Gold Canyon UMC makes their Community say, "W.O.W."
By Ron Walker, GCUMC
The Hospitality Outreach Mission at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church (GCUMC) was developed in response to a perceived need to promote a more welcoming nature, and grow the church family. Outreach Missions chairperson, Ron Walker, was moved to action upon reading “First Impressions” by Mark Waltz. This book espoused the concept of creating a wow experience in your church. The W.O.W. project was born with Witness Our Wonder (the wonder of God’s love as demonstrated by the congregation).
The project began with greeting parishioners as they emerged from the parking lot and grew to include W.O.W. Team participation in festivals, special event services, and memorials. Team members greeting those attending services report that they receive a very positive response from parishioners and new attendees are pleased to receive direction or have questions answered before entering the Sanctuary building.
Because an important part of hospitality is invitation, April 2009 ushered in the first Spring Fling event, planned and executed by team members. The day included a classic car display, interactive features for children, Sanctuary tours, and food booths among other attractions. Then, October brought the first Fall-o-ween event with activities similar to those at the first Spring Fling. In April 2010 a second annual Spring Fling event was held incorporating several community vendors in an attempt to reach even more people. These events were held throughout the church campus, free to the community and considered successful in that they exposed the friendly, welcoming nature of GCUMC. Many new families attended at least one service as a result of this exposure. Donations also contributed considerable funds to the outreach and summer youth mission projects.
W.O.W. has also gone beyond community invitation and welcoming. To assuage perceived discomfort of funeral/memorial families and attendees one or more team members is assigned to assist in any way, assuring the service runs smoothly and all are respectfully treated.
Just as W.O.W. Team members provide hospitality in difficult times they are also there for joyful occasions. Team members dressed in Charles Dickens style costumes for the Christmas Eve services to greet, usher, and handle offering duties along with presenting a live nativity, with animals, outside the Sanctuary building. On Palm Sunday team members dressed in peasant costumes to greet and carry palm fronds in the processional. At the Sunrise Service on Easter, the team greeted, served communion, and served a continental breakfast afterward. On each of these occasions, including regular Easter Services, golf carts with drivers were available to transport those needing or wanting assistance to the Sanctuary. The congregation was very pleased with the efforts to make these services more meaningful and memorable and genuinely appreciated the transportation assistance. The congregation also began to embrace the work of the W.O.W. team as a part of the culture of the church so the W.O.W. ministry continued to grow.
The concert series at GCUMC brought another opportunity to demonstrate warmth and friendliness of the congregation by greeting concert attendees while dressed in W.O.W. tee shirts. Then, with the downturn in the economy causing a local coffee shop to close, the church found another opportunity to reach out to the community. GCUMC hosts a weekly gathering coined “Community Grounds” on the church campus for conversation and fellowship.
Although the W.O.W. project is still in its infancy, it is clear that there has been a positive impact on the congregation as well as the community at large. As the vision continues to grow there will be many more opportunities to bring the wonder of God’s love to the community.
W.O.W. stands for "Witness Our Wonder" and its members aspire to promote a more welcoming church community. (Photos courtesy of Ron Walker.)