Having a church welcome letter for new members is an easy way to connect with new congregants and communicate important information about your church. A new member welcome letter is one of the best practices, that can be used to leave a good impression on new congregants.
It is a great way to give a warm welcome to new members in a personal way. You get to welcome new members and explain more about your local church.
But what should go in your welcome message? There are many things that you should consider putting into your church letters. To welcome new members, your letter should have a brief introduction, an introduction of the staff, an overview of the ministries that you provide, contact information, and an invitation to service.
Doing all of these things is a great way of welcoming new members. It is a great opportunity to understand what your church is all about and helps them to feel welcomed with open arms.
As a part of this article, we will be discussing the important sections of a church welcome letter for new members and providing samples for each section. You can combine the samples to create a complete sample letter, and you can put your church and pastors and information to personalize it. It should be a simple template that you can tailor for your church’s specific identity.
To begin, let’s look at the first portion of the church welcome letter for new members, the brief introduction.
Brief Introduction
Having a brief introduction is important to setting up the rest of your letter. In the introduction, you want to make sure that you welcome new members and introduce the senior pastor as well as the mission of the church.
We recommend phrasing this letter as a letter from the senior pastor. Getting a letter from the senior pastor will make the recipients feel honored and important. It is a good idea to phrase the letter as it is coming from the senior pastor.
The brief introduction is a wonderful opportunity to introduce the mission of the church as well. Every church should have a mission and a vision. If your church doesn’t, we recommend getting one. In the brief introduction, you want the new members to know why your church exists. That is why you give them the mission and vision in this portion.
Sample of the Brief Introduction
“Hey (new member’s name),
Welcome to Cross Roads Church! We are honored that you have decided to become a member here.
My name is Pastor (Intert name)! I am the senior pastor here at Cross Roads Church, and I’ve been leading the church for (insert amount of time). My family and I moved here (insert number of years) ago. My wife and I have (list number of kids and names of kids).
Here at Cross Roads Church, we exist to help people discover God, grow in relationships, and make an impact on the kingdom of God. We do this through our Sunday morning services, our small group ministry, and our serving opportunities throughout the year.
Here at Cross Roads Church, we believe some of the ministries that we offer to fulfill this vision…”
Overview of Ministries offered
Providing an overview of the ministries that your church offers is a great way of helping new members understand what your church does. This portion will vary depending on what ministries your church offers. Make sure this section matches what your church actually provides.
To start this portion, it is important to introduce the staff to the new members.
Introduction of the Staff
Introducing the staff in the church’s welcome letter for new members is an essential part of letting the new members know who is in charge of what. It creates clarity about who parents should talk to about the different areas of the church.
We recognize that the church might have some new employees sometimes, so you should try to update this portion if any changes are made to your staff.
There might be a sample of what this portion will look like:
“We have many talented staff members on our team.
(Insert name) leads our men’s ministry. (Insert some background and personal information for this person.)
(Insert name) leads our women’s ministry. (Insert some background and personal information for this person.)
(Insert name) leads our youth ministry. (Insert some background and personal information for this person.)
(Insert name) leads our kid’s ministry. (Insert some background and personal information for this person.)
(Insert name) leads our small group ministry. (Insert some background and personal information for this person.)
We have an incredible team here at Cross Roads Church, so be sure to introduce yourself when you see them around campus.”
“Each of these team members leads an exciting ministry. Here are some of the aspects of each ministry.”
Sunday Morning Services
“Our Sunday services are about helping people discover God through worship, sermons, and community. We meet on Sunday mornings at (insert times). We love our Sunday morning services and we hope to see you there this week.
Sunday services are a great time to invite coworkers and family members! When you come, bring someone you know to help them discover God!”
Small Groups
“Our small group ministry is all about helping people grow in relationships. Through small groups, people grow in their relationships with both God and other congregants at the church!
We have tons of groups to be a part of. Our small group semester runs from (insert the dates for your church’s small group semesters).
Small groups are focused on spiritual growth, but we also have fun groups for people to simply enjoy fellowship. We have prayer groups, Bible study groups, and so much more. Please check out our directory online to find a small group for you!”
Youth Group
“At Cross Roads Church, we have a passion for the next generation. As a result of that passion, we have a student ministry that meets (insert when your youth group meets).
Our youth groups always have worship, a sermon, and fun! Your student won’t want to miss any of our great youth group nights.”
Kid’s Ministry
“We also invest in the next generation through our kid’s ministry. Our kid’s ministry is a place where kids will learn to love church. They play games, worship, and learn Bible lessons every week.
The kids meet every (insert time and day that the kids meet).”
Online Campus
“Another area of our ministry is our online campus. We understand that sometimes life gets busy, and you can’t make it to church, so we’ve created a digital campus on our website that you can attend digitally.
