While it can be exciting to travel around the country speaking, preaching or singing,  it can also be a little intimidating.  Think about it.  You go to a church where you have never been and you are at the mercy of people you have never met.  You don’t know how they are going to treat you and if you don’t require a certain honorarium, you don’t know how they will pay you.

If you treat your guests well, they will want to come back to your ministry again.  AND they will tell their friends in ministry what good hosts you are.  That’s a plus for your ministry.

Here are ten things you can do to make your guests feel welcome and confident that your ministry will treat them well.

1. Before coming to your church give them a staff contact and cell phone in case something unexpected comes up
2. Be on time to meet your guest at the airport, either at baggage claim or at the end of the terminal
3. Pick up your guest in a clean car that is roomy and has plenty of trunk space
4. Send two people to the airport.  A driver to stay with the car, and a ministry assistant the meet the guest.  Make sure the driver and ministry assistant is familiar with the city and won’t get lost or misdirected on the way to the hotel
5. Put your guest in a full service hotel
6. Give your guest a welcome packet that includes a welcome letter from the pastor; the name of their ministry assistant and phone number; information about the church and; an itinerary for their stay.  The packet should also include a daily meal allotment at the hotel; meals that may be served at the church and/or if you will be taking them to a restaurant for any meals
7. Make a nice hospitality basket that includes bottled water, fruit and snacks
8. Be on time to pick your guest up for the service where they will minister (the guest may be late, but you should still be on time).  Call your guest from the house phone to let them know that you have arrived
9. Have a parking space reserved and someone to greet your guest upon arrival and escort them to the pastor’s office or to your ministry’s green room
10. Provide a fruit tray, beverages and snacks while your guest is waiting to minister

It goes without saying, that everyone should be friendly.  Engage your guest in conversation but don’t pry into their personal lives or become too familiar.

If you follow these or similar guidelines, your guest should feel comfortable and welcome at your ministry.

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How to Host A Guest Speaker

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Location, Location, Location

Is your church located on a main road or is it hidden down back roads and side streets.  If your church is not on a main road, how do visitors find your church?  Do you have directional signs off the main road to lead people to your church.  Is there a street sign for your street.  Once people get on the right street do you have visible signage with the name and address of the church?  If your church is hard to find your visitors may be frustrated by the time they arrive at the church.  Or, they may just go to another church instead.

Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is not just for selling your home.  How does your property look from the street?  Is your lawn cut and shrubs trimmed?  If your property is landscaped, have flower beds been weeded and dead plants pulled?  Does the property look clean and neat from the street?  Does your church need to be painted or power washed?  Is the sign for your church in good condition or are there letters and numbers missing?

Parking Lot

Is your parking lot easy to navigate with obvious entrance and exit?  Are parking spaces marked or lined?  Do you have handicapped parking spaces that will accommodate wheel chairs and walkers?  What do you have in place to help people park once the lot is full?

Bathrooms

Bathrooms get a lot of traffic, especially from parents with young children.  Are your bathrooms easy to find with adequate signage?  Is the bathroom neat and clean?  Does it smell fresh?  Is it adequately supplied with bathroom tissue, soap and paper towels?

The Worship Experience

Now that we are inside the church, let’s take a look the people and the worship experience.

Greeters and Ushers:  Are your greeters and ushers friendly people with a genuine, ready smile?

Nursery/Cry Room:  Does your church have a nursery or cry room for babies and toddlers?

Programs/Order of Service:  Does your program help visitors understand what is going on and what to do?

Members:  Are your members friendly?

Music:  Does your music appeal to all age groups?

Seekers:  What do you have in place for the unsaved/unchurched?

Sermons:  How long are your sermons?

Service:  How long is your service from start to finish?

Visitors: Do you offer hospitality to your visitors outside of the worship service?

These are just some of the things your church or ministry may want to pay attention to as it pertains to visitors.  There are so many things that visitors check out when they are looking for a church home. Many of the things that are mentioned here are things that we don’t really pay attention to in our own churches because we have become accustomed to them.

If you are really interested in an objective view of your church, you might consider hiring the services of a Mystery Worshipper.  They operate just like Mystery Shoppers and give you an evaluation of their visit.

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• The Mystery Worshipper

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As Guest Services Manager for our church, I have lost track of the number of guests for whom I have made arrangements.  It is what I most enjoy and look forward to planning each event.

