First time guests to First Presbyterian Church who live in Boise or the surrounding area receive a Welcome Basket the week following their first visit to our church. The baskets contain a card welcoming them to First Presbyterian, a brochure about the church and available programs, as well as cookies, microwave popcorn, cider packets, tea, and a small loaf of bread.
We currently have six people who take turns delivering the welcome baskets. We average 1-2 per week. Many of those receiving baskets comment during phone conversations and/or write thank you notes indicating how much they appreciate the basket. For the coming year we will keep a tally of the baskets delivered and the people who receive them to determine their continued involvement in the church.
Hospitality Ministry
The theme of this group is "Our God is a welcoming God. The only way others will know this is if we are a welcoming people." The mission is to have teams of people who attend worship regularly become aware of all those who sit in a general area. The teams will welcome those who are new as well as become a continuing, caring presence to those who attend regularly. For those who are not in worship for consecutive weeks, the team becomes aware, follows up to ask how they are, and inquires about possible needs. All pertinent information will be passed on to the pastoral staff for appropriate care and follow-up.
| John 12:50 Life everlasting... John 7:38 Rivers of living water. |
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Follow-Up Ministry
First time guests also receive a phone call within two days of their visit in order to welcome them and discuss what they are looking for in a church home. In addition, questions they might have are answered and they are told of programs that might be of interest. Those that continue to attend worship are contacted again after several weeks. The purpose of this call is to find out how they are doing and if they are becoming involved in the life of the church by forming relationships within the church family. Home visits are also scheduled to continue the assimilation process. Those who do not continue to come to worship regularly are contacted in order to determine if they are worshiping elsewhere and to ask what they found that was appealing to them. Realizing that we cannot be all things to all people, it is helpful to understand what people are looking for when they are seeking a church home.