If you can’t attend in person, then watching our online church services is the next best thing. You can even leave comments and discuss the sermon with others through our online portal.”
Explanation of Core Beliefs
Following the brief introduction, you’ll want to make sure that the new members know what your church believes about Christianity. This is the best way of making sure that they are on the same page as your church about God. This makes it clear for the new members what they should believe to be a part of your church.
It is an important part of a person’s spiritual journey to know what they believe. This portion of the letter might even serve as a revelation for some people about what it means to be a Christian. This section of the letter shows what the members of this church believe.
Here are some of the topics that you should cover in this section:
- Who is God, the Father?
- Who is Jesus Christ?
- Who is the Holy Spirit?
- How do I get to Heaven?
- What is Biblical marriage?
- What is sin?
All of these are important theological topics that your congregation should agree on. In this portion, we won’t be providing a sample template, because a Church’s core beliefs are very personal. Each denomination has its own view on these topics, so feel free to craft your own language for this portion.
Just make sure that the letter has scriptural references to back up your church’s beliefs, so the congregants can research the topics for themselves.
Map of the Church
Church campuses can be confusing to navigate for new people. Someone might go to your church for months and not know where certain ministries meet. For that reason, I recommend putting a labeled campus map on your church welcome letter. New members will appreciate knowing where the different ministries you have meet, and where all of the restrooms are on campus, in the case of an emergency.
Make sure you label all of the areas. The church office, kid’s meeting space, and the main auditorium should all be clearly displayed on your map.
Connection Information
An important aspect of the letter is providing them and yourself with ways for further follow-up. In the connection information portion, you will be providing the new members with your church’s contact information as well as requesting for them to give you theirs.
Contact Information
The next thing that you should have on your church welcome letter for new members is a way to contact the church. Here, I recommend putting the church phone number, as well as an administrative e-mail address.
Don’t put the senior pastor’s phone number here, because as the church grows many people will try to contact them. Being accessible is important, but the senior pastor might not have time to meet with everyone who requests a meeting. If your pastor has an assistant, give out their phone and e-mail address.
Social Media
If your church has social media accounts, place the social media names in this section as well. You can phrase it like this, “We stay active on social media with updates on all the events that are going on across our church. Make sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X at (insert social media handles).”
A Place to Provide Personal Information
Once you have given them your information, they might be willing to provide you with theirs. You can put a QR code or a website where they can submit their information. Getting their phone number is important if you want to send a welcome text, and their e-mail is important too. You can send them a personalized email to show them that you are using their information to care for them.
If you already have their information, then sending these letters as new member welcome emails might be a good idea. Along with their email address and phone number, request for their children’s names, grades, and schools. This will make it easy for the kids and youth pastors to follow up with these families.
This portion of the letter might look like this:
“Feel free to save our contact information! We do have a lot of things going on at the church, so getting your contact information would help us keep you up to date with everything going on.
Scan this QR code or go to this website to fill out an information card. We promise not to pester or bother you. This just gives us the opportunity to care for you and your family better.”
An Invitation to Serve
Following the contact portion, you should extend an invitation to serve at your church. Here, you’ll want to get the new member’s specific interests and important details on their background.
You can also do this through a QR code or you could tell them to talk to a ministry leader about serving on their team.
This portion of the letter might look like this:
“At Cross Roads Church we believe that we should do ministry together, so we would love if you joined a team and helped us advance the kingdom of God.
Throughout our church, we have tons of serving opportunities. From small group leaders to youth sponsors, we would love your help serving. If you have any specific ministry interest fill out a serving application or speak to one of the ministry directors about opportunities in their ministries!
We can’t wait to serve with you!”
Upcoming Events
In the upcoming events section, you should invite the new member to the next special event. If it is the holidays, invite them to a Christmas Eve service. If it is Easter, invite them to your church’s Easter egg hunt.
You might want to generalize this part of the letter, so you don’t have to change it all the time. A QR code here might be appropriate to take them to your church’s event’s website, so they can see any upcoming event. They can use their cell phone to do this.
Here is what this section might sound like:
“There are so many awesome events going on here at Cross Roads Church, and we would love it if you were a part of every one of them. Be sure to scan this QR code to see all of the great events that we have coming up! We’ll see you at one of our amazing community events.”
Closing Thank You
You should close the new church member welcome letter by telling them thank you for becoming a member. Church membership welcome letters should always tell the new members that you are grateful for them and that it is a great pleasure to have them as a part of your church.
Signature from Your Pastor
The last thing on the church welcome letter for new members should be a signature from the pastor. This is a personal touch that shows care for the new member and will make them feel honored.
Church welcome letters are important to assimilating new members to your church. Be sure to check out our article on new member classes for churches!
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