Mennonite Weekly Review

Do we want to welcome strangers to our churches? We might say we do, but sometimes our actions don’t match our words.

In the June 28 issue of Canadian Mennonite, Arthur Paul Boers, a former professor at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and J. Laurence Martin, a retired educator and pastor, say our welcome needs a lot of work. Each described visiting churches and being generally ignored, even during times meant for greeting and fellowship.

Boers told of worship services where announcements were confusing if you did not know the people or the agencies referred to, and where no one spoke with him afterward. Such experiences send the message that the church is only for those who already belong, not for strangers looking to join.

Will Schirmer, in his 2003 book Reaching Beyond the Mennonite Comfort Zone: Exploring From the Inside Out, refers to barriers strangers find in the Mennonite church. These include assumptions Mennonites make about non-Mennonite Christians: they are too worldly, don’t have good family values or even are not really Christians. Some of us seem to think we need to teach non-Mennonites how to be good Mennonites in order to be good Christians. Schirmer says some who were drawn to the Mennonite church because of its values and theology were turned off by the barriers and ended up at non-Mennonite congregations.

While these examples are sobering, it is not a lost cause. Some congregations do well at reaching out. Martin cites congregations that emphasize greeting visitors and making them feel comfortable.

In one church a member escorted Martin and his wife, Marilyn, to the sanctuary and explained some things about the worship service along the way. In other congregations it was obvious that greeters and ushers were trained to help visitors feel welcome. Schirmer mentions churches that regularly pray together with and physically help people in need, including newcomers, reinforcing a sense of welcome and caring.

In some congregations Sunday school classes provide a place for support spiritually in times of struggle, emotionally in times of loss and tangibly in times of illness and natural disaster. Others have welcome packets to share with visitors so that they can learn more about the church.

Some Mennonites feel that making the extra effort to welcome outsid­ers means that current members will be neglected. Yet in the churches described here, the effort to make strangers feel welcome did not impede the care of longtime members. In many cases, when strangers saw the care given to people in the congregation, it drew them to take a closer look.

Many of the things congregations can do to welcome outsiders are not very hard. Martin says nothing communicates better than genuine enthusiasm. Since much of our communication is nonverbal, our body language shows how we really feel.

Genuine welcome does not mean losing our adherence to biblical truths. Accepting people regardless of their circumstances allows them to feel they can approach Christians with their problems. Charles Arn, president of Church Growth Inc., in How to Start a Second Worship Service, says most people who visit a church know they are sinners but doubt there is hope for them. By not putting up barriers, we offer a chance for others to hear of the hope God gives through Jesus Christ.

Schirmer says when we minister to a person’s soul we wind up meeting that person’s need. This is what Jesus did and what we also can do when we welcome outsiders well.