On Tuesday we had a pre-anniversary celebration with comedian Rod Allison.  At the end of his performance, he thanked us for inviting him and complemented our staff and armor bearers for our level of hospitality and excellence.  Mr . Allison enjoyed himself and we enjoyed hosting him because he exemplified what I wrote about in my post, 10 Ways to Get Invited Back to A Ministry.

In previous posts I’ve talked about the importance of hospitality:

• Go The Extra Mile for Ministry Guests
• 10 Ways to Help Your Out of Town Guest Feel Welcome at Your Church
• How to Host a Guest Speaker

On Suite101.com, Janice Benoit defines hospitality in the following manner:

I often am asked, “What is hospitality?” Wikipedia defines hospitality as the relationship process between a host and a guest.

But what does that mean in practical terms? I believe that hospitality is better defined in terms of the guest’s feelings. For instance, does the guest feel comfortable (in terms of location, interaction with other guests, food choices, ambient temperature, etc.).

So an effective way to implement hospitality . . . is to use The Golden Rule. Put yourself in the guest’s place and make sure that you are comfortable with every aspect of your function. Even in party planning, do onto others as you would have done unto yourself!

I chose this definition because it is right on point.  Treat your guests the way you would want them to treat you and it will make you a better host.  The best book that I have read on hospitality is  Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service by the Disney Institute.

Over the years, our church has become known for its hospitality to guests.  We have learned by observing other churches, taking note during restaurant experiences and reading books on customer service.  If you want to take your church to another level of hospitality, continue to learn and practice what you learn on your guests.  It’s not that hard, practice makes perfect.

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Ministries invite you to their church to participate in conferences and special services for one of several reasons:

• They have relationship with you and want you to be a part of their event
• They have watched your ministry from afar and believe you have something to offer their congregation
• They want to establish relationship with you and your ministry

Whatever the reasons are for inviting you to their church, the ministry expects a fruitful and pleasant experience.  Whether you are invited back or not depends on how effectively you minister and what kind of guest you are.  Several years ago, our church invited a well known minister to preach at our annual conference.  We had seen him on television and heard him speak at other conferences.  We were excited that he had accepted our invitation, we looked forward to his visit and were glad when he left.  He was not invited back.

The impression that he left was that he was stand-offish, distant and that he was doing us a favor by coming to our church.  To be fair, this may not have been his intent and it may not be a fair assessment of his personality, but it’s the impression that he left with us.

If you want to be invited back to a ministry, consider the following tips:

1. Be friendly:  A smile and a little conversation goes a long way – even if you are tired from your trip.
2. Respond to ministry requests in a timely manner:  The host ministry may ask for a bio, photo, W9, etc. to be sent by e-mail, fax or snail mail, don’t put it off until the last minute.
3. Be on time for service:  Guests who run late cause anxiety and stress for the host, be on time.
4. Thank the pastor for your invitation:  The host church could have invited someone else but they chose you, express your appreciation.
5. Have expectations but leave your demands at home:  You may be accustomed to a different level of service at your home church but you are a guest.  Don’t be obnoxious by making demands.
6. Minister within the allotted time given:  If the ministry gives you 40 minutes to minister, you should be sitting down in 40 minutes.
7. Do what you were asked to do:  If you were invited to sing, don’t give sermon before you sing.
8. Thank the ministry assistants assigned to you:  Armor bearers, drivers and ministry assistants appreciate a gesture of thanks.  If you took ministry products and they were particularly helpful, consider giving them a complementary gift of one of your products.
9. Accept your honorarium with grace:  If your honorarium is less than expected accept it with grace.  Unless you informed the ministry of a set fee or a fee range, you don’t have the right to complain.
10. Know when to call it a day:  At the end of a long morning, afternoon or evening service your hosts are tired.  They may enjoy your company and conversation but enough is enough.

Most of these tips are just good manners.  Follow them and your host will enjoy your company and may invite you back.

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Your Ministry Helper has posted several articles about hosting ministry guests.  While you know that your staff and volunteers should be friendly to your guests, you can go the extra mile with a little lagniappe – a little something extra!  When that something extra is unexpected, it’s even better.

Hotels and restaurants are in the hospitality business.  Their standard operating procedures are based on Biblical principles.  There is no justifiable reason that secular entities should be more hospitable than the church.

Some of these suggestions are primarily for guests that you bring in from out of town.  Some of them can be applied to any guest that you invite to your church – local or out of town.

