We've spent the last couple weeks talking about friendship and hospitality. How we treat others communicates a lot about us - as individuals, a youth group, and Christians. If we are trying to follow the example of friendship provided to us by Jesus, we should be willing to make some changes.
Here are a couple simple things we can do to be more welcoming and friendly in our youth group:
1. Imagine yourself in someone else's shoes. How would you feel if you were at Mount Zion's youth group for the first time?
2. Be confident. This is your house - give your visitors a tour. Tell them the cool things about our youth group. Don't worry about whether or not our guests want to be talked to - you are here to make them feel at home!
3. Get excited. This is your opportunity to serve someone else. It's your opportunity to show others what you love.
4. If you invite someone to youth, hang out with them. Make them feel even more welcome than the last time they came if they've come before. (Don't forget to hang out with them if you didn't invite them, too!)
5.Be a good sport and play by the rules. If someone's new, they don't understand our group dynamics. Show them that we respect our teammates and our opponents during activities.
6. Smile. Mean it.
7. Ask more than one question. Remember our acronym: S.A.L.T. Ask about School, Activities like clubs or teams, Likes/Leisure activites they do in their free time, then Take them to meet your friends.
Welcoming others isn't only about people who are setting foot at Mount Zion for the first time - it also includes breaking past our comfort zone and talking to people we don't know well. This might be talking to someone who hasn't been to youth in a long time or sitting with other youth group members you see every week.
Take some time and learn something new about someone in our youth group this week. My hope is that you'll find we're not so different from each other.
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