This page contains the Introduction through the Executive Summary of the Welcoming Task Force report. The full report may be downloaded here in pdf formst.

Introduction - Purpose and Goals

In the fall of 2007 First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor formed a Welcoming Task Force composed of 15 men and women representing a broad cross section of members and/or regular attendees. The purpose of the Task Force was to investigate the ways in which we welcome visitors and new members to our church, and to make recommendations as to how we can improve in this area.

The specific goals of the Task Force were to gather information and develop recommendations which will:

1. Encourage new memberships at First Presbyterian Church;
2. Enhance a feeling of community within the current church membership;
3. Attract a more diverse membership with respect to culture, ethnicity and age.

Initially, the Task Force decided to identify and critically examine all of the ways in which a visitor might have their first contact with the church. We referred to these initial contacts as “points of entry” and grouped them according to common characteristics.

Subcommittee Structure and Organization

The Task Force identified 12 potential “points of entry” to the church. We attempted to address all the usual pathways in which an unfamiliar visitor might be exposed to the church, or conditions that would affect their initial experience at First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. The “points of entry” were organized into four groups. The Task Force was divided into four subcommittees of 3-4 members each. The subcommittee structure and assignments are described below:

Facility (Outdoor Signage, Parking Lot, Church Office, Welcome Center
Bryon Thelen (spokesperson)
Catrina Hamilton-Lanu
Kim Bryan

Worship (Worship Service, Worship Bulletin, Church Program)
Meg Brown (co-spokesperson)
Tom Trevethen (co-spokesperson)
Henry Johnson
Barb Blue

Outreach (Website, Radio, Newspaper Advertising, Voicemail Message)
Peter Bratt (spokesperson)
Sue Ashford
George Mozurkewich
Kirk Westphal

Community (Ushers/Greeters, Office Staff, Membership)
Lisa Pasbjerg (spokesperson)
Genie Sherard
Jim Clark
Ann Andrews

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

In the course of their investigations each subcommittee functioned independently from the other subcommittees. Information was gathered by a variety of methods including, but not limited to: personal interviews with staff, volunteers, new members and some standing committee representatives; site visits to other churches and discussion with their representatives; and internet searches. The Task Force met monthly through the fall to discuss progress reports by the subcommittees.

The report begins with an Executive Summary which highlights the findings and recommendations from each of the subcommittees. Next is the full report of all subcommittees including the findings from the New Member Survey. Note: a draft of this report (which did not include the final section on Summary and Recommendations) was initially presented to the Vision and Strategy Committee at their December meeting.

Executive Summary

Subcommittee on Facility: Outdoor Signage, Parking Lot, Church Office, Welcome Center)
Facility:

1. Numbering and lettering of all floors and rooms with Directories at all entrances
2. Consideration for babies (such as sound proof room or reserving last 3 rows)
3. Improvements in Narthex—brighter

Outdoor Signage:

1. Improve current outdoor sign’s lighting and visibility from the sides
2. “Welcome” signs at entrances
3. Temporary banners for special announcements

Parking Lot:

1. Signage and easy directions in back and at ends of lots
2. Maps on website for parking
3. Handicapped attention

Church Office:

1. More inviting layout
2. Better signage

Welcome Center:

1. Total re-do
2. “Information” title in signage
3. Moveable cart to welcome new members in social hall, outside terrace, etc.

Subcommittee on Worship (Worship Service, Worship Bulletin, Church Program)
Worship Service recommendations:

1. Give special attention to the back 1/3 of the sanctuary where most visitors tend to sit. Have designatedmembers (Evangelism Committee) assigned to sit in this area and make a special effort to welcome visitors.
2. Make sure that clergy available to “pass the peace” to visitors in this area.
3. Create a new “Welcoming” piece of literature for the pews.
4. Monthly “Name Tag” Sundays (at a minimum)
5. Have a “Welcoming Team” at coffee hour.
6. Define and promote a less traditional 5:45 PM worship service. This service would be designed to appeal to an audience that desires a more casual and participatory worship experience.

Worship Bulletin recommendations:

1. Continue statement of welcome in a prominent position.
2. Format and location of Mission Statement consistent every Sunday.

Church Program recommendations:

1. Improve promotion and “publicity” of various programs to better serve our church members and to create better outreach to the community.
2. Continually evaluate programs for best demographic fit and to maximize diversity for broad appeal and participation.
3. Use endorsements of church members to promote programs.

Subcommitte on Outreach (Website, Radio, Newspaper Advertising, Voicemail)
Website:

1. Short-term fixes such as cleaning up data, providing visitor information, and improving links within website
2. Long-term fixes include modernizing look and feel, using photos, providing FAQ’s

Radio:

1. Begin and end with announcement introducing and informing about First Presbyterian
2. Develop strategies to deal with dead periods
3. Advertise the Sunday broadcast during the week

Advertising:

1. Statement in newspaper ads saying “All are welcome”
2. Update newspaper ads to capture interest
3. Advertise in other outlets
4. Redesign Yellow Pages ad with help from members with marketing expertise

Voicemail:

1. Make message warmer
2. Provide avenues for more detailed information

Subcommittee on Community (Ushers/Greeters, Office Staff, Membership)
Ushers/Greeters:

1. Expand greeter locations to include side door to the narthex.
2. Provide optional examples of what to say for greeters.
3. Foster an expectation that all greeters and ushers wear name tags.

Office Staff:

1. Have trained paid staff during business hours and on Sundays before and after services.
2. Improve training of front desk volunteers so that they can be more helpful to both members and visitors.
3. Develop an easy to update office manual.

Membership:

1. Use of “church window pins” to identify visitors.
2. More frequent name tag Sundays with members encouraged to bring a visitor.
3. Interim step between first time visitor and New Member class to acquaint a prospective new member with what it means to be a Presbyterian.
4. Encourage members to continue their personal welcoming effort.

New Member Survey:
We learned from the new members of the last 14 months that initially their “Presbyterian history” was the most often sited reason to attend our church. The second most common reason was the recommendation of a friend or colleague. It is this second reason that we should find very encouraging. It gives our members the power to make a difference, even before all of the traditional attributes of our church community are taken into consideration. These survey shows that these attributes become more important as visitors return and learn more about our church. The strength of our youth programs and the performance of our pastoral staff were sited more frequently than any other reason for a visitor’s continued attendance. It is a combination of many different issues for visitors to make a commitment to membership in the church. The importance of making a commitment was very personal and far outweighed any practical considerations in the decision to join.

The rating of our welcoming effort revealed that one in four new members did not feel particularly welcome on the occasion of their initial visit to the church. This should be of great concern to our membership. The actual number of visitors that did not feel welcome can be assumed to be higher because we do not have the opinions of those who chose not to return, perhaps because they did not feel welcome.

Finally, new members were asked to suggest ways to improve our welcoming at the church. There were numerous suggestions, but the three most common were:

• improving the greeting procedure by greeters and ushers;
• create better identification and greeting procedures for visitors;
• develop a mentoring program for new members to welcome them into an active roll in our church community