Four moments of PURE hospitality to inspire your teams [Lessons from Italy, Pt. 2/3]
Our midnight snack at the Pantheon one night in Rome
When was the last time you were “wowed” when you went somewhere new? When it happens to you, you never forget it.
I remember having an experience at a restaurant for my Anniversary a few years back and that was so impactful, I wrote a post about it, incorporated it into a leadership prep module for my church’s volunteers, and began using it in my Base Camps to help other churches reach their guests.
In this post, I defined a WOW as offering a guest something PURE:
P=Positive
U=Unexpected
R=Relational
E=Experience
It is a rare thing to be a guest somewhere and have a positive unexpected relational experience.
Yet while I was in Italy, I experienced something like that multiple times.
I want to share four of them here that not only blew me away, but have some obvious application to how we serve guests at our churches.
So here we go…
PURE Moment #1:
The Trash Man and the Castle
The unbelievably charming hamlet of Varenna on Lake Como has a thousand-year-old castle standing guard 1300 feet over the town. The Castillo del Vezio guarded the residents living on that strategic area of the lake from frequent dangers during the Dark Ages.
Despite its obvious position over the town, the castle wasn’t easy to find.
The internet described a shuttle leaving near the ferry every 30 minutes. The staff at the ferry said no such shuttle existed.
The GPS on my phone led us (and many other tourists) to a route that erroneously began at the entrance gate of a private residence. We paced the area back and forth for 20 minutes.
We were stuck.
As we began to give up on finding the walking trail up to the castle, I saw an older man who worked for the city, disposing of the trash on the sides of the main road.
I walked up and asked in english where the way up to the castle was. He pointed up a path that we were now both standing by in very broken english.
I could see signs and options at the top of this short trail that made me insecure. He said, “Come”. he walked us up the path and told us that we would not regret that rigorous hike that led to the castle because of the beauty that awaited us there.
When we hit the top of that trail where the signs and options were, he pointed out the correct route to us and then walked all the way back down to where he was working.
I could not have been more grateful that a disposal worker for the city chose to not just point the way, but walk uphill to take us there himself.
The hike did not disappoint as the photos below reveal. We would have missed it all if it were not for him.
There are guests at your church that may struggle finding everything from your children’s ministry to the entrance to your auditorium.
It may be a restroom they cannot readily find, the room where your “One Program” takes place, or where the info counter is located. Don’t just rely on signs or point the way: take them there with enthusiasm yourself.
Do you know what our #1 rated session of Next Steps (our “One Program” at Eastside) is? Step 3, which includes an All Access Tour.
The magic of the tour lies in how we walk them in groups to areas of the church that others have no access to: behind the LED wall, the Green Room, our distribution warehouse, the kitchen of our Cafe and more.
Guiding new people to places they want to see, but could never find on their own, is a powerful thing.
A similar PURE moment for guests at your church: walk them personally to a location they want to go.
PURE Moment #2:
The Requiem and San Giorgio
When we arrived in Varenna, our Airbnb host invited us to attend a free classical concert inside the 800-year-old stone church right off the main piazza, a hundred yards from our front door.
We were thinking to ourselves… “Of course concerts are free for a reason right? Probably it was put on by some descent musicians, maybe a string quartet that wanted an opportunity to play, and found a free option for tourists their best option.”
Boy were we in for a surprise.
After a day of ferry-hopping to Belaggio, Lenno and other villages on Lake Como, I made sure we got back in time for this little performance at 9pm at the Church of San Giorgio.
We found room only in the back row of this sanctuary filled with locals when a 30-person choir walked in along with a large orchestra and 4 classically trained soloists. They launched into a performance of Verdi’s Requiem that I would have had to pay hundreds of dollars to hear at home. The musicianship was outstanding and the acoustics in this old church, flawless.
I could not believe my ears. It was truly magical.
We would never have known such an experience was available to us for the price of just showing up to a simple invitation.
Your church has some experiences like that: a special dinner or excursion, a small group study at a beautiful home, a moment to personally meet the pastor.
Whatever gems your church has hidden, they are a wow-filled invitation away from any guests. With discernment, have staff and volunteers invite guests personally into such things.
A similar PURE moment for guests at your church: offer a free experience they would have no way of knowing about except by personal invitation.
PURE Moment #3:
Some Wine & A Pizza
The table where Maria welcomed us with homemade pizza and a bottle of white wine.
