Once you are born-again, you are a member of the Body of Christ and you have your own particular function within that Body. As a greeter, you are the host or hostess, and you are in the church not only to make the visitors feel welcome, but also to greet the leaders and brethren (Heb. 13:24).
As a greeter in the house of God, you can effectively serve God and receive blessings without limit. Now you may say to yourself, “But I thought that to really serve God and receive blessings without limit a person had to stand behind the pulpit.”
Not true.
Good Greeters Are Diamonds in the Rough
In God’s eyes, that simply isn’t the case. You can effectively serve God by standing at the doors of your church and ministering to people as they come in, and you can receive blessings of no limit.
I’m reminded of an incident several years ago. We had a back door in the church that wasn’t a popular spot with the greeters because very few people came through that door. But I had to make sure that I rotated everyone’s assigned position. One Sunday, I asked my number one greeter to go to that door. At first, she hesitated, but then she corrected her attitude, and she accepted the position.
After the service, the greeter told me that as she stood by the door that morning just worshipping and praising God, an elderly lady walked through the door. My greeter hugged the woman and welcomed her to the church. She said the woman walked down the hall about twenty feet, stopped, turned around and came back. The woman then pulled a diamond ring off her finger, placed it in the greeter’s hand and said, “God just spoke to me and told me to give you this ring.”
Now, I’m not saying that God will give you a diamond ring every time you stand and greet people by a door where you’d rather not have to stand. But I am saying that God will bless you spiritually and reward you in ways that are even more valuable than the beautiful diamond ring that particular greeter received when you are willing to serve Him in ways and in places that seem insignificant and unnoticed.
Greet the Anointed
Not only will you have an opportunity to minister to the visitors and the brethren, but you will have an opportunity to minister to your pastors, their wives, staff members, guest speakers and other anointed men and women of God.
I don’t know about you, but I have always found it a little humorous to watch the extent to which people will go in their attempt to be near the anointing of God.
They usually come early to the service so that they can sit up front. They are just hoping and praying that the man or woman of God will touch them or wave their arm in their direction because they know that it is the anointing that breaks the yoke. Sometimes though, I would think, “If you would just get involved in your church and be a greeter, all kinds of anointed men and women of God would walk through that door and touch you.”
I usually tell my greeters to stand at the door and act like a vacuum so that when anointed men and women of God walk through the door, they can draw upon all of the anointing they want.
When the speaker walks through the door, I tell them to kick it into double speed and draw all they can. Then when someone comes through the door who needs the anointing, they can pass the power of God on to them.
You don’t have to get into a spat with your spouse about trying to arrive early so you can sit up front to be near the anointing. All you have to do is stand at the door and greet people as they come through in order to stay filled up. You can be as close to the anointing as you like.
Remember, as a greeter, you have been chosen to welcome all those who enter into His courts. You are a V.I.P., a very important person in the Body of Christ.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
"A Pastor's Friend" Since 1977, Dr. Buddy Bell has been serving pastors and families in the local church. Because of his faithfulness and commitment to serve, God has anointed him to teach on the Ministry of Helps.
In 1986, he founded Ministry of Helps International, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he serves as president. His insights into the much-needed message of the Ministry of Helps have enabled countless people to find and fulfill their place in the Body of Christ. In June of 2006, Dr. George Walters, president of Faith Theological Seminary and Christian College in Tampa, Florida, and its Board of Directors, presented Dr. Buddy Bell with an honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
Dr. Bell is also an international teacher, trainer of champions, and a successful author, with the books The Ministry of Helps Handbook, revealing how to be totally effective serving in the Ministry of Helps; Ushering 101, which is the most complete manual available for ushers today; and Greeting 101, giving easy steps to greeting in the local church. In addition, he has produced Usher Training System 101, Development of Local Church Membership, Development of Local Church Leadership, and 20 teaching DVD's. More than 10,000 churches worldwide are utilizing these materials. Dr. Bell has traveled to over 3,000 churches, teaching and helping church staff and congregations work together with far greater effectiveness. With humor, zeal, and an anointing from God to present the Ministry of Helps, he motivates people by awakening them to the power and plan of the Holy Spirit for accomplishing the work of the ministry through every believer.