Our churches long to welcome new people. But sometimes we are not sure how to do that. Are we trying too hard–pushing them away with our eagerness? Are we ignoring new guests–too focused on our own conversations with friends after Sunday worship? How do we find a middle ground that helps people find their way back to our church so we can nestle them into our community? And how can we truly show hospitality to potential friends we may overlook–the people we serve in ministry and those we meet outside our church?
While not everyone will end up in our church home, we are called to welcome any and all strangers. When we are aware, we find opportunities for true Christian hospitality that are peppered throughout our day-to-day lives. Being a welcoming presence is the first step in building relationships, a starting point for our evangelism and discipleship efforts.
Rooted in Love, a Duke Endowment-funded program run by the Center for Leadership Excellence, equipped nineteen rural churches throughout the conference with new hospitality tools. Rooted in Love blends practical hospitality and spiritually grounded ways to connect with others. Church leaders took the insights from the presenters and then brainstormed new ideas for their churches, contextualizing the concepts for their needs. Mini grants helped turn new ideas into reality.
Hear from a participant of Rooted in Love…
“One new insight our church gained from Rooted in Love was the gift of seeing ourselves and our community through an outsider’s eyes. It challenged us to step beyond our familiar routines and reimagine how we build relationships, not from a place of assumption, but with intentionality, curiosity, and love. In doing so, we began to notice things we had overlooked: the ways our hospitality, or lack thereof, was showing up not just in our words, but in our physical space, our relationships, our systems, and even in our materials. We realized that participation wasn’t always easy or accessible, and that true welcome requires attention to both the seen and unseen barriers. Rooted in Love helped us begin the sacred work of making room physically, spiritually, and relationally for others to belong.”
Rooted in Love churches brainstormed gift ideas for new guests. Some churches created resources to orient first time guests to the building and staff. Each participating church received a mini-grant to help pay for these new resources, signage, or whatever they needed to offer hospitality to guests and the community. From left to right: Four Oaks UMC created a guest guide with pictures of staff and key volunteers, along with ways to give and a map. Creedmoor UMC now gives prayer quilt squares to first-time guests and a welcome packet is offered to Rehoboth UMC guests to orient them to the worship service and ministries of the church.
If you have questions about Rooted in Love, email Leah Wiebe-Smith at lwiebesmith@nccumc.org or simply reply to this email.
