1/19/25 牧者之言

 
希伯来书13:2 不可忘记用爱心接待客旅，因为曾有接待客旅的，不知不觉就接待了天使。教会要对每位新朋友热情友好，使他们感受到家的温暖。

近日我在一个偶然的机会读到一封信。这封信是一间达拉斯教会牧者写给我们教会一位弟兄全家人的，弟兄一家人去年曾于复活节到他们教会参加过一次崇拜。信的内容大致是这样的：

“当有人选择加入我们敬拜上帝时，我们 xx （教会）总是认为自己是受祝福的。所以非常感谢你们在过去的复活节赐予我们这些祝福。你们走了这么远的路。希望你们回家时安全愉快。我们希望你们与我们在一起的时间能帮助你们度过这一周，帮助你们将上帝赐予你们的祝福带给所有与你们相遇的人。下次来达拉斯时，请再次与我们分享对上帝的赞美。愿他的平安与你们同在。我，在主的爱中属于你们……”

这封信给我很大启发，让我看到这位牧者和他所牧养的教会重视每个新朋友，并将新朋友的到来视为上帝对他们教会的祝福。他在复活节后第二天专门花时间给新朋友写信这一举动也提醒我和我们教会需要更多关爱新朋友。

我在网上搜了“七句话帮助教会留住新朋友”的信息，转引自生命之道基督徒资源中心（LifeWay）主席Thom S. Rainer博士所说的话。以下是我们可以对新朋友说的七句话：

1.“谢谢你来！” 这是最基本的，我听过无数的新朋友愿意再度造访教会，只因为有人对他们的莅临表示感激。

2.“让我来帮你吧。” 如果你看到有人雨伞打不开、小孩在哭闹、手上拿了很多东西，伸出援手帮助他们吧！当然弟兄姐妹之间彼此这样互相帮助也是很重要的。

3.“你要不要坐这个座位？” 当我去一间教会讲道时，我听到这句话两次。其中一次是有一个五人的家庭正在找位子坐，有位会友对他们说的。

4.“这是我的Email，如果有什么可以帮得上忙的，都可以联络我。”当然不能随便给任何人自己的Email，总要谨慎。但这样的动作能让新朋友感受到我们的热情和温暖。

5.“需要帮你带路吗 ？”就算在小教会里，新朋友也可能找不到幼儿室、厕所或大堂等地方。而如果我们看到有人在东张西望，通常也猜得出来他正在找路。

6.“让我介绍这位给你认识。”新朋友回访率通常会因为他有认识教会中其他人而提高。会友如果有机会，就可以介绍牧师、全职同工或其他会友给新朋友认识。

7.“要不要和我们一起吃午餐？” 这句话被留到最后一点有两个原因。第一，说这句话要视情况而定，如果状况合宜才提出邀请。第二，比起其他方法，这个方法对于提升回访率是最有效的。而且邀请新朋友一起吃饭负担其实没有很大，又能带出效果。

假设一个教会每周有两位新朋友，一年大约就会有100位新朋友。如果大部分的基督徒都能真诚地欢迎新朋友，搞不好一半的新朋友就会愿意留下来。突破教会人数瓶颈重要的第一步，正是和新朋友的良好互动（参https://blog.creaders.net/u/7254/201506/223279.html）

注意：千万不要向新朋友推销你个人产品或卖东西给他们，更不能搞传销。若有新朋友是来自异端（比如“耶和华见证人会”）或异教（比如“法轮功”），我们则要捍卫真道，指出他们教义上的错误，确保福音纯正，以免教会受到不必要的搅扰。

我们期待新朋友再来我们教会的目的并非为了多拉一个人入教，而是为了使我们能有更多机会与他们分享主的恩典和慈爱。愿主赐福带领我们教会今后在欢迎新朋友上能做得更好！

1/19/25 Pastor’s Word
Welcoming New Visitors

Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

The church should be warm and friendly to every new friend, so that they can feel the warmth of home. Recently, I read a letter by chance. This letter was written by a pastor of a church in Dallas to the family of a brother in our church. The brother and his family went to their church to attend a worship service at Easter last year. The content of the letter is as follows:

“We of  x x (church) do always consider ourselves blessed when others choose to join us for the worship of God. So thank you ever so much for bestowing this blessings upon us this past Easter Day. You came such a long way. Do hope your return home was safe and enjoyable. And we hope that your time with us is providing to be an aid for you as you journey through this week, helping you to be a blessing from God to all those others with whom He is crossing your path. When next in Dallas, please share with us again in God’s praise. His Peace be with you. I am, yours in the love of Our Lord…”

I searched online for information on “Seven words to help the church retain new friends” and quoted from Dr. Thom S. Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resource Center. Here are seven words we can say to a new friend:

1. “Thank you for coming!” This is the most basic. I have heard countless new friends willing to visit the church again just because someone expressed gratitude for their presence.

2. “Let me help you.” If you see someone with an umbrella that can’t be opened, a child crying, or holding a lot of things in their hands, lend a hand to help them! Of course, it is also important for brothers and sisters to help each other like this.

3. “Do you want to take this seat?” When I went to a church to preach, I heard this word twice. One of the times was when a family of five was looking for a seat, and a member said to them.

4. “This is my email. If there is anything I can help you with, you can contact me.” Of course, you can’t give your email to anyone casually, and you must always be cautious. But such action can make new friends feel our kindness and warmth.

5. “Do you need help finding your way?” Even in a small church, a new friend may not be able to find the nursery, bathroom, or lobby. If we see someone looking around, we can usually guess that he is looking for his way.

6. “Let me introduce this friend to you.” The return rate of a new friend is usually higher because he knows other people in the church. If a member has the opportunity, he can introduce the pastor, full-time staff or other members to the new friend.

7. “Would you like to have lunch with us?” This word is saved for the last point for two reasons. First, it depends on the situation. Only make an invitation when the situation is appropriate. Second, compared with other points, this point is the most effective in increasing the return rate. Inviting new friends to eat together is actually not a big burden, and it can bring results.

Assuming that a church has two new friends every week, there will be about 100 new friends a year. If most Christians can sincerely welcome new friends, maybe half of the new friends will be willing to come back. The first important step to break through the bottleneck of church attendance is to have good interactions with new friends (see https://blog.creaders.net/u/7254/201506/223279.html)

Note: Never sell your personal products to new friends and never engage in pyramid selling. If new friends come from heresy (such as “Jehovah’s Witnesses”) or cult (such as “Falun Gong”), we must defend the truth, point out their doctrinal errors, and ensure the purity of the gospel to prevent the church from being disturbed unnecessarily.

The purpose of expecting new friends to come to our church again is not to attract more people to join a religion organization, but to give us more opportunities to share the grace and love of the Lord with them. May the Lord bless and guide our church to do better in welcoming new friends in the future!