New Book to Help Churches Welcome First-Time Visitors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katie Strandlund

Oct. 20, 2014 (Los Angeles) – Walking into a church for the first time can be scary. Bad signage, reserved seating and frosty church members can make visiting a church more than difficult. Which is why churches must do everything they can to make visitors feel welcome.

The Center for Church Communication (CFCC) and its flagship blog, Church Marketing Sucks, announce the launch of a new book to help churches welcome visitors. Unwelcome: 50 Ways Churches Drive Away First-Time Visitors addresses the many faux paus—often unintentional—that keep guests from returning.

“The mission of the church is to make disciples,” says CFCC Executive Director Chuck Scoggins. “It’s a shame when unintentional mistakes cause us to scare guests away and miss our calling.”

Written by Jonathan Malm, author of Created for More and founder of SundayMag.tv, Unwelcome does more than point out problems. The book is focused on solutions, helping churches not only recognize the plight of first-time visitors, but find ways to fix the problems and keep visitors coming back.

“Read Unwelcome for rueful good laughs and wise counsel, then get to work making your church more welcoming,” says digital strategist and church consultant Meredith Gould.

With a foreword by church communication expert Kem Meyer, Unwelcome will be released in print and digital formats on Oct. 27. Visit UnwelcomeBook.com for more.

Founded in 2004, the Center for Church Communication is a firebrand of church communicators, sparking churches to communicate the gospel clearly, effectively and without compromise. The organization’s most visible project is Church Marketing Sucks, the church communications blog with coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, How Magazine, The Boston Herald and more. CFCC has previously published the highly successful Outspoken: Conversations on Church Communication and Dangerous: A Go-to Guide for Church Communication.

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