Summer Tune-Up: Making Your Church Guest-Ready for the Fall

Summer in the church can be slow. Meetings taper off, pews thin out, the calendar lightens. For many congregations, it’s a season of rest.

But what if it could also be a season of reflection and renewal?

Summer is the perfect time to pause, look around with fresh eyes, and ask: How are we welcoming the stranger in our midst? Photo by Huy Phan

If you care about ministries of evangelism, hospitality, and belonging—whether you’re just getting started with Invite Welcome Connect or deep into the work already—summer is the perfect time to pause, look around with fresh eyes, and ask: How are we welcoming the stranger in our midst?

A Season for Seeing Differently

Most of us see our churches through the lens of familiarity. We know where to park, where to sit, when to stand, and which door leads to the bathroom. But a newcomer doesn’t.

This summer, walk through your church as if it were your first time. Better yet, invite a friend or neighbor who’s never been and listen carefully to their experience. What’s confusing? What’s unclear? What feels warm, and what feels cold?

Now imagine you’re not just a generic newcomer, but one of many different kinds of strangers:

• A single parent with toddlers.

• A person who hasn’t been to church since childhood.

• A newly-out LGBTQ+ couple.

• A teen dragged along by a skeptical grandparent.

• A longtime Episcopalian relocating and church-shopping.

• A person still carrying wounds from spiritual trauma.

What messages—spoken and unspoken—are we sending to these people? Would they feel seen? Valued? Safe?

Summer Assignment #1: Prepare for Invite Welcome Connect

If your congregation is thinking about launching an Invite Welcome Connect ministry, summer is the ideal time to lay the groundwork. Begin by forming a small exploratory group to ask foundational questions like:

• What’s drawing us to this work?

• Who are the people in our neighborhood we want to reach?

• How ready is our leadership—and our congregation—to grow in these areas?

The “Questions to Answer” document is a great tool to start honest, generative conversations. Pair that with the Invite Welcome Connect Tool Kit, which provides resources for assessing your current practices and moving intentionally toward cultural change.

The On Demand video series is also available to help you learn at your own pace. Whether you watch these as a team, use them for summer adult formation, or assign them for self-paced viewing, the materials are rich with ideas and deeply grounded in theology.

Summer Assignment #2: Get Out into the Neighborhood

The weather is warm, and people are outside. Farmers markets, concerts, food truck rallies, neighborhood festivals—these are sacred opportunities to meet your neighbors and be visible in your community.

Check your local community calendars online. Then pick two or three ways your church can show up—not to promote, but to connect.

Wear name tags. Bring stickers. Offer water bottles or sidewalk chalk or bubbles. Ask people about their lives. Be curious, not clever. Evangelism begins with genuine relationship, not a polished pitch.

Summer Assignment #3: Audit Your Property

Now is also the perfect time to do a signage and space review. Start with the outside:

• Is your signage visible and up to date?

• Are service times correct?

• Is your building saying what you want it to say to passersby?

Outdated or unreadable signs communicate more than we think. They can unintentionally suggest disinterest or inaccessibility. In a world where many people are wary of church but spiritually hungry, bright, clear signage that communicates unconditional welcome is essential.

Use the Exterior Signage Assessment Tool to guide a walkthrough of your property.

Then, go inside. Use the Interior Signage Assessment Tool to examine what a newcomer might encounter upon entering your building.

Ask questions like:

• Is it clear where to go?

• Are restrooms easy to find?

• Do signs use inclusive, affirming language?

• Are there places that feel off-limits or unwelcoming?

Also, check your printed and digital materials—bulletins, websites, social media—for accessibility and hospitality.

Start Small, But Start

You don’t have to launch a full new ministry or make sweeping changes by September. But do something. Take a step.

Summer is a season of preparation. It gives us space to breathe and dream. Come fall, when church programs resume and visitors begin to show up again, you’ll be glad you used this time wisely.

Evangelism isn’t about having the perfect website or the flashiest banner. It’s about cultivating a spirit of openness and generosity that permeates every corner of our communities. It’s about creating the conditions for connection, and being ready to receive those who come.

So take a walk around your building. Ask new questions. Invite unexpected voices to the table. Dream about what your church could look like—not just to you, but to those who haven’t yet found their way in.

And then, when the leaves begin to turn, be ready to welcome them home.