Guidelines for Hosting Your Guest Speaker or Singer

Parking

• For local guests, reserve a parking space near the entrance.
• Let your guest know that a space has been reserved and where it is located; ask the make and model of the car they drive.
• Notify your parking ministry to reserve the space and advise them of the make and model of their car.

Assistance

• What time will they arrive at your church?
• Will your guest be traveling alone or with a spouse or assistant?
• Someone from your church should meet the guest at the parking space and escort them into the building.
• If your guest is traveling with a spouse or assistant, determine seating arrangements before they arrive.
• Arrange for someone from your ministry to assist the guest and their spouse or assistant (many ministries have armor bearers and ministry assistants who are trained to do this).

Meals

• For an early service consider having a fruit tray, juice and coffee available for your guests.
• If your church has multiple services, consider serving breakfast.
• Prior to your guests arrival, check with their office to find out what they drink before, during and after speaking/singing
• If you will serve meals, find out if your guest(s) have any food allergies and/or preferences

Honorariums

• Determine the amount of honorarium you plan to give and prepare the check ahead of time.  You can always increase the honorarium if you like.  Some churches rewrite the check, some take a love offering and give it directly to the guest.
• Include a thank you letter with the check.
• If you are unsure how much you should pay your speaker, check around and find out what is customary.
• Some speakers have a set honorarium, always ask before you extend the invitation.

Out of Town Guests

All of the above applies to hosting out of town guests.  In addition to the above there are travel arrangements.

Air Travel

• Air travel arrangements can either be made by the guest and reimbursed by the host or by the host.  If the host makes the arrangements, contact will have to be made with the guests’ office to see if they prefer a particular airline, seating preference, date of flight and time of day the guest wishes to travel.  Send electronic tickets to the guests.
• Keep in touch with your guests office to see if there are any last minute changes
• Cell phone contact numbers should be supplied to the guests and their office, in case of emergencies before or during travel.
• Supply your guest with the name and cell phone number of the driver who will pick them up from the airport.
• Your guest should be picked up in a full size, four door sedan that has plenty of trunk space.  The car should be clean and the driver should be familiar with the city’s highways and surface roads.
• Ideally, send two people to pick up your guest.  One to stay with the car and one to meet your guest inside the airport with a sign that has the church’s name.
• Whoever meets the guest should carry their luggage to the car.  If you use a sky cap, the church’s representative should tip the sky cap.
• Your drivers should be cordial and ask about the flight but take their lead from the guest to determine if they wish to talk.
• If time permits, check to see if your guest is hungry and would like to eat.  If you have done your homework and asked about their food preferences, then you will know what restaurants to suggest.  The church’s representative should pick up the tab and tip.

Hotel Arrangements

• Reserve a room for your guest at a nice hotel, preferably a full service hotel.  Some guests may request particular hotels.
• Avoid motels with outside entrance.
• Check with your guest’s office to determine room preferences.
• If you don’t have billing arrangement with the hotel, someone from the church staff should go to the hotel ahead of time and take care of billing arrangements.
• The day of arrival, a staff member should check out the room prior to the guest’s arrival and place a hospitality basket and itinerary in the room for the guest.
• Hospitality baskets should have snacks, a few bottles of water, juice and fruit.  If your church is having a T-shirt night, supply the basket maker with a T-shirt for your guest.
• Before leaving the hotel, check with your guest to see if they need anything else.

Itineraries

• Supply your guest with a pocket folder that has a copy of your program, information about the church, an itinerary that includes times they will be picked up for service, and contact numbers.

Ministry Products

• If your guest brings ministry products set up a table in a high traffic table
• Provide a cash bag with change in case they need it
• Provide someone to help set up and assist with sales

Important Notes

• People who are assigned to drive or assist your guests should be mature and understand confidentiality.
• If your guest is a woman, a female should be assigned to airport and hotel pickup.
• When picking up your guests from the hotel, call them from the hotel house phone to let the guest know that you have arrived.  Do not go to their room.
• Hotel accommodations should be confidential.  Church staff and drivers are the only people who need that information.
• Develop a Hospitality Form to send your guests.  This form should ask for travel and hotel preferences; food allergies and food preferences; beverage preferences before, during and after speaking; whether or not your guest will bring ministry products . . .

These are just a few guidelines to get you started.  Make changes as necessary to fit your ministry.

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