Spring and Fall are great times of the year to have an Open House Sunday.  Many churches open their doors wide and roll out the proverbial red carpet on that day.  Successful Open House Sundays are the fruit of a two-pronged approach: outreach & hospitality.  Although those themes are not unusual and ought to be a regular part of ministry, a special Sunday offers its membership the opportunity to really focus on these two things.

OUTREACH:
– Personally inviting friends, relatives, & neighbors (nothing works better than personal contact)
– Enlist members and organize a nightly outreach ‘blitz’ each week-night before the big day
– Postcard / Mailer to your neighborhood or zip code featuring this one special day’s events  (download all three)
– Advertise in your local media: newspaper, radio, or TV

HOSPITALITY:
– Enlist and train a team of Greeters (station them in the parking lot, at the door, and in the building)
– Enlist a Connection Team to engage each guest in conversations (even to sit with/near them)
– Prepare a Gift (spiritual or home-made) for each guest that you can give to them as they leave
– Follow Up is crucial (send a 36-hour email, a 72-hour postcard/letter, and give them a survey visit)

**Train yourself to consider ‘visitors’ as guests… as if you were setting a place for them at your table.  **Hospitality is a Scriptural.  Find members in your church with that gift & ask for their help!  **When guests step in your door, do they feel as if they’re welcomed into the greatest family in the world?  **Determine to settle for nothing less than 5-star friendliness (not just friendly-by-default).  **Make the most of Pivotal  Moments: Surveys say the time they walk from their car until the service starts & the time it takes them to get to their car are the two most important (memorable) experiences of your guests.

Here are a few ideas for your outreach (postcard):

Download the Layered PSD Source File (56mb, all 3 concepts)