A welcome speech gives parishioners, meeting attendees, and visitors the chance to learn about your church and your goals. Your speech doesn’t have to be long, but there are a few things you must include. This article shares a step-by-step guide to help you write your church’s welcome speech and provides free samples to get you started.
Everyone is seated and waiting for you to speak. Are you ready?
A welcome speech is the first thing parishioners, meeting attendees, and visitors to your church will hear. It’s the chance for people to learn more about your church, the day’s agenda, and your goals.
In this article, we’ll share step-by-step instructions to help you write your welcome speech and five free samples to get you started.
Welcome speeches are an excellent way to set the tone for an upcoming meeting, service, or event and welcome old and new members of your church. Starting with a welcome speech gives your church service or meeting a warm start and helps those new to your church feel like they’re in the right place.
A welcome speech is also a great way to share what to expect during the rest of the service or meeting. When writing a welcome speech, try to find ways for parishioners to participate. You can achieve this by asking them to greet one another and educating them about how they can give any time during the service using their smartphones, via text or your online donation form.
Church speeches require a special approach and careful consideration. If you’re new to writing your church’s welcome speech, we’ve provided a few steps to help along the way.
The first and most important step to writing a welcome speech is understanding the situation. Whether you’re welcoming parishioners to your weekly Sunday service, a holiday special, or a church business meeting, each situation will have its own feeling and purpose.
Once you better understand why people are there, writing a welcome-to-church speech should be easier.
Now that you’re ready to start, you’ll want to introduce yourself and your church. Start with a smile and hello or welcome, and move on to sharing your name.
After that, you’ll need to share the name of your church or internal church group and the purpose of the service or meeting.
If you’re welcoming people to Sunday service, you may want to share your church’s mission statement to help connect people to your church’s goals. If it’s a holiday service or business meeting, a quick explanation should do.
Another crucial part of a welcome speech is to set expectations. You can do this with details about the upcoming service or meeting and how you expect people to participate.
Keep in mind what emotions you hope to convey. If the service is more subdued, keep a serious tone to your script. You may also want to limit the amount of crowd participation.
You’ll want a more festive atmosphere for holiday events and other special occasions. In these cases, find ways for parishioners to connect with each other and include words and agenda items to excite your audience.
Great church welcome speeches provide information on what your service, meeting, or holiday special will entail.
Details like the names of your pastor, team leaders, and musicians introduce vital team members to the audience. A quick introduction to the sermon or play helps parishioners know what to expect.
You can also use this time to share how people can support your church or small group with a text or online donation. By sharing this information initially, you let church attendees choose when to give and how, and you don’t interrupt the service and visitors’ spiritual connections.
Text-to-give is a convenient giving option for your parishioners and potential donors. Simply share your text-to-give number and campaign ID with your congregants or post it around your church. This will help people understand the process and quickly make a donation from their smartphones.
This also ensures that you can focus on the speech and won’t have to explain the giving process to people. Check out this guide to understand how churches can use text-to-give.
A primary role of church welcome speeches is to welcome newcomers. Introducing yourself and your church is a great first step, but you’ll also want to give them a chance to introduce themselves.
You can also ask them to share their name with the group if it’s a smaller meeting. However, this isn’t possible with Sunday and holiday services. So, take time to pause and ask everyone to introduce themselves to those around them.
This is essential to helping newcomers feel welcome in your church community.
If you’re looking for more church welcome ideas, check out this blog.
Once you’ve shared the names of your team members, what to expect, and given parishioners a chance to connect, what’s next?
That’s exactly what this step entails. Now’s your turn to hand over the reins to the choir, praise team, or another team leader. Take time to pray together before moving on.
Good morning, my name is (Name), and I want to welcome you to (Church Name). We want to thank all of you for joining us and sharing our goal of (Church’s Mission).
On this beautiful winter morning, our praise team led by (Director’s Name) and pastor have so much to share! Pastor (Pastor’s Name) is starting a new series about (Series Subject), and we’ll all join together in a few songs to add cheer to our building and hearts this winter season.
If you hear something that touches your heart today, please feel free to share it online. Cell phones are welcome during our services, but please keep them on silent. Also, if you feel moved, you can always share your tithe or offering via text. Information to donate by phone or online is in the program you received when you came in.
Before moving on, we want to welcome newcomers to our church home. We are so grateful to have you join us today. Can everyone please stand up? Take a few minutes to turn around and introduce yourselves to a new face or friend you haven’t seen in a while.
(Pause)
Thank you. Now, before the praise team starts the first song, let’s pray.
Good morning. We’re so grateful to have you join us at (Church’s Name) this beautiful Sunday morning to praise God and the Son of God. My name is (Name), and I’m the (Title). I also want to introduce you to our Choir Director (Name) and Pastor (Name).
Every week, we gather together to share in God’s blessings, and this week is no different. If you’re new to our church, we want to welcome you and ask you to reflect on the ways God has made a difference in your life. As the service continues, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet other members and join our community.
We also want to remind everyone that cell phones are welcome during the service, but please keep them on silent. Feel free to take notes on today’s service or share a comment on our Facebook page.
Also, if you feel so moved, you can always tithe or make an offering via text. Information to donate by phone or online is in your program.
Now, before our Choir takes the mic, let us pray.
Hello, my name is (Name), and I want to welcome you to (Church Name). We’re excited to see so many members and new visitors here to celebrate our church home. God has granted us so many gifts and the opportunity to share God’s word with those who need him most.
This evening we’re here to raise funds for (Campaign Goal). We’re honored to welcome (Sponsor Names) and (Special Guests).
We also want to welcome all the new visitors joining us tonight. We have several raffles and auction items for you to purchase tonight. We also welcome guests to donate what they can to support our campaign.
There are baskets around the building for cash or checks. You can also text your donation to (Text Number – Share in your program or screen).
Before I hand the mic over to our Auctioneer, I’d like to have (Pastor’s Name) lead us in prayer.
Welcome! Welcome! This Christmas, let’s celebrate Jesus’s birthday together! I’m (Name), and I want to welcome you all to (Church Name). We have a wonderful evening in store for you!
Tonight, several of our members will share the story of Jesus’s birth with a play titled (Christmas Play Title). We also have several incredible musicians who will share their gifts with all of us. We ask that you turn off your cell phones and if you do take photos, please turn off the flash.
Now, to start our evening off, please stand at sing (Hymn Name) with me.
Hello, My name is (Name), the (Title). Welcome to the meeting of (Group Name). We’re here today to discuss (the Purpose of the Meeting). Everyone should have a printed agenda. Please ask (Secretary’s Name) if you haven’t received one.
Once we’ve addressed and voted on the last meeting’s action items, we’ll open it to new business. We have a few visitors here to share (New Meeting Items).
Before we start our meeting, I’d like to start with a prayer.
Your church welcome speech will help you start your evening on the right foot. It’s not easy to ask for funds from your parishioners, but it is necessary, and your welcome-to-church speech is a good place to set the tone.
If your church doesn’t already have an online donation or text-giving tool, check out Donorbox. We have helped thousands of churches and other organizations in 96 countries raise over $1.6 billion in donations. Our features include text-to-give, recurring donations, peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding, events, memberships, QuickDonate™, and more.
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Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
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Kristine Ensor