Greetings to the church are of utmost importance. They say hello to returning members and welcome new churchgoers alike. Worship service greetings can be fun, funny, entertaining, somber or all the above.
When planning a church greeting, you want to remember to stay true to your style and be welcoming and informative.
At the beginning of a sermon, during the welcome, churchgoers get the tone of the church, say hello to their fellow congregants and so much more. So, make it a good one!
Below, we have several ideas and templates for you and your church that we hope are very helpful when planning your worship service greetings.
Table of Contents
- Giving Greetings to the Church
- Stay True to Your Style
- Welcome and Inform
- Scripts & Ideas for Church Greetings
Giving Greetings to the Church
When preparing your church welcome speech, consider who is listening to you. Does your congregation usually have visitors from out of town? Do locals seeking a new church home often find you? Are you a tight-knit group that rarely has visitors?
Think about cutting back on "church speak" during your church greetings. Too many unfamiliar words can be dividing or even intimidating. If greetings to the church fall on all deaf ears, feel free to throw some different speech, maybe even fun or funny talk in there.
Stay True to Your Style
If you're a serious person, don't lead with comedy. But, if you're a funny guy or gal, don't deliver a somber greeting. If you don't typically say “y'all”, don't say it during your announcements.
Worship service greetings should match the deliverer's style. You want church visitors and members alike to feel welcomed and informed. Deviating from your style can make those in the pews feel uncomfortable.
Welcome and Inform
Your church greetings should greet people. They should also help everyone feel welcome and informed. Use your greetings to set the tone and expectations for the following service.
Worship service greetings are a great time to tell congregation members what's going on in the church this week. It's also a good time to remind your church body of any upcoming deadlines or volunteer needs.
Scripts & Ideas for Church Greetings
Since each day the Lord has made is different, so greetings to the church shouldn't be the same. Services on Christmas or Easter have a feeling of excitement and anticipation. While others, especially during Lent or Holy Week, take a more somber tone.
Here are some church congregation greeting templates to help get your worship services off to a great start.
1. Scripture Based Greetings to the Church
Incorporating scripture into your church welcome is a great way to introduce others to The Word. Visitors may not be familiar with encouraging passages. Regular attendees came to hear God's Word, too.
Here are a few examples of worship service greetings that highlight The Bible.
Scripture Based Welcome Greetings to the Church #1
Hebrews 13:2 says Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. My name is [name] and I'm [position at church]. We here at [Church Name] want to welcome you in the Name of Jesus...even if you're not a stranger!
We are so blessed to have all of you here with us today. First and foremost, we want you to know about Jesus' gift to you. John 3:16 tells us that ‘God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son that we would not die, but have eternal life.’ If you have any questions about that verse and what it means, or any other questions, please find a pastor or church elder before you go today.
I'll ask our pastors and elders to stand. These men and women would love to get to know you today and share the Word of God with you.
Our church family loves to get together around The Bible each week. We're so happy you've come to join us. Please find a welcome card in the pew, fill it out and place it in the offering basket when it comes around.
After our service today, we'd love to have you stick around for Sunday School and adult education classes. They'll be meeting at [times and places].
Feel free to join us for some coffee and fellowship after that. If you'd like to join us for an activity during the week, those are listed on our bulletin and on the website [give website verbally and on a slide/PowerPoint].
Now let's stand as we worship the Lord together and dive into His Words for us.
(This is a good time to lead a prayer or go straight into worship songs).
Scripture Based Welcome Greetings to the Church #2
Psalm 107 verse two tells us, ‘Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— those He redeemed from the hand of the foe.’ We are so excited to be together today. We are the redeemed of the Lord and we can't wait to tell our story!
It's great to see familiar and new faces today. If we haven't met, my name is [name] and I am [position at church]. We want to remind everyone how much God loves you. We hope you'll experience the power and might of our Heavenly Father today as we worship together.
I have a few things I'd like to share with you today. First, we have Sunday school for adults and children after the service at [time and place]. Second, we'll be sharing a meal at [time and place] and would love to see you there as well.
