Dear Ward:
Thank you for the opportunity to recommend Welcoming Touch Ministries. I can recommend your ministry because I was able to experience the difference that the Welcoming Program made at Trinity Baptist Church. When my wife and I first visited Trinity Baptist Church we found a fine Bible-believing church made up of sincere believers who were seeking to become more Christ-like in their relationship with our Savior. What we did not find was a church which made us feel particularly welcome. When we again visited Trinity, a few years later after you developed the Welcoming Program, we saw a dramatic difference. In some ways it was as if we were attending a different church. We no longer felt like “attendees”, we now felt as though we were being welcomed into a family.
Years later, as an Elder and Small Group Ministry Point Person at Trinity, I saw the Kingdom value of a “welcoming culture”. As I spoke with newcomers and read completed visitor cards, I saw that Trinity’s welcoming environment was one of the primary reasons that first time visitors returned to Trinity. And while I realize that enlarging God’s Kingdom must be grounded on the accurate and winsome exposition of His Word, I also understand that new attendees may never claim that blessing if they do not return for subsequent visits.
I can heartily recommend Ward Utterback’s Welcoming Touch Ministry because I have seen the difference that a “welcoming culture” makes in a church body, over time. Ward has a winsome personality and his enthusiasm for what he does is contagious, in a very positive way. If your church body wishes to be intentional about disciple-making, Welcoming Touch Ministries can assist you in planting a seed which, if properly cultivated, will bloom into a “welcoming culture” that makes newcomers want to return for more.
Blessings,
Brian Moyer
Elder & Small Group Ministry Leader
Trinity Baptist Church
Reedsburg, WI.