Guest Services

A Hole In Guest Services

By Casey Ross / Director of Ministry Services / Browns Bridge Community Church Browns Bridge has been open a little over three years. We have amazing volunteers on our Parking Teams, Host Teams, and Information Center Teams. We have the best leadership over Guest Services...I can say that because it is not me. Over the last year, we have really become intentional about focusing on not only the how of Guest Services but also the why of Guest Services. So you would think we have Guest Services pretty much figured out. We don't. We have discovered a significant hole in Guest Services. How did we discover this hole? Waumba Land, our preschool environment, made us aware of the hole. Apparently a number of first time guests have been walking into our building, feeling uncertain about where to go, and have been coming to our preschool check-in area to get help. Our preschool volunteers have done a tremendous job of helping these guests, but it's not their job to do this. So we're creating a first time guest assistance kiosk right next to our preschool environment. We've never done anything like this, and we're still working on what it will look like. But we're excited about one more opportunity to welcome, inform, and serve our guests, especially our first time guests. This situation has reminded us of two important things. First, those involved in Guest Services should not be the only ones evaluating Guest Services. Second, we will never have Guest Services all figured out.

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Valuing Volunteers

By Mike Hartley / Director of Guest Services / North Point Community Church The role, Director of Guest Services, can become problematic when taken too literally. We should hold any such titles we have been assigned up to brilliant bright light. Rather than managing from a Director's Chair, we would be better served by consciously operating from a role of support and encouragement. Paul suggested to the church at Philippi: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had."  (Philippians 2: 3-5) Our mission of welcoming, informing, and serving our guests is dependent on the gracious participation of an incredible group of volunteers. This realization should provide an impetus to serve and support rather than direct and dictate. Identify, recruit, apprentice, and develop volunteer leaders with like values. Constantly affirm your thanks and blessings for their contributions and participation and seek ways to better support them. A strategy of authentic service and sincere recognition is overwhelmingly appreciated more than any material recognition one could possibly provide and will lead to increased numbers who want to serve.  More volunteers means greater individual margin preventing service burn out. The win is volunteer satisfaction, and less attrition. The result is caring, dedicated servants all focused on creating a warm, welcoming, safe environment where the unchurched can come and hear life-changing truth that Jesus Christ cares for them and died for their sins.

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When Someone Has A Bad Experience

By Casey Ross / Director of Ministry Services / Browns Bridge Community Church You can think through every detail. You can create strong systems. You can train every volunteer. You can prepare for every situation. And someone is going to have a bad experience at your church. You can't be perfect. Sometimes their bad experience is your fault. A system may fail. A volunteer may mess up. Sometimes their bad experience is not your fault. Another guest may do or say something. The guest's expectations may be unrealistic. Regardless of whose fault it is, be very thankful when you hear about their bad experience. When (not if) someone has a bad experience at your church, be very thankful when you know about it. If you do not hear about it, you cannot do anything to fix what went wrong. You cannot do anything to apologize and attempt to make the situation right. And you cannot do everything possible to make sure it does not happen again. When a guest has a bad experience at Browns Bridge, it gives us several opportunities. First, it gives us the opportunity to apologize. Too many times in today's culture, people and organizations make excuses. It's okay and healthy to say we're sorry and admit we messed up. Second, it gives us the opportunity to admit we're not perfect. This is a good thing for others to hear, but it is a very good thing for us to admit to ourselves. Third, it gives us the opportunity to cast vision. Any time we're apologizing to someone, we have a captive audience. What better time to cast vision and connect their experience to our vision?

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Reach Out To Your Volunteers

By Erin Ritter / Guest Services Volunteer Coordinator / Buckhead Church Recently, we had a young lady join one of our Guest Services teams. After her first Sunday serving with us, we didn’t see her again. We contacted her to make sure everything was alright and soon realized that, because of a simple miscommunication, she had been placed on the wrong team. That’s an easy problem to solve, so we quickly moved her to the appropriate team. However, after her first Sunday with the new team we noticed that, again, she continued to be absent. We understand that people’s circumstances change, so we began to wonder if Guest Services was just not the right fit for her. It’s not for everyone, and we would never want anyone to feel obligated to serve in an area that wasn’t suited for them. I asked her Team Captain to reach out to her to see if we could help her find a better fit. When the Team Captain communicated with her, she quickly found that this volunteer was dealing with some difficult things in her personal life. There were financial struggles. She is a single mom, raising four children on her own… one of whom is very sick. These issues were the reason for her absences. Through several conversations, a friendship began to develop. Her Team Captain came alongside to encourage her, pray for her, and help her carry these heavy burdens. Today, her team and her church are helping her navigate through this difficult time in her life. One of the tangible ways we are doing this is by providing Christmas for her family. This season, North Point Ministries is helping many families in need both locally and globally. This volunteer’s family is one of them. All because her Team Captain took the time to invest in a relationship with her.

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Make It Personal

By Jake Miller / Director of Guest Services / Browns Bridge Community Church We come in contact with our volunteers every Sunday. We know their roles on our teams, and we see them fulfill their responsibilities. When the opportunity presents itself, we engage in a little small talk. But... do we really know them? Who are they are during the week? What do they do for a living? Are they married? Do they have kids? How is their family life? What is their story? As paid staff, it can be easy to forget that our volunteers have a life outside of Sunday.  That narrow view often causes us to think of our volunteers as people who simply accomplish a task on Sunday... and nothing more. We tend to forget that, like us, they have families, careers, and hobbies. Like us, they deal with stress, pressure and deadlines. Like us, they have successes and failures. The list goes on. In the busyness of Sunday, there is much to be done and little time to build relationships. But what would happen if we actually took the time to invest in relationships with our volunteers... outside of Sunday? To make it personal. Grab coffee with them, or take them to lunch. Invite them into our homes. Take a genuine interest in their lives. When we make it personal, everything changes. Our interactions with them take on more meaning. Our conversations with them have depth. The relational mileage increases our ability to lead them effectively. Investing in the lives of our volunteers takes intentionality. It takes time. But it's so worth it.

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