Our church had struggled to retain our guests. We had dozens of people visit our church each year but only a handful would come back. That’s why we invited Welcoming Touch Ministries to come and help us do a better job of being a welcoming church. It made a huge impact.
Ward came and did a secret visit first [October 2013]. A couple months later we had him do the seminar for our leaders. Then finally we brought him in for a Sunday sermon where all our people could catch the vision. All three experiences were informative and helpful. We started applying the principles and methods Ward taught us and our church started becoming a more welcoming church. More and more of the guests God sent our way started coming came back and getting involved. God even used Ward and Welcoming Touch Ministries to help us grow beyond the capacity of our sanctuary. As a result, we had to expand the sanctuary and remodel the church.
Having been through the Welcoming Touch Ministries [training], we were well equipped to know how best to redesign our facility. We wanted to make key adjustments to the building so that it could be a tool that would help us welcome more guests. And that is exactly what we did. Many of the changes we made to the building were done in order to make the facility more welcoming. It has made an incredibly positive impact. Had we [not] had Welcome Touch Ministries come to our church, we most likely would have missed making the key facility changes that have helped so much.
By discipling our people to be welcoming with the help of Welcoming Touch Ministries and by designing the facility changes to aid in the process, we are expecting even more growth. The future of Roseville Baptist Church is bright and we are grateful for how God has used Welcoming Touch Ministries in the process. If you want your church to be a welcoming church, I recommend you reach out to Welcoming Touch Ministries. If your church is wanting to do a better job of developing relationships and showing love to those God sends your way, then you ought to ask Ward Utterback to come and show you how. You will be so glad you did.
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Jackie Hill
Roseville Baptist Church
Roseville, MN.