Ideas For Evangelism - Way of Life Literature

awkward. Rarely do the church members seek thevisitors out. It is more common that they gather togetherin little bunches with their friends and ignore the visitors,and more often than not it has been left for me, thevisitor, to go around the church and try to break into thelittle groups and shake hands. When people do shakeyour hands, you often feel that they are merely doing itbecause they have been told to do so. One large churchwe visited makes a big thing of their hand shaking time,and the people obediently go around and shake hands,but they do it in such a stilted fashion that it is obviousthat it is not done with genuine friendliness. They say,“Hello, glad to have you, how are you,” but they aren’teven looking at you and don’t stop even for a moment tohear the answer to the questions. None of this makesvisitors feel welcome or want to return.4. Don’t let them slip in and slip out.Oftentimes visitors will come in just as the service isstarting, sit in the back, and then to slip out quickly rightafter the service. The church needs to find a way to makecontact with those who do this. Perhaps one or moremembers can volunteer or be assigned to sit in the backof the church and watch for such visitors, and then togreet them before they leave the church grounds. Perhapsthe visitors can be asked if they would like to tour thechurch, or if they have any questions about the church, orwould like someone to visit them, etc.5. Design the services with visitors in mind.One evangelist warns churches about unnecessary thingsin the services that accomplish no good purpose but thatsimply irritate people.