WELCOME

MESSAGE
TEMPLATES FOR
VISITORS AND
NEW MEMBERS
 I N T R O DU CTION

Whether it’s from the pulpit, within your bulletin or your connection

cards, your church needs to offer welcome messages for visitors and

new members. Churches across the country are all facing the same

problem: fewer visitors are joining as members. According to PEW

Research, only 47% of all Americans belong to a church, which is

down nearly three quarters from just a few decades ago.

That is why it’s so important to provide welcome messages to

newcomers. People need to feel welcomed, or they won’t return. That

is where welcome messaging comes in. Because your team is busy

and it’s hard to find the right words to welcome newcomers, we’ve

built several free templates for you.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Copy & Paste Welcome Message Templates for Visitors ........................................................................ 4

Text Welcome Message Template ....................................................................................................................... 4
QR Code Message.............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Church Welcome Letter Template for Bulletin, Newsletter, Email or Mailing .................. 5
Invitation One: Church Welcome Letter Template ................................................................................. 5
Invitation Two: Church Welcome Letter Template ................................................................................. 5
Welcome Message for Packets/Gift Bags ..................................................................................................... 6
Template for Church Bulletin Messages for Visitors ............................................................................. 6

Welcome Messages for Church Visitors from the Pulpit ........................................................................ 7

Welcome Message for Large Group Worship ............................................................................................. 7
Welcome Message for Small Group ................................................................................................................... 7

Free Church Membership Welcome Letter Templates ............................................................................. 8

Church Membership Welcome Letter from the Church Office ..................................................... 9
Membership Welcome Letter Template Including Church Activities .................................... 10
New Church Welcome Letter From Pastor .................................................................................................. 11
Letter Template Introducing New Members ............................................................................................. 12
Sample Letter of Encouragement to Church Members for Donations ................................ 13
Church Welcome Letter Including Fundraising Opportunities .................................................. 14
Church Welcome Letter Including Upcoming Events ........................................................................ 15

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 COPY & PASTE WELCOME
MESSAGE TEMPLATES
FOR VISITORS

1 Text Welcome Message Template

Text Option One:
New to [church name]?
Text “Visitor” to [number]. We’d love to connect with you!

Text Option Two:

Thank you for visiting our congregation. We are so glad to have you worship with us! Would you like
to know more about our church and ministries?

2 QR Code Message
This is the first paragraph Scan this QR code to tell us about yourself and learn more about [church
name]. We’re so glad you are here and can’t wait to hear from you!

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 3 Church Welcome Letter Template for Bulletin,
Newsletter, Email or Mailing
Welcome [inset visitor’s name], we’re so glad you were able to join us for Sunday worship. Thank you
for taking the time to worship with us. Here’s a little more about who we are and what we believe.

Our congregation was built in (year) with (number of original parishioners) and has since grown
to be (size of the congregation). Our mission is to (paraphrase your mission statement here). We
embrace our community members as part of that mission.

In addition to Sunday services, (church name) enjoys Wednesday evening activities and Bible
Study. We would love to have you join us for these worship opportunities. Please reach out to me or
anyone in the church office with further questions.

We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Take Care,
[Sign by hand]

4 Invitation One: Church Welcome Letter Template

Are you new to [name of church] or our church family? Join us today at [insert location] after the
first service. Have coffee and a treat on us. Stay and chat as long as you’d like.

Would you like to learn more about us? We’d love to get to know you better as well. Fill out the
contact form below and someone will reach out to you.

Thank you for taking the time to attend our service today. We hope to see you soon!

Name:_______________ Address:______________
Phone:______________ Email:_______________

Preferred Contact Method (circle): Email Phone Text Mail

5 Invitation Two: Church Welcome Letter Template

Visiting for the first time today? You’re invited to stay after the service. Join us at [insert location] for
coffee, water and snacks. We hope to see you there!

If you are unable to stay but would like to learn more about our church family, drop this contact
card off at the welcome center. Thank you for joining us today. We hope to see you again soon!

Name:_______________ Address:______________
Phone:______________ Email:_______________

Preferred Contact Method (circle): Email Phone Text Mail

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 6 Welcome Message for Packets/Gift Bags
Note: Many churches like giving welcome gifts to visitors. These bags or packets usually include
literature about your statement of faith and a communication card. Here’s a welcome message
template for your visitor gift packets.

