out into your audience rather than staring with your head down at a piece of paper, and continue to smile throughout.
Practice
- Make sure you practice regularly days before you give the welcome speech, because then you will build up your confidence and feel more comfortable speaking in front of people.
Women’s Day Welcome For Church
Because welcome speeches tend to be brief and are seen as perfunctory, they’re often given without adequate preparation. Even the most seasoned speaker should shy away from completely improvising.
The Dangers of Not Planning Your Welcome to Church Speech
While it’s entirely possible to give a fantastic impromptu speech, there are reasons why it’s best to give some thought to your welcome to church speech. Here are some of the hazards of inadequate preparation:
- RAMBLING
One of the surest signs that someone hasn’t done their work in preparation is babbling. It’s easy to come up with a couple of points you want to hit on and imagine you’re prepared. What you inevitably forget is how unnerving it becomes when 100 pairs of eyes are fixed on you.
At that moment, you might remember your speech’s intended destination, but entirely forget how to get there. That’s when the rambling starts. In the moment, it becomes really hard to know when you’ve sufficiently made the point you wanted, so you just keep talking…
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- FLUSTERING
The other side of the rambling coin is the stammering. When you haven’t cemented the opening remarks you want to say, it’s so easy to get stuck in a mental loop. Your brain’s going 1,000 miles a second trying to construct your speech. In the meantime, the stuttering starts and you have a hard time getting back on track. - POOR JOKES
Both the person that’s rambling and the one that’s flustered try to ease their stress by cracking wise. Nothing breaks tension like jokes, right? Well, not so fast. Jokes are like pork: Wonderful if properly prepared, but when you start serving them up only half-baked, you have a good chance of turning off everyone.
When your brain is struggling to feed you the next line, it’s not going to do a good job of assessing the quality of a joke. In this situation, it’s easy to throw out a quip that’s incoherent, inappropriate, or awkward.
- NEGLECTING IMPORTANT INFORMATION
It’s likely that there are important points or directions that need to be communicated during a welcome speech. You might think, “It’s only a couple of items. What are the chances that I’ll forget them?” The chances are higher than you think.
Rules to Follow with These Welcome to Church Speeches
Before we get into the content of a welcome to church speech, here are a couple of rules to remember when you’re giving your address:
- DON’T READ IT
You’re setting the tone of this gathering, and most of the time you’re trying to make people comfortable. The key to being prepared lies in being able to speak in a way that feels extemporaneous.
You can definitely bring a card with some notes on it, but it’s there as a guide, not a crutch.
- MAKE EYE CONTACT
Being personable isn’t too difficult. You just want to appear cool, calm, and confident. Preparedness will help you get therem. Meeting the gaze of people in the room is going to help sell it. Just don’t stare them down. - SPEAK SLOWLY
Talking too fast is almost inevitable when you’re not used to speaking in public. You get up there and the adrenaline starts pumping through you, and you end up speaking three times faster than you intend.
As crazy as it sounds, speak a little more slowly than feels comfortable.
- BE BRIEF
Polonius speaks the truth in Hamlet when he says, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Keep your welcome tight and concise and everyone will think you did brilliantly!
6 Key Elements of a Good Welcome to Church Speech
Most good welcome to church speeches are going to share some common components. But they might need to be packaged or delivered differently based on the kind of event you’re greeting people for. Here are six things every good welcome to church speech should do:
- INTRODUCE THE EVENT (AND YOURSELF)
Start by welcoming everyone to the event and introducing yourself. This can be as simple as “Welcome to Redeemer Lutheran Church. My name is Susan.” - SET EXPECTATIONS
This is just a brief explanation of what people can expect to happen at the event. This should be as simple as possible. You’re not breaking everything down at an atomic level, you’re just giving a quick synopsis. - GIVE IMPORTANT PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Let people know what they may need to know in order to enjoy themselves. This could include things like the location of restrooms, a reminder to turn down cell phones, or the location of refreshments. - ACKNOWLEDGE NEWCOMERS
Let visitors know that they’re welcome. It’s amazing how much tension is alleviated in visitors when they’re told, “We know there are some new people here.” This gives them permission to figure stuff out as they go.
You’ll also want to address any methods you use to capture their contact information. A simple, “If you’re new here today, we want to extend to you a special welcome. In the pew in front of you is a contact card, we’d love for you to fill it out and drop it in the offering basket so we can get to know you better.”
- LET THEM KNOW WHAT’S NEXT
After you’ve welcomed everyone, your job is to smoothly transition to the next thing. That might mean that you’re encouraging them to welcome a speaker or releasing them to get food or refreshments. Whatever it is, make sure that you’re helping to facilitate the next steps. - DON’T FORGET TO PRAY
If the situation calls for it, you can also open in prayer. The same general rules apply to public prayers as they do to welcome speeches. Unless you have some experience under your belt, it’s better to over-prepare than it is to wing it.
Welcome Speech For Women’s Day At Church
Welcome to Church Speech Templates
Here are some templates for various welcome speeches that you can use for your next gathering. Feel free to use these as springboards to get your creative juices flowing!
Sunday Morning
WELCOME TO CHURCH SPEECH #1
Good morning! My name is [NAME] and I’d like to welcome you to [CHURCH NAME]. If this is your first time here, we’d like to thank you for coming, and we hope that you’ll be comfortable. We look forward to spending the next [service time period i.e. hour] worshiping with you. You’ll find a contact card in [location], please fill that out—we’d love to get to know you better.
