Studies show that people decide whether they are going to ever return to a church in the first seven minutes upon arriving.  Some of these people have not set foot in a church in years, if ever.  Many of them have been burned by bad experiences in other churches.  This might be their last time to give the people of God a chance.  Or maybe the last time they give God a chance.  That means, that every time God brings us a first-time guest, we need to take that very seriously.

It also means that before they hear the sermon or a song by the band, most guests have already decided whether or not they will return to this or any church.  Could they easily find a parking spot?  Were they warmly greeted at the door?  Were they personally walked to places of interest, like the nursery or the worship area?  Did anyone speak to them in the worship area?  All of these things and dozens of others happen in the first seven minutes.

If people are going to make their decision about God in the first seven minutes, I hope you’ll join me in trying to make sure that those are a magnificent seven minutes!  So, we’re starting a new team to make sure of that and we’re calling it “The Magnificent Seven" Team.  If you have interest in being a parking lot greeter, front door greeter, set-up crew, tear down crew, or hospitality helper (food), we want to hear from you!  Right after the service on March 28^th, we want to invite you to a brief training for this team.  We hope to have enough people to put each person on a rotation in their area so they will only be ‘on’ 1-2 times per month if possible.  Let me know if you are want to be a part of The Magnificent Seven, but just can’t be at the training and I will get you more information ASAP.  I have already had several of you volunteer and I hope to have several more!  Thanks for being the kind of church that cares about the people that God entrusts to us!