Showing Radical Hospitality as a Lighthouse Congregation

As you know, The United Methodist Church is facing massive change. While some churches are disaffiliating from the UMC, some members of those congregations may want to remain aligned with the UMC. People who have been through crisis often carry church hurt. A lighthouse congregation is tasked with helping provide a safe space and hospitality for people arriving from disaffiliating churches. We want to offer Radical Hospitality to those looking for a new church home, whether through the disaffiliation of their home church or for other reasons.

A lighthouse congregation offers a guiding light. It provides a safe, supportive place and hospitality for people who mean to stay in the denomination after their local church has voted to disaffiliate from UMC. A lighthouse congregation offers encouragement, kindness, and radical hospitality.

Maya Angelou is often attributed with saying, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Guests don’t return to our churches because of what we do—but because of how we make them feel.

• RADICAL HOSPITALITY welcomes those outside the church. As an adjective, “radical” means “to affect the fundamental nature of something. When we live into the principles of radical hospitality, we give people a taste of the kingdom of God.
• RADICAL HOSPITALITY expresses Christ’s love and welcome. By showing that we are anticipating and preparing for guests and that they are welcomed and accepted in a fundamentally different way, we become physical manifestations of Christ’s love and welcome. When we make their experience exceptionally positive, their preconceived notions about the church (and Christians) are dismantled. They’re open to returning. When hospitality is done well, it changes lives.
• RADICAL HOSPITALITY creates a feeling of comfort, acceptance, and value. By demonstrating radical hospitality, we not only make people feel welcome, but we also provide a safe space and hospitality for people arriving from disaffiliating churches.

In August, St. Paul’s Leadership Board voted unanimously to join the effort of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church to develop Lighthouse Congregations throughout our conference. As such, we hope to offer RADICAL HOSPITALITY to those in our neighborhood who are seeking a safe space as they heal from church hurt or are simply seeking welcome, comfort, and acceptance.