Music blared as people shouted excitedly. The cramped room was buzzing and the air smelled of sweat. One by one more people were added to the conga line that circled our family and I was praying I wouldn’t get pulled in. I thought to myself, “Since when did the normal wedding festivities become common in church?”
We were on vacation and my dad had chosen a church to visit out of the yellow pages. This was before wireless Internet and subsequently, review websites, were common and here we were learning our lesson. Colorful flags waved around the room and, as if it didn’t feel awkward enough, when my dad raised his hands in worship he was enthusiastically treated to a high five from one of the conga line members.
Christians can be crazy sometimes. I’ll never forget that day. As you can imagine, we’ve had a few good laughs over it ever since. Maybe you’re like me and you grew up in church. If so, then attending a new Christian event probably doesn’t seem that threatening. Of course, there’s always those times when you still feel out of place (in this case rightfully so).
So, consider how much more uncomfortable visiting your weekly meeting can be for those who are unchurched or unaccustomed to an evangelical setting. We don’t have to remove every single aspect that could make people uncomfortable (worship is probably seen as odd to unbelievers). But if our goal is to reach the lost, and it should be our goal, we have to be aware of the environment we’re creating. Here’s a couple ways we can do that.
Pay attention to the first impression.
Your friendliest people should be at the door greeting people. Not negative Nick and awkward Annie. The room should look inviting and encourage them to come in (people in conversation, food is available, music playing in the background, etc.).
Visit other campus club’s meetings.
Try to visit both Christian and secular clubs. Don’t tell them that you belong to another organization on campus, otherwise there’s a chance they’ll treat you differently. You want to view the meeting from the perspective of an outsider. Did they do anything special to make you feel welcome? What did they do that you liked? What could they have done better? Walt Disney discovered how to make Disneyland stand out as an amusement park after attending two different ones with his daughters. They were disreputable, dirty and in poor condition.
Get feedback from new people.
This seems easy, but you don’t want to do it in a way that is off-putting either. Encourage your student leaders to talk with new people after the meeting and here their thoughts. They can ask them questions that would come up in normal conversation like, “What did you think of the meeting?” and “Did you enjoy your time?” Make sure they avoid questions like, “Was there anything that made you feel uncomfortable?” If there was anything that’s likely to make them feel more uncomfortable.
It’s important to remember that if people don’t want to come back we’ve missed out on our mission.
Making people feel welcome is incredibly important, but something that we can easily overlook because we’ve become so accustomed to our way of doing things. Have you ever felt out of place at a church? What would you have done if you were in my vacation situation?