It got me thinking about church. How many times does it happen that a visitor has a really unfriendly experience their first-time at church? You could have the best “meal” on offer in the city, the best preaching of God’s Word, but if a visitor isn’t welcomed in a friendly way that first impression can turn them right off and they won’t come back.
Wes Bredenhof | “One Opportunity” | June 9, 2025
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Yup. I make it a personal mission to go over and say hello to every visitor each Sunday. I don’t manage everyone but we usually have 10-20 visitors each Sunday in a congregation of 80-160. What a joy to meet saints from different places, or people looking for a good church, or even Buddhists or Roman Catholics or the confused invited by friends. They matter to the Lord and they should matter to his saints.
And when I visit a church (and I have had grim experiences at three large churches in the same continental European city) and nobody speaks to me, even though I hang around for 15 minutes, it’s a very sad experience.
Look out for the stranger, the wanderer, the visitor so they see the fine preaching of the gospel is matched with the fruit of love for others in the lives of the congregation.