Make Meaningful Connections during Advent and Christmas
As the holiday season approaches, church leaders face heightened stress while preparing meaningful celebrations and making meaningful connections. Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff…
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Articles
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…
Your Building Has More Signs Than You Think
What do newcomers see when they visit your church? Pastor Molly Phinney Baskette invites you to see your building through the eyes of a newcomer,…
3 Touchstones of Welcoming Newcomers Today
What was once perceived as welcoming may no longer resonate with the unchurched of today. How can congregations extend hospitality to the unchurched? Brett DeHart…
How Best to Use Overflow Worship Space on Easter
Tom Berlin describes strategies for encouraging your regular attenders to worship in overflow spaces outside the sanctuary when additional seating is needed on Easter so…
4 Ways to Make Easter Hospitality the Pattern for the Year
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says special efforts to welcome visitors at Easter shouldn’t be set aside once the holiday is over. He outlines four…
Why Limit the Celebration of Easter to Just One Sunday?
David Manner says that many churches attract new attendees with the lure of Easter but then quickly leave the subject. He asks, if Easter really…
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…
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…
One Invitation Away from Returning
Are there folks in your church who got out of the habit of attending during the pandemic and haven’t returned yet? Rebekah Simon-Peter says that…
Simple Guidance for Preachers on Christmas Eve
As pastors and congregations prepare to receive guests on Christmas Eve, Bishop Kenneth H. Carter offers simple, heartfelt advice. Keep the sermon brief but grace…
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…
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.
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…
4 Ways to Make Christmas Eve Hospitality the Pattern for the Year
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says special efforts to welcome visitors at Christmas shouldn’t be set aside once the holiday is over. He outlines four…
Will Your Christmas Visitors Feel Celebrated or Shamed?
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says Christmas visitors can leave feeling shamed or belittled if church insiders project a holier-than-thou attitude. The preparation…
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…
To the Point: A Letter to Churches Seeking New Members
My husband and I moved to the city a few years ago and have been “between churches.” We’ve been to visit quite a few of…
50 Ways to Welcome New People
One key to effective outreach is making sure that worship visitors feel truly welcome. These 50 Ways will help your congregation make a good first…
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…
First Impressions Are Formed Earlier Than You Think
Kay Kotan and Blake Bradford explain that a church visitor’s first impression is often formed long before they enter the sanctuary. So, hospitality needs to…
6 Ways to Create a Guest-Friendly Worship Service
How can you position your church for increased attendance and growth? John Zehring, author of Get Your Church Ready to Grow, suggests six strategies 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.…
4 Reasons Visitors Do Not Return
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe says it’s important not only to attract visitors, but to create a space where they will want to stay.…
Pet Peeves of a Church Visitor
Churches need their most positive, smiling, warmest personalities on their front lines, says Greg Atkinson. Your parking lot team, greeters, ushers, and welcome desk volunteers…
What’s Your Goal for Visitor Follow-Up?
Lovett H. Weems, Jr. says the traditional approach to visitor follow-up aimed at moving people quickly toward membership may not fit well in an era…
