Too many churches don’t have an information center – and the ones that do seem to tuck it away against the back wall in some out-of-the-way corner. A well run information center is worth its weight in gold.
That being said, don’t make these information center faux pas:
- Instead of “Information Center,” it’s labeled “Visitors” or “Welcome” – bashful or timid visitors won’t bother to stop there.
- It’s left unstaffed when there are people in the building – even when the worship service has already been going for 32 minutes
- It’s not in a “can’t miss it” location – if a guest doesn’t nearly trip over it, or if it isn’t almost obnoxiously obvious, they’ll miss it every time.
- It doesn’t have up to date, four-color brochures on every church ministry – mimeographs and black and white copies are so 1990s.
- Those staffing it don’t know pretty much everything there is to know about the church – including the church’s mission, values, core beliefs, and who’s in charge of the next young adult movie night out. You want your brightest, best informed, and friendliest faces at your information center.
And if you really want to get traffic to your information center, double up and put your refreshments there too!
Question: Can you think of other ways to make your information center more inviting? Share your ideas in the Comments section below.
[…] Never Call it a Welcome Center. Does your church have a welcome center. According to Bill Tenny-Brittian you should be calling it an Information Center. Find out why and some other practical dos and dont’s for the Information Center. […]
Interesting points. Would be more effective with emphasis on what you advise vs what not to do.
1. Call it an information center (first sentence).
2. Staff it from well before worship to well after worship.
3. Relocate it someplace that a visitor can’t miss it.
4. Provide four color church brochures.
5. Educate your information hosts so they know what’s going on throughout the church.