(The following report from the "EP News Service," deals with a study of how visitors are treated in different churches. We want to share the article with you because it can also be easily applied to Sunday school.)

Visit the worship service of ten different Protestant churches in America and you will probably be treated ten different ways. Some churches ask visitors to wear nametags, others have visitors stand up and identify themselves during the service, and others don’t do anything special to recognize guests.

But how do visitors want to be treated? A new research by the Barna Research Group found that many visitors dislike receiving special attention simply because they are new at a church. In general, people said they want to be able to find out more about a church without being made the object of undue attention.

Over 900 unchurched respondents were asked for their reaction to nine different ways that a church might treat newcomers.

Asking newcomers to stand, raise their hands, or identify themselves in some other way while sitting in a service was the least popular practice. Only 23 percent of unchurched people questioned said they would like a church they were visiting to do this, while 64 percent said they would not like this, including 47 percent who said they would dislike it very much.

Wearing nametags was also frowned upon by the unchurched, only 21 percent of whom said they would like it; 63 percent said they would dislike being asked to wear a nametag while visiting a church.

George Barna, president of the Barna Research Group, said the problem with such approaches is that they put a spotlight on people who would like to be anonymous, at least at first. "Many unchurched people are uncomfortable with returning to church," he explained. "They don’t know anyone in the congregation, they don’t know the traditions of the church, they’re often not sure what to expect next in the service – and then suddenly they become the focus of the entire congregation."

The study found that there are non-threatening ways to encourage visitors to return. One is providing visitors with written information about the church – 74 percent of the respondents said they would like this. Receiving a thank you letter from the pastor during the week after their visit was rated positively by 70 percent of those questioned, and 67 percent had positive feelings about members approaching them after the service to greet them individually.

It would appear that visitors to a church would like to receive some special attention without being identified as visitors. Is this possible? Barna says it is.

"There are ways of showing visitors that the church is concerned about them, without invading their privacy. For instance, have literature about the church available in the pew racks, or at a table in the lobby, instead of stopping the service, having the visitors stand up, and having ushers hand them information about the church. Try to promote an attitude within the church whereby the ‘regulars’ try to get to know anyone with whom they are not familiar, instead of just greeting the visitors. This will facilitate more and closer relationships among people who regularly attend, which will be noticeable to newcomers. One key to growing a healthy church is to facilitate meaningful relationships between people."

The report concluded, "Visiting a church is a relatively uncomfortable experience for many people – especially those who have been out of the mainstream of church life for a time, and are cautiously considering whether or not to start attending. Tactics which put the visitor on the spot, however well-intentioned, are likely to cause more harm than benefit."

(This article appeared in the "Spring, 1991" issue of "The Herald.")