This month, pastor [name] is taking us through the book of [name of book] in a sermon series titled, [sermon series name]. If you're joining us for the first time today, you can catch previous sermons on our website at [verbally tell website and visually post it].
With that, I'd like to extend to you the welcome Paul gave to the church in Romans chapter one, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's pray over our time together today.
Scripture Based Welcome Greetings to the Church #3
In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says, ‘For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’ Today, we gather in the great name of Jesus and know that He is here with us.
Welcome to [church name]! It's so great to see new and familiar faces today. My name is [name] and I am [position at church].
If this is your first time with us, we invite you to fill out a welcome card. Feel free to leave it at one of the baskets in the back before you leave or drop it off at the welcome center.
Today, pastor [name your pastor] will be preaching on a passage in the book of [name of book]. Let's open our Bibles to [name of book] today and locate that passage together. If you're not familiar with the Bible, you can find one in your pew.
First, flip to the book of [name of book], it's in the New Testament, towards the back of your Bible. I'll wait a minute here and let you find that.
Now, find chapter [chapter]. The chapters are the big, bold numbers. Great!
Once you've found chapter [name of book] find those teeny-tiny numbers, those are the verses. We'll be starting at verse one today to make things nice and simple for you.
Before I close in prayer, I want to invite you to join us for Sunday school at [time and date]. Take a look at the screen up front for our weekly church schedule. You can also find the church activities calendar on our website.
Thanks so much for being here. Let's pray together.
2. Make 'Em Laugh
Laughter is contagious and it helps put people at ease. A well-delivered, good-quality joke helps break the ice and grabs parishioners' attention.
Here are some church introductions that will make 'em laugh.
Funny Church Congregation Greetings to the Church #1
Good morning, everyone! I'm [name] and I am [position at the church]. It's great to see new and familiar faces here today.
My job this morning is to welcome you with a few brief announcements. Your job is to listen. If you finish your job before I finish mine, please let me know!
We're excited for what's coming up at [church name] this week. Check out your bulletin or the website for a full church calendar. If you're visiting us for the first time, stop by the welcome center for your welcome packet.
Today, pastor [name] will continue his sermon series on [title of series]. If you'd like to listen to previous sermons, they're on our website as well.
Before I finish announcements, is anyone done with their job before me today? Show of hands? Who's not listening anymore?
We really do hope you're blessed this morning. It's so great to laugh and worship as the body of Christ. Please join me as we thank our Heavenly Father for our time together today.
Funny Church Congregation Greetings to the Church #2
Good morning! It's great to see everyone here today. My name is [name] and I am [position at the church]. I'd like to start off by inviting all of you to enjoy coffee in the fellowship hall immediately following the service today.
The men in our congregation have recently been informed it is their Biblical duty to make the coffee. You can find it in the New Testament...HeBrews.
All joking aside, we have an exciting week coming up here at [church name]. If you're visiting for the first time today, we extend an especially warm welcome to you. Please feel free to pick up your free gift at the welcome center before you leave today.
We hope you'll join us for Sunday school and adult education today after coffee hour. And if the coffee doesn't taste good, you know who to blame!
Joking, joking, we know it will be great! Before pastor [name] comes to bless us with God's Word today, please bow your heads in prayer with me.
3. Evangelistic Worship Service Greetings
Does your church love reaching those who haven't heard the Good News of Jesus? If so, you might want to take an evangelistic approach to your church's welcome speeches.
Evangelistic Congregation Greetings to the Church #1
Welcome, welcome, welcome to our church family and visitors today! We are so excited to worship together and share the love of Jesus today. If we haven't met before, I am [name] the [position at the church].
Our family of believers here at [church name] come before the Father every Sunday to praise Him for what he does for us. We believe that Jesus is God's one and only Son who saves us from our sin.
We believe that Jesus loves us all and desires for us to know and love Him as well. We care deeply about our visitors and regular attenders here at [church name]. We want everyone to experience the love of Jesus today.
We invite you to listen to our preacher's message today with an open heart. Please join us for our Sunday school and adult education classes at [time and place]. We'd love to see you at our coffee hour [time and place] as well, who doesn't love free coffee at treats?
