How to design a church welcome area for first-time visitors
TL;DR
Make the welcome point visible and keep information focused on a visitor’s immediate questions. Check the whole journey from the car park to the main room with someone who does not already know your building.
Welcome Area Chaos...
Today I want to talk about one of the first things people experience when they arrive at your church: the foyer, entrance hall or welcome area.
Unfortunately, many church foyers and welcome areas are not designed with much thought. Often they develop over time and actually end up like another messy noticeboard.
A welcome table gets added. Then a banner appears for an upcoming course. Someone leaves a pile of charity leaflets. There are giving forms, old magazines, small group cards, children’s information and a sign about the car park.
Before long, the space contains plenty of information, but very little of it helps a visitor understand what they should do next.
The first job of your welcome area is not to tell people everything happening in the life of the church. It is to help them feel that they are in the right place and understand what happens next.
So here are a few tips for improving your welcome area.
Make the welcome point obvious
A welcome table hidden in the corner is not especially useful. People should be able to see it as soon as they enter, ideally before they have to decide where to go.
It also needs to remain visible when the room is busy. A small sign placed on the table can disappear once a few people are standing around it, so the sign may need to sit behind or above the table instead.
The aim is to make it obvious and unmissable to a guest.
Do not put everything on the table
Your welcome table does not need information about every ministry, event, course and charity your church supports.
The more you put on it, the harder it is for a new visitor to find what they need.
Think about what somebody actually needs on their first visit. That might be clear information about children’s groups, a simple welcome card, details of your next newcomer event and one obvious way to ask a question.
That may be enough. Don't try to make the welcome area serve newcomers and regular members equally. Members can get their information elsewhere.
Remember, it shouldn't carry the full weight of your church communication strategy.
Answer the questions people are actually asking
Churches often organise information around ministry names and internal categories. Visitors are asking much simpler questions.
Where does my child go?
When do they leave?
Where are the toilets?
Can I sit anywhere?
What happens after the service?
Your signs and welcome materials should answer questions like this in plain language.
A sign saying “Trailblazers this way” (or whatever fun name you've given Sunday School) may not be useful to a visitor. Something like this is far more helpful:
“Register your children here before the service. Children stay with you for the first 15 minutes and will then be invited to their groups.”
We need to think about answering the questions they have while assuming they know nothing about us.
Check signage and the route through your church building
Sometimes the problem starts before somebody reaches the welcome desk.
Can they work out which entrance to use from the car park?
Is children’s registration clearly marked?
Can they find the toilets without interrupting someone?
Is the route into the main room obvious?
Good signage matters, but the layout matters too. Furniture and sightlines can either guide people naturally or leave them standing in the doorway wondering where to go.
Test the welcome journey with someone new to your church
The problem with reviewing your own church building is that you already know how everything works.
Ask somebody who doesn't attend to walk through the experience with you. Start outside and ask where they would park, which entrance they would use, where they would go once inside and what confused them along the way.
You may be surprised by what they notice.
A good welcome area does not need expensive furniture, a giant screen or a perfectly branded welcome desk.
It simply needs to make a cautious visitor feel that they are in the right place and they know what to do next.