The Come Back Effect By Jason Young And Jonathan MalmSample

Day Six

Kindness No Matter What

Scripture: Romans 2:4

There are three major truths when it comes to hospitality in your ministry: 

1. Something will go wrong.

2. You aren’t perfect.

3. The guest is not perfect. 

Acknowledging these truths isn’t being pessimistic. No matter how flawless our hospitality systems and volunteers are, things go wrong. Understanding this helps us put plans into place and prepare to recover. The come back effect is about recovering, and recovering quickly. 

Why do we focus on recovering quickly? Is it to make the guest feel better? Yes, but that’s a by-product. For Christ followers, recovery is about demonstrating the kindness of God. In our ministries, we lead people into a growing relationship with God. Elevating the dignity of the guest helps people see the kindness of God through our actions and ultimately leads them back to him. It’s the kindness of God that leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4). We are Christ’s ambassadors, given that same ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). Our kindness is the extension of God’s kindness.

If you’re simply trying to make the guest feel good, you’re providing customer service. But the church is called to more than that. Jesus’s grace shouldn’t become an excuse to be lazy when it comes to showing love to our guests. Instead, it should be our inspiration to do even more. 

The first step in preparing for the worst is knowing the three areas where something can go wrong: 

1. With a team member

2. With a guest

3. With the process 

With these three things in mind, put a plan into action with your team. Give them gift cards to hand out and other options to work with when something happens so they can do their best at making restitution. 

When something goes wrong for a guest, follow these seven steps (in order) to make things right: listen, review with the guest what you think they said, empathize, apologize, resolve, follow up with the guest, and discuss the situation with the team so you can learn from it.

Sometimes, the best preparation you can have is to simply know something might happen so you can prepare yourself emotionally for the event. You know things will go wrong, so prepare yourself and your team for the potential. 

How does your church handle difficult situations with guests? In what ways could you show more grace or kindness?