One of the hallmarks of healthy churches is that they work hard at making a good first impression.
Helping first-time guests make the intimidating leap staying from at home to wanting to come back to our church again is much easier when they experience friendly people, helpful directions, easy-to-understand language and anything else the church can do to help them feel loved and welcomed.
Author
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Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of four books on church leadership. His fifth book, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next, releases on April 2, 2024.
He also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry. Episodes feature in-depth interviews about the topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.