In "Worship and Hospitality," Steve Clapp and Fred Bernhard offer hospitality as a new lens for looking at what happens in Christian worship. The practice of biblical hospitality can take people beyond their personal preferences for traditional or contemporary and help them recognize Christ as the host of the service. 
"Worship and Hospitality" explores: 
How the concepts of hospitality and worship relate to each other and what it means to see the presence of Christ in those with whom we worship. 
How the practice of hospitality should influence music, prayers, the sermon, and the entire flow of the service. 
How the setting of worship impacts what we experience. Lighting, carpeting, seating, electronics, the pulpit, and the rest of the church facilities all affect our worship and reflect our hospitality. 
How to reach out to people without a church connection and to help our services speak to those person when they come without sacrificing the core purpose of worship. 
Specific strategies for identifying needed changes in worship, including exit interview with those who leave the church. 
How to understand the major trends affecting worhsip and evangelism without automatically embracing each trend. 
Discussion questions are included.

Worship and Hospitality: Reaching Out and Healing through Worship

Steve Clapp

Fred Bernhard

Evangel Publishing House

Within a year of officially joining a congregation, 62% of new members are less active in the church than at the time they joined. Twenty-five percent simply stop coming within the first year of official membership. Evangelism and outreach are important, and growing churches have learned how to practice warm hospitality to new people. But people don't continue involvement unless they are thoroughly assimilated. The level of hospitality in many congregations just doesn't go deeply enough to connect with people at a level that will keep them coming and isn't wide enough to help newer members really feel that they are as much a part of the community of faith as longer-term members. In this ground-breaking book, you'll learn: -why so many people get hurt or disillusioned by their church experiences and how to prevent that from happening. -the DNA of a radically inclusive church. How to remove race, income, sexual orientation, social status, politics, and disabilities as barriers to full inclusion. -the changes churches must make if they want deep hospitality and full assimilation for both new and long-time members. -effective strategies for reaching more children, youth, and young adults. -how vital worship, prayer, and study can bring a church alive, resulting in more members, a deeper commitment to peace, and a wider concern for mission.

Deep & Wide: Hospitality and the Faithful Church

Ed Bontrager

LifeQuest

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fred Bernhard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Fred Bernhard

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fred Bernhard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Worship and Hospitality: Reaching Out and Healing through Worship

Deep & Wide: Hospitality and the Faithful Church