Christian Community

Deep and Wide: Hospitality and the Faithful Church
By Steve Clapp, Fred Bernhard, and Ed Bontrager

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 new members don't continue involvement unless they are thoroughly assimilated.

In this new book, you'll learn that 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 the level of hospitality isn't wide enough to help newer members really feel that the are as much a part of the community of faith as longer-term members.

This book includes guidance on reaching new people, involving them in the initial weeks and months, and truly assimilating them into the life of the church. The book talks frankly about the many ways people can get hurt in the life of the church and offers suggestions for making the church a safer place. The authors also give guidance on how to respond when people have been hurt.

The book includes a study guide and is excellent for individual, small group, or congregation-wide study. This book can make your church a warmer, more hospitable place for new members and long-time members.

$17 each, $9 each for 10 or more copies
Click here to order.

Special Hospitality Resources Package

Widening the Welcome of Your Church
By Fred Bernhard and Steve Clapp.

Now in its 4th edition-revised and expanded! Pastor Fred Bernhard, convinced that hospitality is an essential part of the Gospel, developed a comprehensive model of a welcoming congregation which has had a dramatic impact. his congregation, located in rural Ohio, had a 19% increase in worship attendance and a 36% increase in Sunday school attendance in the first three months using this model-and the growth has continued! This book gives you step-by-step help for transforming the hospitality of your congregation. A guide for group study is included. Recommended in Net Results.

$15 each; $9 each for 10 or more copies.
Click here to order.

The First Thirty Seconds
By S. Joan Hershey with forward by Steve Clapp.

Greeters and ushers are the "first contact" with the congregation for many who visit. The number one question visitors want answered is: "Is this a friendly congregation?" This booklet offers clear training for greeters and ushers, with an emphasis on hospitality. Giving copies to all greeters and ushers in your church can help widen your church's welcome.

$5 each.
Click here to order.

Public Relations Kit: Help from a Hospitality Perspective
By Kristen Leverton Helbert and Dick Benner.

Media exposure and publicity can play a valuable role not only in a church's evangelistic efforts but also in its outreach ministries. This practical kit, which comes with permission to photocopy, shares how the Internet, newspapers, radio, television, direct mail, the yellow pages, the telephone, the appearance of the church, and the attitudes of people can all contribute to the church as a place of hospitality.

$19 each.
Click here to order.

Worship & Hospitality
By Steve Clapp and Fred Bernhard.

Looks at worship through the lens of hospitality. This book is an effort to move beyond the tension among traditional, contemporary, and blended worship to create worship which speaks to the deepest needs of people and builds up the church as the body of Christ. A guide for individual or group study is included.

$15 each; $9 each for 10 or more copies.
Click here to order.

Hospitality: Life in a Time of Fear
By Steve Clapp and Fred Bernhard.

This book deals directly with the tough questions raised by the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and reveals that the answer to fear is not turning inward but turning outward. Learning to recognize the presence of Christ in others can have a liberating impact on all that we do and can enable us to move past the fears which threaten to immobilize us. This book offers practical help in cultivating hospitality as a part of the spiritual life not only in the church but also in the home, at work, and in the community. Includes discussion questions for classes and small groups. Another Net Results recommended book.

$15 each; $9 each for 10 or more copies.
Click here to order.

Invite a Friend Kit
by S. Joan Hershey.

This kit will provide you with a thorough step-by-step plan for an "Invite a Friend Sunday." The kit includes 5 copies of the new booklet entitled A Guide to an Effective Invite a Friend Sunday as well as a timeline for planning the event, ideas for engaging congregational participation, and sample printed materials.

$26 for the kit.
Click here to order.