By creating welcoming threshold places and training members to practice good Christian hospitality, congregations can help people to feel comfortable as they move from the outside world to the inside of the church for the very first time.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) For Nathan De Lee, going to church as a kid was an ordeal. De Lee, a Unitarian Universalist, grew up in rural Kansas, where ...

Walk in and hear rock music, see people wearing jeans and flip flops, and look at big video screens. Messages that focus on sex, success and decision making are also common fare. Welcome to the contemporary church.

This isn't the occasion to berate them for their lack of weekly engagement; rather it is a perfect opportunity to remind errant members about the great activities, opportunities for ministry, and small groups at the church.

Single adults and single parents tell me that they immediately sense when all of the spiritually rewarding experiences in a congregation are aimed at nuclear families. That's not a welcoming place.

Convincing the church she does not exist for the benefit of her members, but for the life of the world is a bad church growth strategy. It's also exactly what the church must do.

It is puzzling that growing evidence showing the importance of congregations cultivating the spiritual lives of the faithful is so routinely ignored.