When you invite a guest speaker or singer to your church, there are some things they expect:

• an honorarium
• to be picked up from the airport on time
• to be picked up in a clean car
• to be put up at a decent hotel
• to arrive safely at the hotel/church
• and they hope their hosts will be friendly

When you go the extra mile and add a little something extra it makes your ministry more memorable.  It helps you stand out from the crowd.  So what are the kinds of things that help you stand out from the crowd?  Most of these are very simple and easy things to incorporate into your ministry.

Contact the Guests Office Before Their Visit

• You can do this with a phone call or by providing a form that will give you the following information:
• What your guest prefers to drink before, during and after ministering
• What temperature they prefer for their beverages:  cold, with ice or room temperature
• Food preferences:  chicken, fish, beef . . .
• Known food allergies
• Dietary restrictions (low sodium, no pork . . . )
• Favorite snacks

A Nice Hospitality Basket

A hospitality basket is a nice gift especially if your guest will be with you for a few days.  These baskets come in very handy when your guests is a little hungry but doesn’t want a meal.  It saves them a trip to the hotel gift shop or vending machine.  They are also welcomed for a late night snack.

If you do your homework and speak with someone from your guest’s office you can find out what kind of snacks your guests prefers.  Some people like healthy snacks like fruit, juice and granola bars; some people like chips, sodas, chocolate and cookies.  Two things to include in either type basket are few bottles of water and some fruit.

If there is someone on your staff or in your ministry who can make a professional looking basket that’s great.  If not, order a basket to your specifications.

Meals at the Church

If your ministry provides meals at the church like lunch during a conference or dinner after an evening service, make sure it is food that your guest prefers.  For instance, our church had a guest to preach a three day conference at our church.  I found out from his office that he loves sweet potatoes and anything with pineapples.  So, our dinner menu included candied yams and pineapple pound cake for dessert.  It made quite an impression.

Also pay attention to known food allergies and dietary restrictions.

These are just a few things that can make a memorable visit and help your ministry stand out from the crowd.  A little lagniappe goes a long way.  These suggestions are a loose interpretation of Biblical principles of hospitality.  Going the extra mile was not something extra, it was expected.

Suggested Reading:

10 Ways to Help Out of  Town Speakers Feel Welcome at Your Church

How to Host A Guest Speaker

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A man having a bad day.

What happens when your staff or volunteers have a bad day?  Every now and then we all have a bad day, but everyone is not able to play it off.  There are some people who are pleasant and greet you with a smile no matter what kind of day they are having.  They have the ability to separate the task at hand from their personal issues.  On the other hand, there are people who wear their personal problems and feelings on their faces and in their attitudes.

When your ministry workers (paid staff or volunteers) are on duty and out front, they should leave their problems at home.  If they cannot leave their problems at home, then you have to implement Plan B.  Plan B says move them to work behind the scenes and put someone else to work in their place out front.

A few days ago I was at the grocery store.  I enjoy shopping at this store because the workers are very friendly and helpful.  This particular day when I got to the cashier, she didn’t speak, she didn’t make eye contact, she didn’t smile and she never acknowledged my presence.  After she rung up my items she just turned around and started bagging my groceries.  She didn’t give me the total, she never said a word.  So I asked her, “Are you going to say anything?”  She looked at me as if to say, “What’s the problem?”  She was having a bad day.

Not only was this cashier rude, but she did not provide good customer service. A similar scenario can play out at your church.  Just like at the store, when people are offended or annoyed at your church, you should want it reported to someone in authority.  You want it reported so the problem can be addressed.  Problems that go un-addressed become bigger problems and can cause you to lose members or cause visitors to not come back again.

So, what should you do about ministry workers who have a bad day?  A few suggestions are:

• During their initial training, advise them of Plan B
• Minister to them and see if there’s anything you or the ministry can do to help
• Remove them from the front line and assign them a task working behind the scene
• Explain why they have temporarily been moved to a different position
• Acknowledge them when they do a good job or go beyond the call of duty

Even though the church is like a business in many ways, it is also unique in many ways.  One of those ways is how quickly the church can turn people off and drive them away.  When visitors who are looking for a church home, come to worship at your church and they feel ignored or offended in some way, they will not come back.  I know because I’ve been there.  One of the things that you must keep in mind is that you only get one chance to make a first impression.  Make it a good one.

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