Story by Elizabeth Hunter

Also...

On the front end of outreach is connecting with visitors. A call for reader responses to The Lutheran indicated these practices:
• Providing an inviting and hospitable environment in which different kinds of people feel welcome.
• Providing a safe, loving and comfortable nursery where children feel important and cherished.
• Welcoming visitors with genuine care and compassion, not just with a one-time polite greeting. Making visitors feel like their presence really makes a difference.
• Intentionally following up with visitors through phone calls and other techniques, like delivering home-baked goods to a visitor's home.
• Providing ministries that allow people of all ages to grow spiritually and use their gifts fully in the life of the church.
• Getting new members connected early with other people and involved in ministry, such as small groups.