The Critical Role of Hospitality - Part 3

A culture of hospitality and welcome is absolutely crucial for any growing, health parish. Hospitality exists when you believe the other person is on your side. You feel it when you step into an environment, especially a new or foreign one and believe people are for you and your well-being.

In the last two blogs I shared the first six of ten reasons to create a culture of welcome and hospitality in our parishes. (reasons #1-2 | reasons #3-6) This week we will look at reasons seven through ten:

7. Hospitality is vital to having an excellent weekend experience and excellent parish.

Excellence honors God and inspires people. If we want to create an excellent weekend experience and an excellent parish - we will create a hospitable culture. Excellence can sound intimidating and sometimes we fear the word because we fear failure. Excellence does not mean perfection. Excellence doesn’t mean we will always get it right, but that we aim to make people feel like we are for them and are generally happy they are part of our community.

I like what Mark Batterson says about excellence. He writes, “Excellence seems miraculous, but it’s actually quite mundane. Excellence is a habit that is repeated consistently and correctly over and over again.” (Win the Day, page 93) Hospitality is in the small mundane things we can do for people: smile, open a door, help find a seat. When we do these things over and over again we create an excellent weekend experience.

8. Hospitality is the golden rule in action.

I actually learned this not from a church document but from a business book. Danny Meyer writes in his book Setting the Table, “The golden rule remains as fresh and meaningful as ever; and beyond how well it serves people in their lives, it may also be the most potent business strategy ever devised.” Danny Meyer has established many successful restaurants across the country. He attributes that success in part to putting Jesus’ teaching of the golden rule into action, especially in the area of hospitality. As Christian communities we should excel in this. Our mission is far more important than a restaurant or any other business and yet we can learn from their success. (By the way his book is a must read if you want to step up the hospitality in your parish.)

When we welcome people as we would want to be welcomed in a strange or new environment, we are treating people as we would want to be treated. We are following the teaching of Jesus who said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

9. Creating a culture of hospitality creates movement so we grow as disciples.

Since Jesus taught us the Golden Rule and to welcome the stranger, we grow as disciples when we put his teaching into action. Hospitality ministries give individuals and the corporate Church body an opportunity to practice Jesus’ teachings. As people start serving and growing as disciples, it creates movement in the Church.

Largely speaking, there are three types people in any parish:

The first group are consumers. They come to Church to simply receive. There is nothing wrong with starting out as a consumer, the problem is staying there.

The second level are contributors. They serve, give financially, engage in Christian community, pray for the good of the parish and share their faith so that others will come to know the Lord.

The third level are the committed. These are people who sacrifice and invest great amounts of time, talent and treasure to build up the Church.

The practice of hospitality makes it easy for people to move out of consuming and contribute to the life of the parish. When people start moving in this direction, we create a more compelling Christian witness. As more members move in their faith, the more attractive our parishes become.

Dallas Willard writes, “To merely welcome another, to provide for him or her, to make a place is one of the most life-giving and life receiving things a human being can do. They are the basic, universal acts of love. Our lives were meant to be full of such acts, drawing on the abundance of God, and they achieve their greatest fulfillment when, like Jesus ‘lay down our lives for the brethren.’”

10. Hospitality makes the Church feel like home.

At the Easter Vigil we share testimonies of the catechumen that enter the Church. This past year, one of the testimonies shared how the Church felt like home. Over and over again this is a comment we hear from people who join our parish. The hospitality helps people feel like the Church is a place where they belong and can grow in their faith.

Building up a culture of welcome and hospitality at our parishes isn’t complicated but it does take some effort and energy. It is worth the effort and it is not a “one off” from our work. It is core to building a community that reflects the character of Christ, and hospitality is crucial if we are going to be a parish that reaches people in our community.

If you would like to build a culture of hospitality in your culture but need some help, consider how our Rebuilt coaching can help you. To learn more, e-mail Natalie Castillo at natalie@rebuiltparish.com.

Rooting for you,
Tom