Words of Welcome

If you’d like to know what a difference a warm greeting can make, watch this short video. This New Members video was produced and debuted for Hospitality Sunday back in May. It’s a great reminder of the impact we can have!

Every Sunday morning St. John’s is blessed to have many visitors in our midst. Some are “died in the wool” Lutherans looking for a new church home. Others have passed by, admired the building and just popped in to see what is going on inside. The way they are welcomed speaks volumes about our ability to “live God’s love in the world”.

This past Sunday the back one third of the church was full of visitors. You are receiving this hospitality newsletter because you have gifts for welcoming the stranger. Please consider sitting towards the back and greeting someone you haven’t had a chance to meet before. Or be aware of visitors around you wherever you sit and go out of your way to greet them. We are also looking for some friendly faces who would like to greet visitors at the Welcome Wagon after each service. If you can spare 5 – 10 minutes after either service on a regular or sporadic basis please e-mail Rhonda@RhondaHolmen.com.

Remember, you embody the love of God everywhere you go. Practice hospitality at church and it will follow you everywhere – along with God’s peace and joy!


Hospitality alert!

We are welcoming new members at St. John’s this Sunday, January 31. There will be an affirmation of baptism at each of the services (if that is the service the new member attends) so you will have an opportunity to identify them during the service.

Please make a point of finding those folks after the service, introduce yourself, find out about them, make them feel welcome and even introduce them to your friends. We would like our new members to know just how excited we are to have them in our midst.

Every Sunday St. John’s is blessed with many visitors. They’re coming to see if our community of faith has something for them. Your warm, open, non-anxious presence makes a difference. They want to know the people who are already here – it’s not just about the music, or sermons or the building. In fact, those things pale in comparison to the warmth of your welcome.

Sincerely,
The Evangelism Team


Advent and Christmas are times when visitors flood through the doors of St. John’s. Please make a special effort to greet these folks and make them feel Christ’s love and welcome in our church.

Last Sunday you received a postcard with the schedule of events for December. One of the most visitor friendly events we have is the 2nd Saturday Christmas Carol Sing-A-Long coming up this Saturday from 6-9 pm. We are looking for some good “hospitality folks” to help host this event. This involves greeting people at the door with a song book, letting them know they are welcome to stay for five minutes or until we shut the doors and generally making them feel comfortable.

If this is an outreach you’d like to help with please contact Rhonda@RhondaHolmen.com. Many participants could mean shifts as short as 45 minutes! And then you’d be free to discover all that is happening on Midtown on 2nd Saturday.

And remember to invite your neighbors and friends to join us for any event or worship service you think they would find meaningful. Church research shows a personal invitation is the most effective form of evangelism.

Pastor Frank and the Evangelism Committee


The Welcome Wagon has been rolled out and we are very excited! You’ve probably noticed the cute little cart with lots of colorful cards sitting out in front of the church for the last month. So far the Wagon has kept a low profile, but this week we’re blowing the cover off and announcing it to the world... or at least the congregation.

We want our visitors to have a place to go for information and to meet someone in the congregation who can answer their questions. You can be a part of this exciting new ministry which is an extension of the hospitality outreach we started last spring. You are the vital link necessary to make our visitors feel welcomed and informed.

Each colorful card outlines one of the many exciting ministries going on at St. Johns. Visitors can collect (with our help) cards in their areas of interest to make their own personalized brochure. The cart will also be stocked with current newsletters and devotionals.

Please consider signing up to “man” the cart one Sunday soon. It would be wonderful if you could be at the cart 15 minutes before the service and 15 minutes after. Please call (916 296-8886) or e-mail (rholmen@golyon.com) Rhonda Holmen to sign up. We will set up a more efficient system soon.

By the way, this is also an opportunity to practice your “Be a good Lutheran, sit in the back” strategy of greeting our visitors who prefer the back few pews.

Thanks for reaching out!


By Rhonda Holmen, Evangelism Committee Member

I could tell you it’s intentional, but I’m afraid it’s habitual, that I am usually a bit tardy to Sunday worship.

The up side of that is I wind up sitting in the back. That’s where the visitors are, and I can easily greet and hopefully start up a casual conversation with someone I have not met before.

On a recent Sunday we counted 14 visitors (or folks we hadn’t met before) sitting in the back six pews of the church. We were particularly blessed that day but we always have some new faces at St. John’s.

It’s typical for visitors to start out sitting in the back and slowly work their way forward. Those of us who feel very comfortable in the church want to get closer to the action. So often we have visitors in the back and the friendly “hospitality” folks up front.

In order to make our visitors feel welcome, we’re hoping that you might take a turn at sitting in the back to meet and greet the folks that are so brave as to walk through our doors for the first or second or fourth time.

If you’re worried about what to say, here are a few ideas:

Hello. I’m ______. I don’t think we’ve met before.

Is this the service you usually attend?

Do you live close by?

How did you learn about the church?

We’re so glad you came and I hope to see you again.

You may also run into some other “Good Lutherans” who have been attending and sitting in the back for 30 years.


By Amy Chance, Evangelism Task Force Chair

So often when I call visitors to St. John’s, the conversation is a little awkward at first. They don’t know me – I don’t know them. I thank them for worshipping with us, then ask if they have any questions about the church. Sometimes they do, but it’s often hard to make a real connection.

But I had an experience this year that changed the way I approach these conversations.

I was reading John, and noticed that in the first story about calling the disciples, Jesus doesn’t first tell them “Follow me,” or even “Come and see.” First he asks them, “What are you looking for?” Then he invites them to come and stay with him.

So I thought I’d try out that question. The next visitor I called had a LOT of questions of his own – about the times of our services, about our parking, about how we take communion, and more. But when I had a chance, I asked him, “What are you looking for?” He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he had more questions – about our classes, about our preaching, about being Lutheran.

Just as we were about to hang up, though he asked me to wait.

“I didn’t answer your question,” he said. By then I had forgotten what it was!"

He said, “You asked me what I was looking for. I guess what I am looking for is real friends.”

I know that’s what I was looking for when I came to St. John’s – and found them! I’ll remember that the next time I’m calling or greeting a visitor.