Being A Welcoming Church

Village Church family, I am excited to help cast a vision and provide structure to the Village Welcome Team, a ministry that has been near and dear to my family from our first visit. I am excited to join a committed core of volunteers and grow the team to welcome every person who comes to our church on Sunday mornings. As both new and regular attenders enter our church, we have an opportunity to be part of their story at Village. Let me share the story of our first time at Village.

We moved to the area on Memorial Day in late May 2021. Our initial internet research left us with a list of churches in the area that we wanted to visit. Village was first on that list. It was a sunny day in June that we pulled into the parking lot. We were greeted by three people who introduced themselves to us. One helped us find seats since we were clearly not capable of much with three boys 3 and under. Another just smiled, said hi, and made us feel like we belonged.  The third said, “Let’s connect after the service.”

After the service, the third greeter found us and after introductions invited me to the men’s Bible study he attended. We were welcomed and invited into the life of the church! Wow, did I feel cared for. Megan and I knew this was a church family we wanted to join. There was no need for the remainder of the list. Village became our church.

Think back to the first time you attended. What about Village Church made you want to come back? I have heard lots of stories over the past year, and one common thread is how welcome the newcomer felt. That was a big reason our family wanted to be a part of Village. Would you consider being a part of someone else’s story?

Our vision for the Welcome Team is to establish and maintain an intentional process of welcoming and assimilating people into the life of the church. I hope you consider joining the Welcome Team. Whether you welcome in an official capacity or not, I would encourage us all to engage both newcomers and regular attenders and invite them into learning more about Jesus and His saving grace. Just as Paul wrote in Romans 15:7, “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.”

___________________________

Andrew San Giacomo leads our Welcome Team Ministry