The church as inn
Hospitable: is a basic concept for the missionary congregation. Being a missionary congregation means practicing hospitality and for that reason this is the first model we consider.
To which extent is your congregation hospitable?
How does your congregation practise hospitality?
Look at your local congregation through the eyes of a visitor. What do they experience as they enter the church for the first time? How are visitors received? Are visitors taken into consideration and how do you demonstrate that? Ask your newcomers: what do you think of how you are received and made welcome?
In Ermelo, Netherlands two elders asked two friends to attend church with them for the first time ever. After the service the elders asked them for their comments. What did you think of how you were received? What were your critical thoughts?
Such an insight would be very instructive for the congregation!
When you receive guests in your home you take care that the house is tidy and any mess is put away. You try to ensure a pleasant atmosphere in which people can feel at home.
The church as inn
Dr. Jan Hendriks, a former professor of church development uses the image of the public inn for the hospitable congregation.
“The inn is by the road that people walk. There people can regain their strength, catch their breath and are served by waiters. The same imagery applies to the church. The church as an inn conjures up an image of a church that:
- Stands by the roads on which people walk
- Is open and hospitable
- Is inviting
- Does not try to keep people inside and convert them, but rather wants to provide them with what they need for their journey, to offer refreshment and sent people on their way with joy
- Offers the possibility for conversation and taking joint action
- Brings companionship, rest and recreation
- The church as inn conjures up an age-old image of leadership: ministers as servants, waiters at table, deacons that work in the spirit of the Owner.”
(From Jan Hendriks, “The congregation as Inn” page 53, 54)
You can learn from guests
Hospitality asks for openness and vulnerability, to give people the chance to have a look at your life, what your home looks like. They can see a bit of how you do things and perhaps have questions to ask. Can they ask their questions? If they keep attending can they influence the atmosphere and the way your home is furnished? Do you want that?
A notice seen in a church car park declares: “special places ‘for our guests.” The best places are for them. Or do we complain that “somebody has taken my space” during a busy midnight service at Christmas?
Hospitality wants to find a balance between letting go and embracing. The guest is given space, but is not left to their own devices. Guests are met with concern, an invitation and a consideration of their needs. Sometimes people would like to ‘wait and see’, to be present anonymously. Others would like to have a chat, to get to know more about the congregation, talk about their experiences. Tact and empathy are needed to handle this well.
Are you familiar with the 3 minute rule? Allow guests a few moments before approaching them. Wait 3 minutes before you engage them in conversation.
You can learn a lot from guests. They can ask surprising questions, or they can be moved by a song or a text in a way that may be new and unexpected for you.
When I went to a church for the first time the minister said ‘let us pray’. And all those people put their hands together and closed their eyes at the same time. I thought that was wonderful. I thought to myself ‘God hear their prayer!’ and then I thought ‘Goodness, I am praying.’
But guests do not come automatically. It is not enough to say that ‘The church is open every Sunday,’ because for many people the threshold is too high. How can we be inviting and hospitable as a congregation? Why not go looking for possible guests? What kind of people are they? How can you mean something to them? Do not just think of the Sunday service but also of activities during the week.
A number of suggestions
- How about a cup of coffee before the service and/or lunch after the service.
- How are guests welcomed? Is there a host/hostess, with a badge?
- Is it easy to find one’s way around in the church building? Is there a crèche?
- Are there opportunities for guests in your congregation to get to know people (evenings for new arrivals, orientation evenings for guests)?
- Are people greeted (in the pew, when having coffee)?
- How about sending the flowers from church to someone in your town who is not a member?
- Ask new arrivals how they experienced their ‘welcome’. How was the reception? What could be improved?
- Are there activities you could publicise in the local press? (See also the ideas about communication and promotion in approach 4 “The congregation with a heart for communication.”)
Possible approach for a church discussion
- As the church leadership or church meeting have a day of reflection with the subject of ‘hospitality’. Translate the reflections into concrete ideas that are achievable for your congregation.
- Have a look at the activities that are currently being organised in all sections of the church. To what extent are you inviting and do you take possible guests into consideration? Is there space for them in the church services, are there opportunities for people to be involved in serving the community and receiving pastoral care?
- Involve members of the congregation in the developing these plans, maybe using house group to discuss the subject. Stimulate them to look for possibilities in their own network of friends. ‘Whom could I invite for an activity or a church service?’ ‘How would I be able to contribute to a hospitable congregation?’
- Ask people from outside the church what their experience of being a guest was. What do they see, what strikes them?
- Do we also remember space and hospitality for children and young people? Are they allowed to help in deciding what that provision will look like?
- What can you put into the hands of your members when they invite a guest? A booklet, a DVD, an invitation for a special guest service? A gift makes it easier to get a conversation going.
- Think about what is to happen next. A guest is more than welcome, but are there also possibilities when he wants to know more? Low-threshold discussion groups are a key in this respect, see also approach 7 “The Learning Congregation”. Make sure that there is a welcome package for new arrivals.
