Pick out the 3 messages

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• Pick out the 3 messages
• we ought to give our visitors!
• 1. Were very religious
• 2. We are good stewards and save money
• 3. God loves you
• 4. You can come here if you want to
• 5. You are important to us
• 6. You will find love here
• 7. If you are really committed, you can fit in
  here. We believe in being strong.

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Sit here in a good place.James 23
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WelcomingUrbanVisitors!
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Welcoming Busy, Hurried, Fearful, Needy,
Tentative, Uncertain, Skeptical Visitors!
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• Warm Welcomes
• Responding To Visitors
• How to give messages of love, importance, and
  acceptance!

6

• Pick out the 3 messages
• we ought to give our visitors!
• 1. Were very religious
• 2. We are good stewards and save money
• 3. God loves you
• 4. You can come here if you want to
• 5. You are important to us
• 6. You will find love here
• 7. If you are really committed, you can fit in
  here. We believe in being strong.

7

• Pick out the 3 messages we ought to give to every
  visitor!
• 1. Were very religious
• 2. We are good stewards and save money
• 3. God loves you
• 4. You can come here if you want to
• 5. You are important to us
• 6. You will find love here
• 7. If you are really committed, you can fit in
  here. We believe in being strong.

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• Love
• Importance
• Acceptance
• ?
• Are those important and scriptural messages from
  God to visitors?

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• Love
• We love you.
• So does God.

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• Importance
• We are doing something very important here!

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• Acceptance
• You can be
• accepted here!

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• Think about what kind of negative messages that
  you have received or felt when visiting a
  congregation for the first time?

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• We are here to talk to our friends. Dont bother
  us.
• What we are doing is not very important to us.
• Be prepared for a slow acceptance.
• This church is our church and it is here for us,
  not everyone.

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Three Types of Messages to VisitorsNon-verbalV
erbalActions Activities
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Would a God who wrote the Bible care about
non-verbal messages?
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1 John 31818 My little children, let us not
love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in
truth.NKJVWhich words here describe the
verbals and which ones the non-verbals?
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James 212 My brethren, do not hold the faith
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with
partiality.NKJV
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James 22-42 For if there should come into your
assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel,
and there should also come in a poor man in
filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the
one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You
sit here in a good place," and say to the poor
man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my
footstool," NKJV
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James 23-4 4 have you not shown partiality
among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts? NKJV
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What are our non-verbals?
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Conditions of the grounds and buildings (What
do they say to the first time visitor?)No
Parking SpotsNo Seats
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Look at the messages that your visitors are
getting!Determine how loud they are!
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Our Verbal MessagesMust Be Considered Also
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1 Cor 142323 Therefore if the whole church
comes together in one place, and all speak with
tongues, and there come in those who are
uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that
you are out of your mind? NKJV
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Reviewing Verbal Messages(Ascending levels of
importance) What did you say?
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Reviewing Verbal Messages(Ascending levels of
importance) What did you say?How did you say
it?What did they hear?What did they
conclude?How did they act?
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Verbal Messages Are Given InOpeningsAnnouncemen
tsWorship ServicesClasses, SermonsPrivate
Comments Afterwards
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Occasional Negative MessagesThis isnt
importantIm not that interested in thisThe
Lord is far offWhy should we bother with
thisSome Problems Are Going On
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The Visitors ConclusionsWhy did I
come?Nothing important is going onvs.This
means something to themI need to worship Him also
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Visitors Choices and ActionsCome from Their
Conclusions!
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What God RequiresThat we do our things Worthy
of the Lord
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Col 11010 that you may walk worthy of the
Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every
good work and increasing in the knowledge of God
NKJV
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Phil 12727 Only let your conduct be worthy of
the gospel of Christ,NKJV
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Are these things worthyPoor
preparationApparent lack of interestTraining at
key visitor timesYou cant sit here
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Reaching for a song book SingingReaching for a
BibleIncreasing interestStaying and
talkingWarmth vs. Coolness
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The most important period for the visitor is the
first 5 to 8 minutes.
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The most important period for the visitor is the
first 5 to 8 minutes.Many people are going to
decided if they are going to come back in those
first few minutes!
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The 5 Minute RuleImmediately before and after
service, dont speak to a member until you have
spoken to the visitors!
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Things that give a warm welcomeVisitors
ParkingMultiple GreetingsMoving for Visitor
Comfort
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We absolutely must learn to think like the
visitor thinks if we are going to communicate our
interest, our love, and Gods love to him!
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Visitors are precious!

• Visitors are highly motivated. There are 40
  interesting, entertaining things they could be
  doing.

