Unwelcome

50 Ways Churches Drive
Away First-Time Visitors

By Jonathan Malm

Walking into a church for the first time can be scary. Are you making your first-time guests feel welcome? Or are you driving them away—unintentionally—with bad signage, reserved seating, clunky communication and more?

In this practical book, Jonathan Malm examines 50 ways churches make first-time visitors feel unwelcome. The transgressions range from insider lingo to awkward transitions, a cold congregation to the over-eager greeter.

With all 50 church faux pas, Jonathan suggests ways to not only fix the problem, but also infuse excellence into the situation so churches can put their best foot forward with first-time guests. A few simple changes can help your church roll out the welcome mat for your guests.

Brought to you by the Center for Church Communication.

What People Are Saying:

It’s easy to point out mistakes in the church that drive people away. But Unwelcome goes one step further and shows you the solution to those mistakes.

Greg Atkinson Author, Speaker and Campus Pastor at Transformation Church

In church planting every detail matters because every single person matters. Jonathan Malm gives us 50 very practical ways to avoid some of the mistakes churches are making all over the country. Read these. Share them with your teams. Coach on how to avoid them. Then watch people connect and grow.

Shawn Wood Lead Pastor of Freedom Church

What a great idea for a book! When I began reading Unwelcome, my first reaction was to begin counting how many copies I would need for the pastors and staff I work with. I'm excited about sharing and discussing this book with them.

Scott McClellan Communications Pastor at Irving Bible Church

Churches routinely characterize themselves as welcoming. Some even highlight their hospitality, meanwhile remaining clueless about how they come across. In Unwelcome, Jonathan Malm zooms in on the many subtle and woefully blatant ways first-time visitors get turned off and away. His examples and solutions are anchored in experience and offered with a delightfully light touch. Read Unwelcome for rueful good laughs and wise counsel, then get to work making your church more welcoming.

Meredith Gould, Ph.D. Author of The Social Media Gospel

Jonathan Malm is a creative entrepreneur and writer. He is the author of Created for More, a 30-day devotional to help you develop a more creative mind. You’ll find him in San Antonio, Texas, roasting his own coffee beans and enjoying life with his Argentine wife, Carolina. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanMalm.

Jonathan also runs multiple projects to help churches increase their creative expression and communicate with clarity and excellence:

• SundayMag.tv - A free online magazine for church creatives.
• ChurchStageDesignIdeas.com - Staging and scenic inspiration from churches around the world.
• WorshipSetIdeas.com - Worship service videos and articles about leading worship.
• SeriesIdeas.com - Visual inspiration for sermon series design.