In 2007 our Welcoming group at Harvest Free Evangelical Church in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin was interested in getting help on special things we could do to make people feel at home while attending our church. Ward Utterback came to our rescue and offered a lot of valuable knowledge. A few things he suggested we immediately started such as; offering an umbrella and meeting folks at their vehicle, offering to pray with someone and realizing that the first 10 to 12 minutes when a person walks through the church door is the most important time. It was also suggested that we have a gift such as a coffee cup and information about the church to give to new people. During the Welcoming Ministry Workshop we had a lot of discussions on ideas to help Harvest be known as a loving caring community where newcomers felt overwhelmingly welcome. We took Ward’s ideas to heart and were told on several occasions how the warm welcome was the thing that brought people back on a regular basis.
Lynn & Marsha P.