Please remember [include any pertinent information about childcare, cell phone usage, or whatever here].
Please join with me in prayer. [Insert prayer*]
As the worship team comes forward, join me in singing [song title].
WELCOME TO CHURCH SPEECH #2
Hi! My name is [name] and we’re really glad that you decided to join us this morning. If this is your first time at [church name], we want to let you know how excited we are that you’re here. I hope that our casual environment will help you feel comfortable. I also want to let you know that [include any pertinent information about childcare, cell phone usage, or whatever here]. Lastly, please take a moment and fill out the comment card that can be found [location]. We’d love to get to know a little bit more about you, and how we can serve or pray for you.
Let’s ask God to bless our time together. [Insert prayer*]
[Introduce next element]
Graduations
WELCOME SPEECH #3
Good evening. My name is [name] and it is my pleasure to welcome the families, friends, and teachers of our [year] graduating class. It seems like just yesterday that these graduates were preparing for their first years here at [school name], and here we are celebrating their great accomplishments.
We want to thank each and every one of you for the part you have played in helping each of these students get here. Your sacrifice has made their [high school, middle school, college, etc.] career successful. Thank you.
Throughout the program we’ll hear from some of the faculty and a few of the students, pass out diplomas, and send these students on the next part of their journey. [Insert whatever elements you need to include]
Please remember to [insert important information]. And join me as we welcome [next presenter/speaker].
WELCOME SPEECH #4
Families and friends of the [year] graduates of [school name], my name is [name] and the faculty and I would like to welcome you to this wonderful evening. We look forward to remembering some of the fun and inspirational stories from the last [number] years.
This journey would have been impossible without the love, support, and encouragement of each one of you here tonight. So before we even begin, the faculty and students would like to thank you for the important role you played in this evening.
Lastly, we’d like to remind you that [insert important information].
Now, please join me in welcoming [next presenter/speaker].
Social Gatherings
These general speeches are helpful for picnics, potlucks, welcome-back dinners for students, and other get-togethers
WELCOME SPEECH #5
Hello everyone, I just really want to thank you for coming out. It’s nice to see so many familiar faces. If this is your first time with us, my name is [name] and we [if appropriate insert the name of the church or organization] want to extend the warmest welcome to you. We hope that you can use this time to make some important connections and build some relationships.
A couple things before we get started: [Insert any important information]. When I excuse you, we’ll start by [give directions for the next element]. [Share about any other events that will be happening during the gathering].
[Insert prayer* if appropriate]
WELCOME SPEECH #6
Welcome! If you don’t know me my name is [name] from [organization or church], and we’re really excited that you all were able to come out and join us for [name of gathering]. If you’re new here, we’re glad you’re with us and we’d all love an opportunity to get to know you better.
The reason we’re here today is [reason—it can be as simple as an opportunity to share a meal and enjoy some fellowship]. It’s going to be an awesome time of fun, food, and [include other elements that will occur.]
In a minute I’m going to excuse you and we’ll [insert directions]. Please note that [important reminders or information.]
Thank you and welcome again!
Women’s Day Welcome Speech
It is my sincere honour and indeed a great privilege that I, on behalf of the women fellowship executive of the headquarters’ of the mission welcome all and sundry to this year’s convention 2104, holding in the International Headquarters, Ekpan, Delta State Nigeria.
While proceeding on this address, let me use this medium on behalf of my exco to express our profound gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ, His Grace, Archbishop (Dr.) God-Dowell Avwomakpa and his dear wife our mother in the mission, Pastor (Mrs.) Victoria Avwomakpa, the International Women President, all Ministers of the International Headquarters and all members of the Church especially those member who are always there for us in times of needs, God almighty bless and defend you always in Jesus name. Amen.
This year’s convention is so significant because it is a year of ROYALTY which automatically makes everyone know his/her place in God’s kingdom that is to say we as member of God’s Kingdom are Kings, Priest and Saints while on earth. While basking of the euphoria of celebration, we should not loss sight of the essence of this events.
The theme of this convention is “Behold He Calleth thee” Mark 10:49. It was carefully & prayerfully selected theme, which enable us not only to apt or appreciate who we are and what lies ahead of us as Christians because of our callings, but of to be mindful of the “essence” of the kingdom life style. Jesus the saviour of the world never preached about himself but emphases on his father’s business which is the greatest service in the kingdom.
In Mark 10:42-45, Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the gentile Lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them, yet it shall not be so among you but whoever desire to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desire to be first shall be slave of all, for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom far many”.
The blind Bartimaeus only heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by and cried for help. Thought many tried to stop him but he yelled louder: “Son of David have mercy on me” and he was totally healed of blindness and followed Jesus immediately.
I challenge you to be spiritually alert as the gospel of the Kingdom will bring alive your God given talents to use in Jesus name. Everyone in Christ is called to fulfill specific role in their service to God’s people and mankind as a whole.
Let us together yield ourselves and fight this course to win men and women, boys, girls and children to God, in order to depopulate hell.
I wish you all the best throughout this convention. May the good Lord God bless, protect defend and give you all “Great Grace” to run the race to the end in Jesus name. Amen.
Thanks for your kind attention.