Leading Topics: Enhancing your Church’s Hospitality and Welcome
Extending genuine hospitality to newcomers isn’t just good manners or a good membership recruitment strategy. It embodies the Gospel and expresses Christ’s love for all.…
Browsing: Hospitality
Articles
The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches: An In-Depth Interview with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrand
What is the economic impact of small congregations on their communities? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff speaks with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt…
“The Hidden Impact of Rural Churches” featuring Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt
Podcast Episode 126 What is the economic impact of small congregations on their communities? We speak with Bob Jaeger and Rachel Hildebrandt of Partners for…
5 Essential Qualities of Effective Evangelism
Priscilla Pope-Levison’s book, Models of Evangelism, studies eight influential approaches to evangelism, everything from visitation and revivalism to social media. She finds that regardless of…
10 Ways to Engage People Who Worship Online
How can congregations better engage people who worship online? Jim Keat, Digital Minister at The Riverside Church, offers 10 tips for congregations to strengthen engagement…
Top 10 Reasons Visitors Don’t Come Back
What do visitors say when asked why they don’t return to a church? Thom Rainer outlines the top 10 responses when hundreds of guests were…
Equip Your People to Invite
Why aren’t your church members inviting others to church? It’s likely you’ve been asking them to invite their friends and neighbors without giving them the…
7 Suggestions for Reaching More People this Christmas
Is your church ready to roll out the holiday welcome mat? Ann Michel offers seven suggestions for helping people meet Christ anew this Christmas. Equip…
Ministering to Congregants Who Haven’t Returned Post-COVID-19
One in every three churchgoers has not returned to in-person worship services since the pandemic. Tricia K. Brown offers ideas for ministering to members of…
Finding Sanctuary: Ministries with Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers | An In-Depth Interview with Elizabeth Shulman
How can congregations support persons with dementia and their caregivers? Jessica Anschutz interviews Elizabeth Shulman, who offers an organic, three-part program to aid congregations in…
“Finding Sanctuary: Ministries With Persons With Dementia and Their Caregivers” featuring Elizabeth Shulman
How can congregations support people with dementia and their caregivers? Elizabeth Shulman offers an organic three-part program to help congregations create ministries to meet the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers.
Does Your Church Truly Embrace Children or Merely Tolerate Them?
Sam Rainer says that families visiting your church know instinctively whether you sincerely welcome the presence of their children or just tolerate them. He outlines…
5 Hospitality and Stewardship Lessons from a Homecoming
How are visitors to your congregation greeted and welcomed? Ken Sloane outlines five lessons for extending hospitality and engaging new givers. While traveling earlier this…
As Memory Fades, Ministry Grows: Ministry Alongside Persons with Dementia
Jessica L. Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff shares ideas for pastoral care and spiritual support for persons with dementia and their caregivers. As the…
Moving Forward With Hybrid Worship
Effective hybrid worship requires that churches ascribe high and equal value to in-person and online worshipers. Olu Brown outlines key steps a congregation should take…
5 Things to Avoid and 5 Things to Accent at Your Christmas Eve Service
Barry Howard names some dos and don’ts to help make your Christmas Eve service meaningful and welcoming. A festive and effective Christmas Eve service, he…
Minding the Church’s Doors
Preaching in a different church almost every Sunday, Nancy Taylor learned firsthand how often visitors go unnoticed even in churches that see themselves as “friendly.”…
3 Key Components of Effective Visitor Follow-Up
Yvonne Gentile and Debi Nixon of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection say a church’s first goal with first-time worship visitors is to get…
Connecting with the People God Has Placed in Your Pathway
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says churches can improve outreach efforts by focusing on people nearby. Those attending activities in your building, family…
Relationships are the Key Ingredient in Successful Outreach
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe writes that a focus on relationships helps a church connect with its neighbors in genuine and effective ways. Successful outreach…
From Online Worship to Online Ministry
Kay Kotan says many churches embraced online worship out of necessity during the pandemic without deliberate plans for engaging new people through online ministry. Now…
What’s Wrong with Thinking of Church as Family?
Lee Ann M. Pomrenke says the beloved metaphor of church as family can stand in the way of a congregation being truly open and inclusive.…
3 Principles of Radical Hospitality
Yvonne Gentile and Debi Nixon believe radical hospitality means going beyond mere friendliness to surprise and delight church visitors. Three keys are letting guests know…
Episode 61: “The Art of Hospitality” featuring Debi Nixon
How can your church welcome visitors in a way that delights them and lets them know they matter? In this episode we speak with Debi Nixon of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection about the essential Christian practice of Hospitality.
3 Characteristics of Genuine Christian Hospitality
Christian hospitality doesn’t begin at the church’s front door, writes Philip J. Brooks. It extends Christlike love into the surrounding community, builds relationships, and risks change…
4 Steps to a More Welcoming Church Building
Lovett Weems reminds us that visitors often form a first impression of a church based on the appearance of the areas they first encounter, such…
First-time Visitor’s Survey Invites Feedback and Holy Conversation
When Harvest Church in South Georgia sends a follow-up message to worship visitors it includes a request for their feedback. This opens the door to…
Lewis Center Adds Two New Video-based Adult Christian Studies to Wesley Ministry Network
News Release LEWIS CENTER ADDS TWO NEW VIDEO-BASED ADULT CHRISTIAN STUDIES TO WESLEY MINISTRY NETWORK The Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary…
5 Keys to Great Online Worship Hospitality
Olu Brown says churches that livestream their worship need to be intentional about making online attendees feel welcome by showing love through hospitality. He outlines…
Welcoming Is the Top Factor in Church Choice
A recent study among spiritual seekers aged 25–49 suggests they have a strong desire for genuine community. Knowing everyone will be welcomed, making friends and…