Message Text: Welcome to [church name]! We’re so glad you’ve blessed us with your presence
today! My name is [insert name] and I’m the [position held] and [name of church].

Our church community believes [insert mission statement or part of your mission statement].

In the Bible, James 5:16 tells us, confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another,
that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. We take this to
heart and would love to pray for you.

If you are led to do so, please fill out the communication card provided and leave it at the welcome
center. We’re excited you’re here and hope to see you again soon.
[Handwritten Signature]

[Printed Name]

[Church contact info including website and social media]

7 Template for Church Bulletin Messages for Visitors

New around here? We’re so glad to see you! Welcome to [church name]! We hope you are blessed
today as we worship The Lord together. Please feel free to fill out a communication card located
[insert location] and drop it in the offering plate.

We invite you to stay for fellowship following our service or join us for education classes. If you have
any questions about our congregation or the sermon, feel free to ask a pastor or contact us another
way. We’re so glad you’re here and hope to see you again.

[Church contact info including links to your statement of faith and social media]

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 WELCOME MESSAGES FOR
CHURCH VISITORS FROM
THE PULPIT

1 Welcome Message for Large Group Worship

In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul encouraged the church in Rome to welcome one another.
Romans 15:7 (ESV) Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
On behalf of our church family, I’d like to extend a special welcome to our visitors today.

Our hope and prayer for visitors and regular attendees today is that our interactions here today will,
indeed, bring glory to God. Tell us a little more about yourself and how we can pray for you via our
communication cards if you feel so led.

2 Welcome Message for Small Group

It’s so great to have some new faces joining us today. We’re reminded of Paul’s words to the church
in Rome, therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. We hope
that our time together today brings glory to God as well.

If you’re feeling led to fill out some communication cards today, you can find them under your seats.
We’d love to know how we can pray for you. Thank you for blessing us with your presence today.

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 FREE CHURCH
MEMBERSHIP WELCOME
LETTER TEMPLATES
Here are a few new church member letter templates. Our team
cooked them up after looking at the best examples from the
tens of thousands of churches we’ve worked with.

You can either copy and paste these letters as is with minor
adjustments, or you can use them as your muse to craft your
own church membership welcome letter.

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 #1 Sample:
Church Membership Welcome Letter
from the Church Office

Dear [name of church member],

It gives us great pleasure that you have chosen to celebrate the grace of the Lord with us at [name of
your church]. Your presence in our congregation is truly a blessing, and we look forward to praying,
celebrating, and coming together as a community in the eyes of our Lord.

As a caring congregation, we look forward to sharing God’s love and blessings with you in the years
to come. May your love and faith increase during your time with us.

We eagerly await our first opportunity to pray with you on [date] at [time]. After your first service at
[name of church], we would also invite you to stay and have some food with fellow members of our
community.

In the meantime, let us once again welcome you to [name of your church]. If you have any questions
at all, or if we can support you in any way, please feel free to contact us on the number above.

May your love for the Lord protect and guide you.

With regards,
[Handwritten signature]
[Printed name and role of the individual in the church office]
[Date]

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 #2 Sample:
Membership Welcome Letter Template
Including Church Activities

Dear [name of church member],

It is with the warmest of hearts and most joyful of minds that we welcome you to [name of your
church]! To bring a new member into our congregation is an exceptional blessing, and we look
forward to sharing our faith in the Lord with you.

As part of [name of your church]’s welcome to new members, we invite you to join us for some food
and drink after your first service on [date] at [time]. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet the
rest of our church community.

We hope that you look forward to becoming a part of our vibrant community. In that case, you may
wish to get involved in some of our regular church activities. These include:

• [Name of church activity, such as bible study class, and date]

• [Name of church activity and date]
• [Name of church activity and date]

May the light of the Lord protect and guide you.

With the warmest regards,

[Handwritten signature]
[Printed name and role of the individual in the church office]
[Date]

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 #3 Sample:
New Church Welcome Letter From Pastor

Dear [name of church member],

My name is [your name]. As a pastor with more than [x] years of experience under my belt,
welcoming new members to our church community is one of my greatest privileges.

