Top 10 Learnings about Welcoming Newcomers
…welcoming event is a newcomers brunch that we have a few weeks before welcoming new members in the spring and fall. The brunch is always a graceful event. Newcomers can…
Search Results: welcoming (145)
Welcoming Newcomers to Your Congregation
…the newcomer to learn the unique ways of your very particular congregation. What is the history of the way things are done? What is important and why? Welcoming this newcomer…
3 Welcoming Strategies that Can Backfire
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says that churches sometimes reach out to newcomers in ways that are off-putting or even counterproductive. Unfortunately, several common, well-intended welcoming strategies top…
Welcoming Is the Top Factor in Church Choice
…said that having friendly and welcoming people might cause them to continue attending. “The findings point to a desire for genuine community,” said Dan Krause, General Secretary, United Methodist Communications….
4 Ways to Make Christmas Eve Hospitality the Pattern for the Year
…year with appropriate art and décor to match the season? 2. Display a warm, welcoming spirit. Typically, when visitors attend a Christmas Eve service, they are greeted with a welcoming,…
4 Steps to a More Welcoming Church Building
…These things indicate that the church is alive and are a means of welcoming and informing those approaching the church or just driving by. Remember, these things probably matter more…
4 Ways to Make Easter Hospitality the Pattern for the Year
…to maintain that warm, welcoming spirit throughout the year. If we don’t sustain this welcoming presence, it signals to visitors that our Easter welcome was just a phony front. Christian…
Thinking Like a Host
…experience of God — and I think we all do — then the place to begin is by welcoming strangers. This article is adapted from Henry’s new book, The Welcoming…
Top 10 Reasons Visitors Don’t Come Back
…The first step in becoming a welcoming church may be the admission that your church may not really be a welcoming church. When I first saw this response coming in…
Welcoming Millennials by Preserving Their Anonymity
…Churches are so eager to welcome young people that in their welcome, they too quickly move into pleas for deep commitment. In their haste to be welcoming, churches and their…
Church as an Uncommon Community
…more welcoming. I truly believe that embracing all people is the will of God and that we show faithfulness when we move ever closer to that goal. I believe that…
Welcoming Change Begins with You
Simple habits of congregational life, such as always sitting in the same pew or greeting the same people after worship, might seem normal and innocuous. But they can be unwelcoming…
7 Suggestions for Welcoming New Pastors
Barry Howard outlines ways a congregation can prepare spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally for the arrival of a new pastor to make the most of a new beginning. When a congregation…
Leading Topics: Enhancing your Church’s Hospitality and Welcome
…more now. Be The Welcoming Church, a Lewis Center video tool kit resource Learn best practices for building welcoming worship, church buildings, congregations, websites, and more with Be the Welcoming…
50 Ways to Welcome New People
…ask visitors to stand and identify themselves. Seventy percent of new attendees feel negatively about being recognized. However, they do expect people to be friendly and welcoming. Provide nametags for…
Lewis Center Adds Two New Video-based Adult Christian Studies to Wesley Ministry Network
…Leader and Be the Welcoming Church to its Wesley Ministry Network series of video-based adult Christian study curriculum. All Wesley Ministry Network resources are appropriate for use in Sunday School…
3 Characteristics of Genuine Christian Hospitality
…Communications. Used by permission. Related Resources Be The Welcoming Church Video Tool Kit Welcoming Newcomers to Your Congregation by Jessicah Krey Duckworth Beyond Hospitality to Inclusion by David R. Brubaker…
Pet Peeves of a Church Visitor
…Lyda K. Hawes 50 Ways to Welcome New People, a free Lewis Center resource Top 10 Learnings about Welcoming Newcomers by Keith Anderson Be the Welcoming Church Video Tool Kit…
Connecting with the People God Has Placed in Your Pathway
…attend worship or call on the pastors with any needs. It was welcoming and nonintrusive. This type of communication is also an opportunity to share information about age-specific programing, such…
Worship Under the Bridge
…a welcoming party made up of their homeless friends who had left the homeless camps early that morning and gathered at the worship site. They swept the dirt to remove…
Defining Congregational Effectiveness
…The U.S. Congregational Life Survey found only three strengths positively associated with numerical growth: caring for children and youth; participating in the congregation; and welcoming new people. Many presumed growth…
Avoiding a Summer Drop in Worship Attendance
…time for welcoming newcomers. Give People Reasons to Stay Engaged By God’s design, summer is a season of growth and fruitfulness. And summer can be a time of tremendous creativity…
Are You Glad When Passing the Peace Ends?
…priority to welcoming the stranger. As Buchanan puts it, “The hospitality of welcoming the stranger is not only good manners but also Christian spiritual practice. But sometimes a Christian ritual…
Opening Doors on Christmas Eve
…to pay attention to our Christmas Eve worship with great care. We need to make entry easy and thoroughly welcoming. Unfortunately, not everyone who wants to enter your church is…
50 Ways to Increase Worship Attendance
…Pages. The web presence can be very simple, a single page with a map, worship times, simple welcoming invitation, and contact information. Make your church visible and attractive Purchase permanent…
Leading Ideas: Top Lewis Center Resources of 2019
…with worship, community events, ministries, and service. Read, share, and download free now. Be the Welcoming Church $75 through Jan. 6, 2020 with coupon code TOP2019 Learn to make visitors…
Top “Leading Ideas” Articles of 2017
…welcome desk volunteers need to be friendly and welcoming. And most of all, they need to know how vital their role is to the mission of the church. Read more….
Unsticking a “Stuck” Institution
…a torture chamber. We wanted to project a more positive, welcoming image to the many people who stream through our building each day, going to the nursery school, classes, or…
5 Practices That Help Newcomers Get Involved
…decision making. They may say they want new people involved, but the way they operate makes church systems and activities unwelcoming and impenetrable to newcomers. At the core of each…
