Church hospitality continues to be a conversation that church leaders and elder boards ask me about fairly regularly. As congregations continue to shrink and more churches close each year, leaders continue to look inward to see what they can do better.

Through my time as a church helper, I've talked to churches who have told me, "we tried ___, but it didn't work." When I ask why, usually the answer is "we don't know. Often, these conversations end with people agreeing that they never knew what "working" looked like, so they honestly didn't know if they ever got there.

We know that your mission is your purpose, and the method is how you're accomplishing it. But something you need to identify in every meeting is how each one manifests itself during a conversation. 

When I meet with churches to discuss mission and method, I'll start by listing a series of ministries or traditions that happen in that church, and I'll ask the group if they think that thing is a mission or a method of the church.