The integral place of hospitality is something for which one would expect to have universal support within local churches. Welcoming those who have not been connected to the church usually finds a place on the congregation’s “to do” list. In an era in which a decline in mainline church attendance is the norm and when the overwhelming majority of Americans are simply not in church pews on Sunday morning, local congregations need to be particularly attentive to the process of extending hospitality. Effective preaching is an important means of inspiring congregations to reach beyond their walls and to find effective ways to invite people to join their church community life.

Of course, one of the built-in obstacles is the reality that the preacher preaches each Sunday morning mostly to those who are already strongly connected to or are members of the congregation. The simple truth is that many of those the congregation wishes to welcome are spending time with their children on local athletic fields, going shopping, or enjoying a few more extra winks. Thankfully, there are exceptions. From time to time, individuals will attend worship because a family event is taking place during the service, usually a baptism. At other times, parents may be drawn into churches because their child is participating as part of the Sunday School program. Some congregations will even build in unique worship Sundays that attempt to draw in different constituencies (e.g. ‘family’ worship services, recognition of first responders, scouts, local volunteers, and the like) to the church’s worship service.

If a congregation is serious about extending the message that All Are Welcome, two important things have simply got to happen:

1. Congregations must take seriously the task of finding effective means to bring people into the worship life of the church. This means thinking “outside the box” and placing on the agenda of church boards and committees the central question: “How can we extend an effective welcome to others?” An equally important question is: “How can this be seen as more than Committee work, but rather the responsibility of the WHOLE CHURCH?”
2. Having done this, preachers must then work arduously to craft sermons that convey a sense that those who are new in the pews or unfamiliar with the comings and goings of this church are individuals of immense value NOT because they are ‘potential future members’ but because they are human beings, children of God, and in attempting to do God’s work, this local church is thrilled to welcome them, to affirm their gifts, and to extend hospitality to them, in the name of Jesus! Whenever ‘guests’ (a few or many) are present at worship, preachers must be particularly attentive to that reality and address it in ways that do not make new comers to the church uncomfortable or feel as if they are standing out. Likewise, guests must never feel that their value lies in the expectation that they will become members.

Having said this, it is equally important to note that on typical Sundays whether there are guests or not, the preacher has the awesome task of helping the congregation grow in its approach to the ministry of hospitality. Developing an ‘invitational consciousness’ is important work in the ministry of the preacher such as encouraging congregation members to consider what they can do to invite others into the worship life of the church such as “Bring a Friend to Church” Sunday.

Unfortunately, in many churches, this call to be invitational may be seen only as pragmatic necessity: the numbers are down, and we need more people in the pews. Yet, the Gospel calls us to incorporate a sense of true hospitality into the overall life and mission of the local church, and would be the case even were the pews overflowing! Therefore, in my view, the preacher has the task of preaching to the development of this consciousness as integral to the work of the congregation.

It is incumbent upon preachers then to integrate the theme of hospitality into regular preaching AND to reinforce it with other actions she/he encourages in her/his overall pastoral role. Thus a preacher should be attuned to different methodologies for welcoming that are available to everyone in the congregation: social media from Facebook, Twitter, and email to more traditional phone calling and dropping little notes. The preacher should encourage members of the congregation to take seriously the issue of what it means to welcome others into the church community. Integrating this message into one’s proclamation of the teachings of Jesus is most assuredly not a stretch. It is clear that hospitality and inclusion were central to the beliefs and the very preaching of Jesus!

Of course, in following the lead of Jesus, it is incumbent upon the preacher to encourage those in the pews to be particularly attentive to those who have been alienated from the world of organized religion. In my view, the preacher needs to communicate a heartfelt passion for reaching out to those either disenfranchised or out on the margins and to communicate to pew dwellers that we as Christians should not rest unless we are actively engaged in this mission of hospitable welcoming, that which is truly the work of the Gospel!

About the author

Robert LaRochelle wrote 4 articles for this publication.

The Rev. Dr. Robert R. LaRochelle holds a DM in Preaching from Chicago Theological Seminary. He is pastor of Second Congregational Church, UCC, in Manchester, CT, and also serves as a high school counselor. His books include: Part Time Pastor, Full Time Church; Crossing the Street; and So Much Older Then. A workshop leader and conference speaker, he has conducted webinars for the Center for Progressive Renewal and Parish Resource Center. He and his wife Patricia have three adult children.

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