In the Spotlight

Friends Making Friends

January and February are months of new beginnings, for some, a time to begin attending church. How can we as Friends reach out with a welcoming hand? Jackson Friends has successfully welcomed hundreds of visitors, including Galen and Malinda Oakes.

Do you remember when you were a first time visitor at a strange church? Perhaps it would be good for us to relive the experience.

After wading through dozens and dozens of options you finally select a target church. On the designated Sunday morning you leave the safe haven of your home behind and embark upon a voyage into the unknown. As you enter the church parking lot, a dozen questions swirl through your mind. Am I late? Am I too early? Where do I park? Which door do I enter? Where is the sanctuary? Will I find a seat? Will the pastor announce my presence from the pulpit and place me on public display as a 'visitor" or will I simply be ignored?

Pastor David Tebbs and the staff at Jackson Friends Church want to give the royal treatment to all who extend themselves by visiting our church for the first time. These brave adventurers who seek to worship with us are given the designation "New Friends" and are welcomed as such. After all, can you think of a better place to make a new friend than at a Friends church? Here's how Jackson Friends Church helps 'Visitors" become "New Friends."

Upon entering the front door, each person is met by a warm smile, a firm hand shake, and a sincere "Welcome, we're glad you're here." A small group of volunteers, made up of single adults and married couples, serve in this capacity on a one Sunday per month rotation. While the regulars may see these greeters as merely the person who hands them the bulletin, they mean far more to the first timer. The warmth of a handshake and smile offer quiet reassurance that they have come to the right place.

Should someone have a question regarding a Sunday School class or need help finding a particular room, they are directed to the welcome center in the lobby. There Dave and Jan Brittain are eager to answer their questions, offer a printed class list, a map of the church building, and a personal escort to their desired class.

In the worship service, Pastor Tebbs invites attendees to greet those around them where Newcomers meet two or three more potential friends.

After attending Jackson Friends Church for the first time a letter is sent to our guests thanking them for their visit and encouraging them to come again.

A "New Friends Reception" is held after church on the second Sunday of each month. Newcomers are given a brief tour of the church facility, which ends in the Java House, the church's coffee house. Here they are served a complimentary full dinner and are given a brief description of the ministries of the church, literature on the church, and an opportunity is given for them to ask questions. Several staff members and their spouses greet them, help answer questions, and thank them again for their visit.

After attending the church for the third time these New Friends are paid a return visit at their home. On Wednesday evenings, visitation teams deliver fresh baked loaves of bread or cookies as well as a CD of our church worship service. The visitation teams are encouraged to keep these visits brief, however, the impact of these encounters can be great.

Although nine years have passed since my wife and I received such a visit, we still clearly recall the event. The warm smiles and sincere expressions of appreciation for our interest in the church offered by Jeannie Shreve and Audrey Bramer served as confirmation to us that we had found our church. When we invited them to come in out of a sense of polite obligation, they cheerfully insisted that it was not necessary. They simply wanted to thank us for our visit and welcome us to return again.

As they left our front porch and we closed the door, my wife said to me, "Wow, I like this church." When we returned to worship the following Sunday morning, we were no longer visitors, but New Friends.

Submitted by

Galen Oakes, member of Jackson Friends Church