“Seize the 167”—this is an often heard refrain of many church communications leaders. The idea behind this phrase is that we need to go beyond our Sunday services and seize the opportunity to minister during the other 167 hours of the week. While this is of vital importance, especially in a time when regular church attendance seems to be on the decline, what happens when guests visit our church campuses should remain in the forefront of our minds as we look to seek ways to connect with our community.
In The Comeback Effect, a collaboration between Jason Young and Jonathan Malm, we are asked to think about the connections we make with guests through their experiences. What exactly is hospitality? How do we practice it intentionally? And why is this so important for church growth?
You may think you know the answers to these questions, but in typical Malm-style, this book is more than a Q&A, a list of practical tips and tricks, a ‘how-to’ guide. Malm, along with his co-author Jason Young, invites you to step into the shoes or the minds rather, of your guests. What are they thinking about as they come to your campus? How are they perceiving your environment? What do they really need most from your team?
Using personal experiences and stories of actual guest and volunteer interactions, we hear stories that paint a picture, scene-by-scene, of what hospitality truly is, and what it is not. With short, practical examples, Malm and Young vividly illustrate the principle behind the comeback effect: Hospitality isn’t what we do, it’s who we are.
This book doesn’t simply tell church leaders what to do to achieve the comeback effect, it tells you why you need to create a culture that compels guests to return, gives you principles by which to shape your processes, and practical examples of how to have conversations with your team members that encourage a culture of hospitality. The Comeback Effect casts a vision for a church that works together to create experiences that remove barriers for guests so they can be free to encounter ministry. Read this book, not for your team, but with them. In fact, read it with your whole church. True Christian hospitality isn’t a slot you sign up for on Sundays, it’s a way of living out every single day.
More:
- Buy a copy of The Come Back Effect: How Hospitality Can Compel Your Church’s Guests to Return by Jason Young and Jonathan Malm.
- Read our guest post from Jonathan Malm about what’s missing from your church’s communications.
- Check out another book by Jonathan Malm that focuses on how your church can welcome guests, Unwelcome: 50 Ways Churches Drive Away First-Time Visitors.
