When One Church Says “You Matter”

Grace United Methodist Church, Lansing, and the Quiet Work of Making Room

When Rev. Leslee Fritz was appointed to Grace United Methodist Church in Lansing, Michigan, in 2021, the congregation was small but faithful. Like many other congregations, Grace UMC had seen a significant drop in attendance following the COVID-19 pandemic. After COVID, around forty people gathered at Grace UMC for worship on Sundays. Like many churches, Grace had weathered the challenges of the pandemic but wondered what the future would hold.

No one expected that the next few years would bring several waves of new people, with many arriving after the painful closure of their own churches. But that is exactly what happened. Over time, Grace welcomed members from a couple of nearby United Methodist congregations that had closed, as well as members from a Presbyterian congregation that had closed. With each new group came grief, memories, and a longing for a spiritual home.

Today, Grace’s worship attendance has nearly tripled, and the congregation has grown to around 120 people. Their budget has nearly doubled, and their mission giving has tripled. If you ask Leslee what changed, she won’t begin with numbers. She starts with people and with the conviction that everyone who walks through the doors deserves to know that they matter.

That simple conviction echoes the central idea of Jennifer Breheny Wallace’s recent book, Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connections and Purpose. Wallace argues that people flourish when two things are present in their lives: they know they are valued and have meaningful opportunities to contribute. Grace United Methodist Church has become a place where both are true.

Welcoming Those Who Experienced Loss

The first major change to the church came in December 2021 when members of a nearby church that had closed began attending Grace. For many, the transition felt like losing a home. Church closures carry deep emotional weight, memories of baptisms, weddings, funerals, and years of shared life.

Instead of simply absorbing new members, Grace intentionally honored the stories the people brought with them. Decorations, traditions, and symbols from the closing congregations were incorporated into Grace’s life. The message was clear: your history still matters.

Over the following year, members from three more closed United Methodist churches found their way to Grace. Each group brought different traditions, relationships, and emotions. Integrating them was not easy. There were moments of grief, frustration, and personality conflicts.

But something important happened along the way. Long-time members of Grace began to see the church’s survival as a gift. Rather than feeling threatened by change, they chose gratitude and hospitality.

“We’re still here,” some members reflected. “And if God has kept this church alive, maybe it’s so we can welcome others.”

That shift in perspective transformed the congregation's culture. New arrivals were no longer strangers; they were part of the unfolding story of God’s faithfulness.

Rebuilding Belonging

Before Grace launched new outreach efforts, the congregation focused on rebuilding connections within its own community after the isolation of the pandemic.

Leslee and the church recognized that many people, both new arrivals and long-time members, needed relationships before they needed programs. They needed spaces where they could tell their stories, build friendships, and rediscover what Christian community feels like.

So the church began creating intentional opportunities for connection:

• Dinners for Eight, where small groups shared meals in one another’s homes.
• More than twenty small groups and fellowship activities offering different ways for people to connect.
• Intergenerational events that brought children, youth, and adults together.

These gatherings did more than fill a calendar. They helped people move from being a collection of individuals to becoming a community.

One story captures the impact: When a member faced a serious health crisis, the church responded immediately with prayers, meals, and ongoing support. The relationships that had formed through small groups became channels of care.

In Wallace’s language, Grace was cultivating a culture of mattering. People discovered that their presence was valued and that their lives made a difference to others.

Setting the Table for the Neighborhood

Once the internal life of the church began to strengthen, Grace turned outward in a simple but powerful way: they started setting tables.

Each month except during November and December, the church hosts a free community dinner outdoors. Neighbors gather to share a meal, meet one another, and enjoy an evening together.

These dinners regularly serve 150 to 200 people.

Importantly, the dinners are not designed as recruiting events. The goal is not to persuade people to join the church. The goal is relationship.

Leslee describes the vision: create a space where people feel welcome and safe, where neighbors can connect, and where the church can be a trustworthy presence in the community.

Over time, those dinners have become a place where relationships grow naturally. Some guests eventually begin attending worship or joining small groups. Others simply remain neighbors who know the church cares about them.

Either outcome is welcomed.

The dinners embody the church’s core message: you matter here, whether or not you become a member.

Practicing Authentic Hospitality

Grace has also learned that hospitality must be more than a slogan.

It shows up in the language leaders use, in the way greeters interact with visitors, and in the physical environment of the church itself. Everything from signs to the building's appearance communicates whether guests are truly welcome.

One of the most helpful practices has been inviting feedback from first-time visitors. By asking simple questions such as, “What was it like to walk in here?” the church has been able to identify small barriers and adjust accordingly.

The congregation has also embraced intergenerational participation as a key expression of hospitality. A multigenerational Christmas pageant brought together children, youth, and older adults in a shared storytelling experience.

Moments like these remind the congregation that everyone has a place in the life of the church.

One Matters

Grace United Methodist Church’s story received wider recognition through the One Matters Award, which celebrates congregations that move from reporting zero baptisms and professions of faith to one or more.

But the meaning behind the award runs deeper than numbers.

Each “one” represents a life, someone who has discovered or rediscovered a relationship with God and a place within Christian community. At Grace, those stories include displaced church members who found a new spiritual home, neighbors who first encountered the church through a shared meal, and individuals who experienced belonging in ways they had not expected. The congregation’s growth has not come through marketing strategies or quick fixes. Instead, it has come through consistent practices of welcome, listening, and relationship-building.

Grace did not begin by asking, “How do we grow our church?” They began by asking, “How do we care for the people God is sending to us?

Lessons for Other Congregations

Every church has its own context, but Grace’s story offers several insights that other congregations may find helpful.

• Start with belonging. People are more open to spiritual growth when they first experience genuine connection and trust.
• Practice consistent presence. Small, repeated acts of hospitality, shared meals, listening conversations, and invitations can all build credibility in a community.
• Honor people’s stories. Welcoming someone fully includes acknowledging where they have been and what they have experienced.
• Create opportunities for participation. People flourish when they are not just recipients of ministry but contributors to it.

A Church That Says, “You Matter”

In a time when many people feel disconnected from institutions and uncertain about their place in the world, churches have a unique opportunity. They can become communities where people discover that their lives matter to God and to one another.

Grace United Methodist Church in Lansing has not achieved this through dramatic programs or rapid expansion. Instead, they have practiced the steady work of making room—room for grief, room for friendship, room at the table.

And through that faithful work, a small congregation has become a place where neighbors, newcomers, and long-time members alike can hear a message that our culture often forgets to say: You matter.