Becoming a Person of Welcome: The Spiritual Practice of Hospitality

by Laura Baghdassarian Murray, Tod Bolsinger (Foreword by)

Overview

Christian hospitality is about people and relationships, not just spaces. It goes beyond opening our homes or extending invitations—it’s about cultivating a posture of welcome that reflects God’s presence and generosity wherever we go. Becoming a Person of Welcome provides an expanded vision of hospitality as a spiritual practice, offering practical steps and thoughtful reflections for those eager to embody God’s heart for welcome in their communities and lead others to do the same.

Laura Baghdassarian Murray challenges common assumptions about hospitality and invites readers to reframe their understanding, shifting from outward performance to inward transformation. Through heartfelt stories from her Armenian heritage, contemporary community life, and years in church leadership, Murray offers a new vision of hospitality—one that moves beyond performance and privilege to a life shaped by God’s welcome of us.

This book will help you:

• Develop a posture of hospitality: Move beyond traditional ideas of hospitality and create authentic belonging wherever you are.
• Imitate God’s welcome: Reflect God’s act of offering himself to us by offering true connection and care to those around you.
• Lead others to embody hospitality: While you expand your own view of hospitality, you'll also be equipped with theological and practical tools to help those you influence become people of welcome too.

Are you ready to become a person of welcome? This book offers the tools, inspiration, and guidance to help you live out a life of connection rooted in God's example. Don’t wait to start this life-changing journey—purchase your copy today and take the next step toward embodying hospitality in every part of your life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514011942
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	10/14/2025
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	399,409
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Laura Baghdassarian Murray (DMin, Fuller Seminary) is the director of spiritual engagement and innovation at Fuller Seminary's Center for Spiritual Formation. She is the author of Pray as You Are, serves on the Ministry Collaborative Advisory Board, and previously served at Highland Park Presbyterian Church as the pastor of spiritual formation. Laura is also the founder of the Digital Silent Retreat Ministry, which is rooted in the practice of hospitality to provide brave and courageous spaces for people to connect with God and others (www.digitalsilentretreats.com). She lives in the Dallas area with her husband and two children.

Tod Bolsinger (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a speaker, executive coach, former pastor, and author who serves as associate professor of leadership formation and senior fellow for the De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Seminary. He is the author of Canoeing the Mountains, which was named Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year in Pastoral Leadership, as well as the Christianity Today Award of Merit recipient It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian. For seventeen years, he was the senior pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church in San Clemente, California. A frequent speaker and consultant, he serves as an executive coach in transformational leadership.

Table of Contents

Foreword
1. The Posture You Take
2. The Places You Are
3. The First Host
4. Counterfeit Hospitality
5. Healed Hearts See Hurting Hearts
6. The Exchange of Gifts
7. Preparing Yourself
8. Cultivating Vision
9. Necessary Boundaries
10. Spacious Guidance
11. Closings and Beginnings
Conclusion

Acknowledgements
Group Discussion Guide
Bibliography