Greeting at Ten30church

Serving at St Aidan’s:

Thanks so much for serving at our church! A common image of the church is that of a body building itself up as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:11-13). Each one of us has a part to play.

Why greeting is important:

God has lavishly welcomed us in Christ, the ministry of greeting helps to extend that welcome to others. When newcomers arrive they will not always know what to expect, and it may not be immediately obvious where they should go or what they should do. It is important for newcomers to encounter a helpful person, first impressions count. But it’s not only about newcomers, regular members enjoy being welcomed too, and they need things to happen, like getting a Bible, a newsletter and other papers, and the money to be collected. The ministry of Greeting helps our gathering run in an orderly way.

The greeter:

Greeting does not require any great level of skill or preparation. Anyone who is able to be at church a little early and show a friendly face can do it.

Brief description:

There are a few aspects to the role of greeting:

• Be early (preferably 30 minutes before church begins). Often visitors and newcomers are the first people to arrive who are unfamiliar with everything. Greeters need to be there before them.
• The Music team will have already arrived and opened up the church and brought over the ‘greeting box’, this contains the newsletter and any other papers for the day (e.g. Prayer Diary) Gather them in bundles ready for handing out. If the greeting box is not there, you’ll need to pick it up from the vestry at St Aidan’s.
• Set up the Welcome table. Find the fold-up plastic table in the community room and move to the foyer, neatly place items from the greeting box on the table. If there are newcomers offer them a Welcome pack, or information about other ministries etc.
• Find the Bibles in the Community room cupboard, move to the foyer ready to hand out.
• Warmly greet people as they come in the door, especially welcoming any unfamiliar faces, try to introduce new people to a regular member. Be courteous and warm. Give them the newsletter and any other handouts, offer a Bible, be ready to help anybody unfamiliar with anything. If new people are there with kids, explain about Kids Church or introduce them to Corinne or another Kids Church leader
• We don’t take up a collection during the service. Rather there is a collection box, make sure this is in a visible place on the welcome table for people to place their offering or a communication slip from the newsletter.
• Hang around at the door as the service starts to help any latecomers. Greeters will need to judge when it is OK to take their own seat in the congregation, but usually at the end of the first song is fine.
• At the end of the service go to the door to collect Bibles and tidy away any papers left there.
• Look out for newcomers after the service, introduce them to a regular or invite them to join you for Morning Tea.
• Towards the end of Morning Tea pack up the information table, place Bibles back in the cupboard, and other papers in the greeting box.  

Relationships to other servers:

The rostered elder and pastor will like to know about newcomers or anyone else with particular needs, and any unusual issues e.g. new people who left early.

Safe Ministry Issues:

Greeters will only have brief and very public encounters with Children and Young People, so are not required to fulfill all the Child protection protocols. It would however be helpful to be familiar with the “Breaking the Silence” Policy and Code of Conduct, especially to assure parents that we seek in every way to be a safe environment for their children, and that all those who work with children and young people are required to adhere to the policy and code of conduct.

WHS Issues:

It is good to keep an eye out for any potential WHS issues that may arise, particularly any trip hazards or clutter in the entry way. If people arrive in a wheelchair or other mobility aid please assist them entering the building and finding a seat.

Admin for this job description:

Last updated: by Jon Blyth, June 2021.