Here at [name of your church], we are fortunate enough to form a vibrant and loving community.
We are blessed to share in the light and love of the Lord and to have the opportunity to come
together in celebration of this love.

Your church is a place that you can turn to for celebration or support. It is my privilege and job to
help facilitate this. If there is anything I can do to help or support you, please do not hesitate to get in
touch.

I look forward to meeting you/seeing you again, at our next service on [date] at [time].

In the meantime, may the Lord bless and keep you.

(Numbers 6:24-26)

[Handwritten signature]
[Printed name], Pastor for [name of your church]
[Date]

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 #4 Sample:
Letter Template Introducing
New Members

Dear [name of new member/existing member],

It is our greatest blessing to announce that [name of your church] community has once again
grown! May we welcome our newest members — [names of newest members] — with open arms
and love. Let us learn from them during their time with us.

Our latest members will be celebrating their first service with us on [date] at [time]. And we would
encourage all members of our community to stick around after our service for food, drinks and the
opportunity to introduce yourselves properly.

In the meantime, if any new members have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the
church office.

May God’s love and grace keep you — we look forward to seeing you soon!

[Handwritten signature]
[Printed name and role of the individual in the church office]
[Date]

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 #5 Sample:
Sample Letter of Encouragement to
Church Members for Donations

Dear [new member name],

We thank the grace of God that you have chosen to join our community at [name of your church].
We hope that your time with us offers you the chance to explore and deepen your faith and enrich
the love you have for the Lord. We look forward to greeting you properly at our service on [date] at
[time].

Over the years, [name of your church] has had many wonderful opportunities to support individuals
and the local community. We hope that as part of our congregation, you will continue to support
this valuable work.

If you would like to offer our church financial assistance, all donations are very welcome! Please
contact our church office to find out more about donation methods and opportunities.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us. (Psalm 67:1)

With kind regards,

[Handwritten signature]
[Printed name and role of the individual in the church office]
[Date]

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 #6 Sample:
Church Welcome Letter Including
Fundraising Opportunities

Dear [name of new member],

Warmest greetings to the newest member/s of [name of your church]! We sincerely hope this letter
finds you well and in good faith.

At [name of your church] we are blessed to pray together, explore our faith, and deepen our
personal connections to God. We are a supportive and loving community, who looks forward to
welcoming you at your first service on [date] at [time]. It would bring us great pleasure if you could
stay for some food and drink after the service to meet the rest of our congregation.

In the meantime, we would like to offer you the opportunity to take part in some of our vibrant
community activities. [Name of your church] offers a great deal of support in the local community
with little external financial funding. Because of this, we run regular fundraising events and any
volunteers are most welcome.

Our latest fundraiser will be a [type of fundraiser e.g. bake sale] and will take place on [date] at
[location of the fundraiser]. Doors will open at [time]. If you would like to help organize this event or
lend a hand on the day, please contact [name] at [phone number/email].

In the meantime, may the Lord love and keep you well. We look forward to seeing you soon,

[Handwritten signature]
[Printed name and role of the individual in the church office]
[Date]

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 #7 Sample:
Church Welcome Letter Including
Upcoming Events

Dear [name of new church member],

Welcome to [name of your church] and praise to the Lord for bringing you to our humble
congregation!

We wanted to take a moment to personally welcome you and thank you for joining our faithful
community. In the years to come, we hope that we can support you in deepening your love and faith
for the Lord. Our church is a place to feel cherished and supported, and we are open to people from
all walks of life.

We have a wonderful church team who will always be on hand to support you and answer your
questions. So no matter what you need, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Here at [name of your church], community is incredibly important. Because of this, we welcome all
members and non-members to regular services and classes throughout the year. This includes:

• [Details of regular daily/weekly services]

• [Details of regular daily/weekly classes e.g. Bible study]

On top of this, we have a few special dates for you to add to your calendars! Please make a note of:

• [Special service e.g. Easter service, date, time and location if applicable]
• [Special service e.g. summer service, date, time and location if applicable]
• [Special service e.g. Thanksgiving service, date, time and location if applicable]

We hope you will be able to join us throughout the year to celebrate the love and light of the Lord.

With warmest wishes,

[Handwritten signature]
[Printed name and role of the individual in the church office]
[Date]

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 FAITH

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