Best practices in Greeting
Greeting people well as they come into groups is a crucial step. Its hard to take the step to be in a group. Its hard to walk into the room or house the first time. We need to remember what its like to be new to a group.
To help us understand the process better I sent out Denny Abbuhl and Mitch McKenney to be a guest again in another ABF, so that they could find the best practices out there. They shared their findings at The Forum on Monday the 14. We then proceeded to discuss around tables how we each did greeting. The following is the ideas they generated.
Greeting/Guest Ideas (from Fall Forum 2009)
-name tags, name tags, name tags
-fishing for wandering people in the hallways
-coffee and food
-having someone appointed as a formal greeter
-introduce visitors to class
-follow up with visitors!!!
-follow up with members who have been absent for awhile
-flowers
-anniversary/birthday cards
-appointing a prayer captain
-having a weekly newsletter/e-mail
-putting visitors together in a group
-assisting families with getting their children where they need to go
-have class sit in a circle
-be considerate of and respect guests who are shy or intimidated in discussion, and don’t force them to feel “put on the spotâ€
-be conscious of your group’s “vibeâ€
-be open in conversation with new guests, not having “click-like†conversation where the new guest might feel excluded
-smile at people
-re-affirm new guests, do not let them feel like they have to fend for themselves
-train/instruct the people who are already in your group to greet new visitors, talk to your group and remind them to be welcoming
-for larger ABFs, consider a “greeting tableâ€
-create a packet or pamphlet to hand to a visitor that includes some info about the class, teacher/leader contact info, etc.
-invite new folks to an ABF social event, or out to lunch
-Instruct your class members to invite people they see in the halls/on the way to class
-remember to include visitors in prayer requests (if they feel comfortable sharing!)
-make small groups/midweek bible studies within your ABF
-include guests in comments, what you’ve been studying, what’s going on in people’s lives, etc.
Groups Guy 