At this time, I'll ask our pastors and church leaders to stand. If there's anyone here who doesn't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, please find one of these friendly folks before you leave today. They would love to talk with you and answer any questions you might have about God, Jesus and the Bible.
Now, it's our delight and pleasure to worship together as a church family. Please join me in prayer before we listen to [pastor's name] bless us with the word of God.
Evangelistic Congregation Greetings to the Church #2
Hello, [church name] family and visitors. We're so glad you're here today to worship the Lord together. For those who don't know me, my name is [name] and I'm [position at the church].
At [church name] we believe that Jesus has come to save us all from a sinful world. We believe that each and every one of you is loved by our God and Savior.
It's our deepest desire that every person here is redeemed by our Lord and Savior. As you listen to [pastor's name] speak about [sermon topic or scripture] today, we invite you to pray together.
Pray for [pastor's name] as he/she delivers God's message to us. Pray for the people sitting next to you today. Pray for our world and our country.
Bring your troubles and your gratitude before God today. If you haven't already, we pray that you will come to know Jesus as your Savior. We would love to surround you as a supportive community in Jesus' Name today.
Whether it's the first time you've been here or the 100th time you've been here, we want you to know Jesus and trust Him as your Savior. I'll ask our church leaders and pastors to stand at this time.
If you have any questions about what you hear today or things you've heard about God in the past, find one of these friendly faces. They'll be more than happy to connect with you and address any questions you may have.
If it's your first time here, grab a connection card or fill one out online. You'll find the QR code and website on the back of your bulletin. Join me in prayer today as we come before the Lord and ask Him to bless our time together.
4. Church Happenings
When you welcome someone to church, you may want to let them know about activities outside church worship time. Pairing welcome messages with information about church activities invites guests and regular attendees to be involved.
Church Happenings Welcome Message Greetings to the Church #1
Welcome, one and all to worship today! We are delighted you've joined us this morning. If we haven't met, my name is [name] and I'm [position in the church] here at [church name].
First and foremost, I want to direct your attention to our welcome slide up here. We'd love for you to join us for one or many church activities during the week.
I'd like to highlight our Wednesday evening opportunities today. If you have children, we invite them to take part in our children's ministries' activities coming up this week.
I'd like to personally invite you to join us at our Sunday school hour [time and location]. The nursery is open during [time] and is located [directions] for our tiniest VIPs.
Please take a moment to fill out a prayer card or visitor info card and drop them in the offering basket by the doors on your way out. We're so excited to worship together today and continue our fellowship throughout the week together.
Let's stand together and worship The Lord this morning with our voices.
Church Happenings Welcome Message Greetings to the Church #2
Good morning! I'm so happy to see you all here today, thank you for coming to [church name]. My name is [name] and I am [position at the church].
At [church name], we love to gather together to worship, volunteer and study the Bible together. If this sounds like fun to you, we'd love to have you join us at [times and locations of Bible studies].
Now, we also like to have fun! Any athletes or sports fans out there? Great! Meet up with [group name] for [sport or activity] on [time and date].
Ok, who here likes to eat? Does anyone here today like food? Good news for you, we've got groups for that, too!
Today, for example, there's coffee and treats at [time and location]. For a full calendar of our church events, check out our website or scan the QR code in your bulletin.
I'll ask the church leaders to stand at this time. If you have any questions about activities or something you've heard about here today, find one of these fine people. They'd love nothing more than to get to know you and answer any questions you might have.
Let's worship The Lord this morning together with a word of prayer. Please pray with me.
5. Greetings That Inspire Generosity
President Theodore Roosevelt famously stated ‘Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.’ Once attendees know how much your church cares, they're more likely to care about what you know.
Your church congregation greetings can be a way to involve congregation members in community giving. Instead of providing welcome cards that only ask for information, try adding an element of charitable giving to the mix.
Anyone attending your church (new or not) can fill out a card or mobile form with their contact information. Next, they'll be prompted to select from one of five charities. Your church will donate $5.00 to the charity of their choosing.
This act shows visitors you care about your community. It's a reminder about the importance of community engagement to your current members. A charitable church greeting could go something like this.