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Visitors are precious!

• But they are only motivated enough for one visit.
  In that visit we must give them the reason to
  come back!

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Why do people return?

• The Bible was simply taught.

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Why do people return?

• They received something that helped them.

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Why do people return?

• They received love, warmth, and interest.

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Why do people return?

• Worship touched them.

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Why do people return?

• They think it will help their children.

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Why do people return?

• They were touched about their sin.

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Why do people return?

• They were impressed with the importance and value
  of worshipping God.

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Why do people return?

• They felt that they could improve, grow, or
  learn here.

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The very first impressionsWhat helps? What hurts?

• Friendliness from everyone

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• What kind of actions
• am I talking about?

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• Look around
• Get up and go to the visitor
• Smile, Look them in the eye
• Reach out your hand
• Give your name, greet warmly
• Remember Name, Use it 3 times
• Talk about Home, Family, Work
• Send a note

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• Look around
• Get up and go to the visitor
• Smile, Look them in the eye
• Reach out your hand
• Give your name, greet warmly
• Remember Name, Use it 3 times
• Talk about Home, Family, Work
• Send a note
• Watch, Remember name and story

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Are we ever as friendly as we think we
are?Dont miss thequiet, shybaseboard
watcher.
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Collect, Record and Remember All
Information.That is the greatest way to show
interest!
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Responses and Aidsto Visitor Flow

• Immediate personal notes (3 to 6 of them)
  delivered the next day and certainly by 72 hours!
• Is time a message?

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Responses and Aidsto Visitor Flow

• Respond and attach to anyone in your peer group,
  teenagers, singles, widows, families with
  children, etc.

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Responses and Aidsto Visitor Flow

• If a family is looking for help with their
  children and no children speak to their kids,
  will they think you are an easy group to fit in
  with?

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Responses and Aidsto Visitor Flow

• Who can talk to a woman visitor better, men or
  women?

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Responses and Aidsto Visitor Flow

• Who are the better communicators, men or women?

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Responses and Aidsto Visitor Flow

• Who are most perceptive about people and their
  feelings, men or women?

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Responses and Aidsto Visitor Flow

• Should godly ladies work hard at welcoming all
  female visitors?

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Prospects must be monitored weekly
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Prospects must be monitoredYou must read their
interest accurately Developing a relationship
helps them to decide if you are genuine
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You move fromWarmth to Conversation toLow
impact associationReligious conversationGeneral
Biblical study
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You move fromWarmth to Conversation toLow
impact associationReligious conversationGeneral
Biblical studyStudy of needed lessons
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Studies are shorter with busy visitors.
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We convert prospects through the teaching of
Gods Word.A few good teachers must monitor the
return visitor and gently offer a study when they
will agree.
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What would you do?If the brethren put up an
Encouragement Sheet to monitor the number of
invitations, would you check one square for each
invitation?
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(An Encouragement Board!)
O
O
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If you cannot measure it, You cannot control
it!
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Members must carefully enfold the return visitor
to give them time to determine if you are
genuine.Read body language.Dont go too fast
for urban visitor.But dont go too slow.Gentle
nudges are the rule!
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Brethren who think of themselves as strong can
say,Well if visitors are what they ought to
be, small slights would not make any difference
to them. They would be back for the next service.
We should expect people to be strong!
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Are first time visitors already what they ought
to be?Is expecting all visitors to already be
strong stressing growing or swelling?
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If someone says we squeezed into tight seating
in many congregations in the 1950s and the
1960s, thats true, but was that with strong
converts transfers or with first time visitors?
That was swelling with stronger converts!
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When you hasten the day and bring it close, are
you comforted or troubled?
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II Peter 310-1412 looking for and hastening
the coming of the day of God
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We absolutely must learn to think like the
visitor thinks if we are going to communicate our
interest, our love, and Gods love to him!
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Brethren who think of themselves as strong can
say,Well if visitors are what they ought to
be, small slights would not make any difference
to them. They would be back for the next service.
We should expect people to be strong!
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Are first time visitors already what they ought
to be?Does expecting all visitors to already
be strong stress swelling or evangelism and
conversions?
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If a family only has big strong 60 year old
members and no young weak children,What is
going to happen to it?
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If someone says Well, if people are what they
ought to be, little things like limited seating
would not make any difference! what kind of
visitors are they expecting?
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• Pick out the 3 messages
• we ought to give our visitors!
• 1. Were very religious
• 2. We are good stewards and save money
• 3. God loves you
• 4. You can come here if you want to
• 5. You are important to us
• 6. You will find love here
• 7. If you are really committed, you can fit in
  here. We believe in being strong.