When was the last time you were a visitor in a Sunday school class or Small group? For most, it has been a while. That’s why it is hard for “regulars” to see what might be glaring to visitors.
The truth is that many groups and classes who believe that they are hospitable, warm, and caring aren’t –at least not to visitors. It’s not that they are mean people, it’s just that they haven’t looked at their group through “visitor eyes” in quite a while.
Because Christ humbled himself for us, we are called to humble ourselves for the good of others. Just listen to the admonition of Paul in Philippians 2:1-8:
“…in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Christ’s humble servanthood on earth –and ultimately on the cross- is a model for how we treat everyone we come in contact with –including visitors.
The rest of the New Testament bears this out with frequent commands to be hospitable (Hebrews 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9, Romans 12:13).
So here are a few tips to help your group be more hospitable:
1) Include Visitors. You know the routine, people begin showing up and mingling ten or fifteen minutes before things kick-off. During this time, there will be several “mingle groups” where people are catching up with each other. When a visitor arrives, teach your people to do more than meet and greet: you want them to include them. Teach your group to have an “adoption” mentality where every visitor immediately gets “adopted” into a “mingle group.”
2) Hold Visitors Hands. Adopting a visitor is more than just inviting them into a conversation. It means serving them by holding their hand through things that will seem routine to everyone else in the group. Don’t expect them to know where to grab a book or pencil. Remember that they don’t know where everyone normally sits. You’ll need to walk them through these things.
3) Stop talking about yourselves. From my experience visiting classes, the most uncomfortable thing is having to listen to the class members talk about themselves for the majority of the time. Be careful not to let your “prayer request time” turn into gossip/catch up time. Remember, your visitors came to study the Bible –not to study you!
4) Follow up Afterward. After the group meeting is over, don’t just say, “goodbye.” If people are going out to eat later, invite them along. Ask for an email address to check in on them during the week. If you are in a class that is prior to a worship service, invite them to sit with you during the service.
Although these are just a few simple suggestions, they can really make a difference in class. Simple put, treat your visitors the way Christ would treat them.