Charitable Church Greetings to the Church
Hello, and welcome to [church name]! I'm [name] and I'm [position at the church]. It's so great to have new and familiar faces joining us in worship today.
I'd like to invite you to take out your cell phone or tablet right now. Yes, you heard me! Go ahead and take it out right now.
Scan the QR code in your bulletin or type the website on your screen into your browser. Today we're asking you to help us give back to our community. With your help, [church name] is donating $5.00 to one of those five organizations on the screen.
You can tell us which of those you'd like us to select. We're so excited to have you worship with us and we appreciate you helping us give back to our community. We love our neighbors and want to show them the love of Jesus.
Today, you're helping us share Christ's love with those around us and we do appreciate that! So, go ahead, right now. I'll wait a few minutes and when you're finished, we'll open today's service with a word of prayer.
6. Let Your Youth Shine
Sometimes, a fresh young face up front could prompt parishioners to pay attention. Ask members of your youth group to deliver the morning welcome message. Make sure the youngsters are comfortable speaking in front of the congregation.
Youth should practice their welcome messages to a pastor or another adult before speaking in front of the entire church. They should have their message written down and prepared ahead of time.
Youth Greetings to the Church
Good morning! I am [name], I'm a [grade in school or age] and I'd like to personally welcome you to [church name] today. On behalf of the youth group, I'd like to thank you for joining us here for morning worship. [Church Name] has [number] of youth group members.
We meet every Sunday and Wednesday night to study God's Word and grow in faith together. Last year, we [name a few things the youth group has recently done or learned]. It's a great group here, and we are enjoying each other a lot as we learn more about The Lord's will for our lives.
We've got quite a few things going on this week. Wednesday activities will take place [place and time]. I'd also like to draw your attention to the [upcoming event] this [time] here at the church.
All funds raised help to send me and other members of the youth group to [event/convention/camp/mission trip]. We're truly grateful for your generosity and we hope you'll join us for some good food.
Today, pastor [name] will be preaching on [title or passage]. After that, we'd like you to join us for Sunday school at [time and place].
If you're visiting today, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to you. Feel free to fill out the contact cards in the pews and put them in the collection baskets as they come by. You can also find the welcome info online by scanning the QR code in your bulletin or heading to our website.
Please pray with me as we prepare our hearts for worship this morning.
7. Church Welcome Video Loops
Worship service greetings can take many shapes and be delivered in a variety of ways. You need not limit yourself to addresses from the pulpit. Many churches play church welcome videos before worship while members and guests gather. The videos are colorful and upbeat music accompanies the graphics. By playing these videos with the volume on low, you can create a welcoming atmosphere for all.
If you’re looking for videos you can play on your projector at church, Vanco has created a YouTube playlist just for you.
If you would like to access more video resources, please subscribe to Vanco’s channel. Our team is hard at work building videos for welcomes, countdowns, closing prayers, offerings and informational guides.
8. Welcoming Church Countdown Videos
Imagine this: it's Sunday morning, and the church is buzzing with anticipation. Friends, families and first-timers all waiting for the worship service to begin. But how do you build up that excitement and make sure everyone's on the same page? Enter church countdown videos!
These time-tested gems are perfect for worship service greetings, getting your congregation's attention, creating a sense of unity and setting the stage for an unforgettable experience. With a blend of engaging visuals, uplifting music, and the ever-ticking clock, these videos are the missing ingredient to kickstart services with a bang.
But where can you find these videos for your worship service greetings? Building engaging video countdowns can be time consuming and paying for them can be expensive. Don't worry. Vanco's got you covered with eight church countdown videos that are free to stream on YouTube for any church or religious service. The videos come in a variety of increments, including one minute, two minute, five minute, 10 minute, 15 minute, 20 minute and 30 minute. They all use welcoming music and visuals too.
If you're looking for even more videos and resources, such as guides, offering or prayer videos and church invitation letter templates, click on the links in this text and be sure to subscribe to our channel. We're always hard at work building engaging video content to guide and simplify your church management and worship services.
192 Amazing Church Speeches & Templates
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