New Resource Available: Comprehensive Guide to Greeter Ministry
- Invite Welcome Connect
- Oct 20
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 3
We’re excited to announce the release of our Greeter Ministry Guide, a comprehensive resource designed to help congregations build welcoming, systematic approaches to greeting visitors and members alike.
Why Greeter Ministry Matters
As our Founder Mary Foster Parmer, reminds us in her book, Invite Welcome Connect: Stories & Tools to Transform Your Church:
“Because you are standing at the threshold and are the first person people speak to when they enter, you hold a huge amount of spiritual power. Because you are the first person they meet, people will project onto you all the assumptions and expectations they have about God before they walked in that door, positive and negative. How you respond will either challenge or reinforce those assumptions. Your actions of welcoming them may make all the difference in their experience of your church, and even of divinity.”
This powerful truth underscores why intentional, trained greeters are essential to any congregation’s ministry of welcome.
In addition to this new Greeter Ministry guide, Invite Welcome Connect On Demand will soon featue a video training unit for greeters.
What’s Inside the Guide
Our new Greeter Ministry document provides practical guidance for establishing or refreshing your greeter ministry, including:
Types of Greeters
Parking Lot Greeters—assist with parking and direct visitors to entrances
Door Greeters—offer the first warm welcome
Table/Welcome Center Greeters—engage in conversation and distribute information
Roaming Greeters—look for visitors to welcome and introduce to others
Online Greeters—interact with those attending via livestream
The Basics of Implementation
The guide walks you through essential steps:
Determining who will recruit, train, and oversee the ministry
Deciding which types of greeters your church needs
Setting up welcome centers and visitor forms
Establishing follow-up procedures
Training and scheduling volunteers
Key Responsibilities
The document outlines clear responsibilities for greeters, including how to welcome visitors, initiate conversation, listen actively, answer questions, be sensitive to timing, and gather basic information.
Insights from Mary MacGregor
In our recent webinar “Hospitality as Our Compass,” Mary MacGregor, Invite Welcome Connect’s coaching coordinator and the author of the new greeter guide, emphasized the critical nature of this ministry:
“Greeters who are warm and welcoming set the tone for everyone entering the doors of a church! They can actually influence the welcoming culture of a congregation over time, even with very few visitors a year.”
MacGregor also stressed the importance of systematic approach: “Every church, no matter its size, needs greeters!” She explained that while attendance size, facility layout, and parking challenges will influence how a church structures its greeter ministry, the fundamental need remains constant across all contexts.
Practical Conversation Tools
One of the most valuable aspects of the guide is its practical approach to conversations. It includes sample exchanges such as: “Good Morning! Welcome to [church name]. My name is....... I don’t believe we have met. And you are.....?” and “Is this your first time to [name of the church]?”
The guide also addresses the crucial question of Episcopal familiarity, noting: “This question about familiarity is such an important question! Many will say ‘no.’ If that is the case, be ready to give them a resource to help them follow the worship service.”
A Ministry of Presence
As Parmer notes in her book, the deep truth of Welcome is seeing the other. She writes:
“Jesus invites us to see one another in the way of love, and he models both relational evangelism and holy hospitality for us. We are called to really see every single person with whom we have contact on a daily basis as well as with every single person who walks into the doors of our church.”
This profound calling transforms greeter ministry from a simple logistical task into a sacred encounter—an opportunity to be God’s ambassadors of welcome.
Download Your Copy
The Greeter Ministry Guide is now available for download on our website, in the "Welcome" section of our Toolkit. Whether you’re starting a greeter ministry from scratch or looking to revitalize an existing one, this resource provides the framework and tools you need.
Remember: Greeters should be present 15–20 minutes before a worship service starts AND after it has concluded, as this often provides opportunities for further conversation with visitors or to obtain contact information.
Every person who walks through your doors deserves to be seen, welcomed, and valued. Let this guide help your congregation create a culture of radical hospitality that reflects the welcoming love of Christ.
Download the Greeter Ministry Guide today and transform your church’s first impressions into lasting connections.