"Friendly" Church

I don't think there is a church in existence that would say it's "unfriendly."
According to statistics from Natural Church Development, nearly all churches mark "Welcoming" and "Friendly" as a high strength.
But they are dead wrong.

People mistake "having friends" with "being friendly." And once a church has people that are friends, they run the real danger of becoming unfriendly to outsiders.

I do a bit of speaking at other ministry events. (By the way, Connections doesn't really do special events- we want to make every worship service special, and one that our regular attenders will want to invite friends to experience.) I am never surprised by the lack of friendliness.

Now of course I find some friendly people, but I take note of all the little things:
The parking attendant who makes me feel like an idiot for not knowing where to park.
The greeter who looks like they just ate a lemon.
The stack of programs on a table, but no one to give them out.

Now I also can feel a bit put-out walking by a large group of people who are having a good time and who don't even turn to acknowledge me. But I focus on the people in the visible roles of leadership. When someone is wearing a shirt, a volunteer tag or clearly in a volunteer role, there is NO excuse for unfriendliness.

Now I write all this because of my concern- people are starting to become friends at Connections. And therefore I KNOW that we run the risk of becoming unfriendly.

So to my peeps at Connections- make friends, but stay friendly. The first impression can make or break someones decision.