Invite Welcome Connect

What is Invite Welcome Connect?

The ministry of Invite Welcome Connect is a useful framework, gathering existing best parish practice and supporting its parish implementation in ways that thrive in today’s culture.  It equips and empowers congregations to practice invitation, hospitality, and connectedness. Invite Welcome Connect relies on the collaborative creativity of clergy and laity who choose to actively, intentionally embody the principles of hospitality, making this method adaptable to any parish, age group, or location.

Invite Welcome Connect is not a program, it is a ministry that moves parishes from a maintenance culture to a Gospel-driven mission culture. Its strength lies in the excellence of the workshops, the accessibility and applicability of its resources, and the ways to acknowledge and work with the discomfort some of us might have with inviting people to join us in worship or fellowship.

Invite Welcome Connect began in 2010 as a pilot ‘newcomer welcoming’ project in four Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Houston, Texas. Fourteen years later, it has been run in more than sixty Episcopal dioceses and is recognized nationally as an asset in The Episcopal Church, with the support of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. Mary Parmer brought the training to our Diocese in October 2023. Since then, we have been patiently waiting for the new online curriculum, which can be run in any parish at a time that suits them.

What is Invite Welcome Connect on Demand?

The Diocese of Islands and Inlets has recently subscribed to Invite Welcome Connect On Demand, based on workshops developed by Invite Welcome Connect Founder Mary Foster Parmer. This new digital offering allows church teams to engage with a new and improved version of the same successful ministry’s teachings on Invite, Welcome, and Connect at their own pace, at their own church venue.

The workshops have been thoughtfully divided into smaller video components to allow congregations to focus where their efforts are needed most and to bring new members into the team at any time.

Watch this brief video about Invite Welcome Connect on Demand:

The ministry, guided by the Gospel imperative to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), equips individuals and congregations with proven tools for evangelism, hospitality, and fostering belonging. Over 14 years, Invite Welcome Connect has helped countless Anglican and Episcopal churches strengthen their outreach, welcome new members, and connect existing members into deeper community.

For more information about Invite Welcome Connect on Demand, visit their website here.

Register your parish team!