Making our churches a welcoming place for new people is so important. We want the people who come through our doors to feel the love of God through us, to have a sense of belonging that will bring them back and into deeper relationship with Christ. But what does a welcoming church actually look like?

Leanne Friesen is the executive minister of the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec and an expert on this topic. Prior to her current role, she spent 18 years as a pastor, both researching and putting into action best practices for being a welcoming church. On this episode of the podcast, she shares her insights with us.

Listen here:

Click here to download Leanne's handout, "More Than Comfy Pews."

Learn about Leanne's new book, Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things After Death and Loss. For listeners in St. John's, N.L., there will be a book launch event at St. John's Temple on March 9 at 2 p.m., and a women's night at St. John's Citadel on March 12, at 7 p.m.

For more episodes of the Salvationist podcast, visit salvationist.ca/podcast. The transcript for this episode is available here for the deaf and hard of hearing. If you would like to get the news delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our weekly email newsletter at salvationist.ca/newsletter.