Introducing… The Welcome Center

In the coming weeks, as you enter the sanctuary lobby on Sunday mornings, you will not only be warmly welcomed by our friendly greeters but will also see our brand new Welcome Center! The Welcome Center is the place where connectedness begins… where any person coming through the doors of our church can begin the process of being enfolded more deeply into the community and ministries of Evergreen SGV.

The Welcome Center is for newcomers, but it is not only for newcomers. It is for anyone not yet connected in our church family. So as you pay attention to the people around you on a Sunday morning and then take initiative to meet someone who is not yet connected in our church family, the next step is to bring that person to the Welcome Center.

One of the underlying values of all the ministries in our church is “Make it personal.” So the Welcome Center is not just a table with information on it, but it is people excited to converse with anyone seeking greater connectedness in our church. But the personal aspect of this ministry also extends to you—as you meet people who need to be connected, don’t just send them off on their own to find the Welcome Center, but bring them…walk with them and introduce them to the ministry volunteer serving there.

The Church is not the building we worship in, but rather the Church is us as the people of God. So in order for us to be the Church, we all need to do our part in helping others get connected in the Body. It is not just the job of the pastors, nor of just the ministry volunteers, to welcome and follow-up with the people God brings to our church—rather, that is the job of all of us. The Welcome Center ministry team has a particular assignment (to discover how best to follow-up with those needing to be connected), but they cannot do their job if all the rest of us are not actively noticing, welcoming and bringing people to the Welcome Center.

Perhaps you yourself do not yet feel very connected in our church family. If that is the case—even if you’ve been attending Evergreen SGV for a long time—then don’t be shy about coming by the Welcome Center, and let our friendly volunteers help you find out how to connect more deeply into the community and ministries of our church. This is a great time to do so, because the Branches are starting up again and there are plenty of opportunities coming up—“Experience Evergreen SGV”, baptisms, Women’s Retreat, MOPS, Sunday Men’s Group, and so on.

So bring someone, or come yourself, and experience our new Welcome Center!