The first time we came to Varenna, we parked far and dragged our oversized luggage across cobblestone roads to the location we thought might reveal our Airbnb. We began walking toward the lake, down a 800-year-old corridor hoping to find the monastery cells that formed our temporary residence for this leg of the trip.
Our sign came in the form of Maria who was standing near the front door of our unit, bearing a homemade pizza she had just pulled out of the oven for us along with a bottle of white wine. The food was placed on an outdoor table that had a water view and marked our home for the next view days.
Our hungry and tired souls were grateful.
Though she speaks no english, we have communicated with Maria several times over the years since then. We have sent others to her place as well.
Not even a language barrier could keep her from welcoming us like Italians often do—with fresh food and wine.
Whether offering free hot cocoa at your Christmas services,
free donuts before Easter services,
a first-timers treat for their kids upon checkin,
a free specialty drink coupon to use their second visit,
a backpack with your church’s logo at your “One Program”,
or a free combo meal at your grill for first-time families,
you can pull this off like Maria did to the wowing of your first-time guests.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression like that.
A similar PURE moment for guests at your church: surprise guests with unexpected gifts along the way.
PURE Moment #4:
The Galleria and the Table
Our last full day in Italy on this Sabbatical was in Milan. Not having been there before led me to watch youtube videos on what to do there.
One particular vlogger was a foodie who recommended the Galleria Restaurant inside the prestigious Galleria Victor Emmanuel, the oldest shopping mall in Italy.
Built in the mid-1800s, this mall is covered in glass and contains some of the most posh brands of merchandise in the world. My youtube friend said to eat the ossobuco (veal shin on a saffron risotto with pecorino cheese) and I took notes on everything he ordered so I could do the same.
In February, I went on their website and emailed a request to make a reservation for 1pm on a date almost 3 months in the future. I heard back with a confirmation within hours. I never communicated with them in any way again.
Fast forward those months to an afternoon where we arrived at the Galleria, 20 minutes early. I asked the maitre’d if we were too early, half expecting him to not know who we were and to need to check records to find our reservation.
Instead, he greeted me by name, took us to the best table in the house overlooking the historical shopping plaza, with a placard that had our name on it.
I was amazed that they held our reservation and were expecting us after all this time.
It was the best meal I ever had. I’m embarrassed to tell you this, but I teared up at the taste of this meal. It is truly one of the most extraordinary things i have ever eaten.
It was equally extraordinary that they believed we would be there on time after 3 months having received only an email via their website with no further contact.
Seeing our name on that table left a permanent impression on me.
I truly believe the same will happen when you honor a process of signing up for something at your church with timely communication and a sense that someone was expected, by name, for the event they signed up for.
We live in an age where people are numbers and often customer service is a frustrating experience. Slipping through the cracks when you’ve applied for something online or requested information is the norm.
If it is not so at your church, you will enlist a loyalty and make an impression that will be hard to erase. A seat at the table with supplies, information or food already prepared goes a long way when new people sign up for something.
A similar PURE moment for guests at your church: never forget to honor the systems you invite guests to use by following through and showing you expected them.
Do you know what’s so amazing about all these PURE moments?
It’s how little effort or cost it took the hosts to create them:
a short walk
an invitation
follow through on an email
making a meal
Yet at a low price, your church could provide a positive unexpected relational experience for a guest that would not only make them return, but cause them to tell and invite others.
You can’t buy that kind of marketing. You never could.
It’s like Nathaniel objecting to a miracle worker coming from Nazareth and Phillip replying with a simple “Come and see”.
The “wowed” always tell others.
TO CHEW ON WHILE WE CLIMB
When have you experienced a positive unexpected relational experience? What made it that for you?
Can you think of some PURE moments in the gospels and Acts that resulted in the expansion of the church? In what ways could they be imitated?
Which of the 4 kinds of PURE moments could you make happen for guests at your church? What do you think the results would be?
Read/share the original post on this topic with your team. How could you use it to inspire and develop your Guest Service and Assimilation volunteers?
This could be the season where your church takes its biggest strides yet toward that golden ratio: 1 out of 4 guests becoming connected, serving members.
The best way to prioritize and accelerate your assimilation system is to invest in it. That’s why the CTA Video Course has been the right next step for hundreds of churches.
In 6 jam-packed sections, you’ll walk through every element of a high-impact assimilation system in pain-staking detail. You’ll make decisions, design processes, and see near-immediate results while you put the work in.
Assimilation makes discipleship possible for more people at your church. Isn’t today a good day to start that journey?
