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Becoming a Person of Welcome: The Spiritual Practice of Hospitality
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.
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.
144 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2025
18 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 15, 2025
In a culture experiencing what former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called "an epidemic of loneliness," Laura pulls from experience, the Christian contemplative tradition, and the scriptures to point us to a compelling cure. As someone whose spiritual journey has been shaped by hospitality, and who has witnessed firsthand its healing power in our world and lives, I can't recommend enough reading this book and putting it into practice.
October 20, 2025
Among the many things I appreciate about Laura Baghdassarian Murray’s Becoming a Person of Welcome, her description of “counterfeit hospitality” has really stayed with me. She names that all-too-familiar experience of being in a setting that seems warm and welcoming—until we take a slight step out of line, and the warmth suddenly turns cold.
Too often, especially in religious or social communities, people are welcomed only if they fit a certain mold or add “more of the same.” Murray challenges that narrow vision of belonging. She reminds us that genuine hospitality means being open to others as they truly are—not as we wish them to be. It’s a courageous openness that requires vulnerability, because true welcome means allowing others to change us too.
This is a beautiful, honest, and much-needed book for anyone who wants to build communities of real belonging.
Too often, especially in religious or social communities, people are welcomed only if they fit a certain mold or add “more of the same.” Murray challenges that narrow vision of belonging. She reminds us that genuine hospitality means being open to others as they truly are—not as we wish them to be. It’s a courageous openness that requires vulnerability, because true welcome means allowing others to change us too.
This is a beautiful, honest, and much-needed book for anyone who wants to build communities of real belonging.
December 1, 2025
Laura Baghdassarian Murray offers an excellent reorientation to the practice of hospitality, helping the reader to recognize that hospitality is more about the posture of our hearts and minds than it is about a place. I was particularly drawn to the chapter that unpacks how God is the First Host and how, in Jesus, we find the model for learning what it means to be welcoming to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. As was true in her previous book, "Pray As You Are," the strongest element of the book are guides for practice at the end of each chapter that help the reader move the biblical concepts shared in the book into practical steps for becoming a person of greater welcome.
December 22, 2025
I regularly read books on spiritual formation with a pen in hand—underlining passages, marking pages, and journaling as I listen for how God is shaping my own formation. This book was both encouraging and affirming, especially because I have the privilege of working alongside its author, Laura Murray, and have seen this vision of welcome embodied in real life.
Laura reminds us that God is the first host—the One who created, provided, and invited us into relationship from the beginning. Hospitality, then, doesn’t begin with what we give but with what we are willing to receive. This book helped me see that hospitality is less about flawless planning and more about presence—about who we are and how we carry belonging into everyday spaces.
Her insight that “fitting in is not belonging” has stayed with me. Becoming a Person of Welcome offers not just practices, but a vision of life rooted in God’s own welcome—one that quietly multiplies through ordinary life.
Laura reminds us that God is the first host—the One who created, provided, and invited us into relationship from the beginning. Hospitality, then, doesn’t begin with what we give but with what we are willing to receive. This book helped me see that hospitality is less about flawless planning and more about presence—about who we are and how we carry belonging into everyday spaces.
Her insight that “fitting in is not belonging” has stayed with me. Becoming a Person of Welcome offers not just practices, but a vision of life rooted in God’s own welcome—one that quietly multiplies through ordinary life.
October 21, 2025
This is a gem. Let's face it, we live in an age marked by the opposite of hospitality. We are quick to criticize, write people off, cancel, and distance from the "stranger". To be invited to reflect on hospitality is of prophetic importance for Christians today.
Laura roots her discussion of hospitality in what it means to be made in the image of the First Host. Each chapter is a biblical and anecdotal reflection on hospitality followed by a guided spiritual practice to take the content from the page and into your life. I wanted to read quickly, but it's the kind of book that should be mined for its riches. The real riches being the spiritual practices at the end of each chapter that invite you to deep personal reflection and implementation. The book is less like a book, and more like sitting across from Laura as a spiritual director, guiding you step by step and week by week into a deeper understanding and practice of hospitality.
Laura roots her discussion of hospitality in what it means to be made in the image of the First Host. Each chapter is a biblical and anecdotal reflection on hospitality followed by a guided spiritual practice to take the content from the page and into your life. I wanted to read quickly, but it's the kind of book that should be mined for its riches. The real riches being the spiritual practices at the end of each chapter that invite you to deep personal reflection and implementation. The book is less like a book, and more like sitting across from Laura as a spiritual director, guiding you step by step and week by week into a deeper understanding and practice of hospitality.
December 16, 2025
This book is a must-read for any wanting to truly learn how to embody Christ-like hospitality. This book helped me to see how narrowly I (and maybe most American Christians) have viewed the definition of hospitality. A great challenge and encouragement!
December 17, 2025
Wow! Haven’t finished the book yet, but am excited to continue to dig deeper into all that hospitality is and can be!!!
October 15, 2025
“Belonging is a great longing of the human heart—a desire to be seen, known, and received. These places of true welcome tend to be hard to find... But becoming a person of welcome means that we get to create these places for others… places where beauty, goodness, generosity, and love flourish.”
What a joy to read Laura’s new book and be reminded that our hospitality is a response to and replication of God’s welcome and love for us. She also included spiritual practices at the end of each chapter that were such a blessing to me. Highly recommend!
What a joy to read Laura’s new book and be reminded that our hospitality is a response to and replication of God’s welcome and love for us. She also included spiritual practices at the end of each chapter that were such a blessing to me. Highly recommend!
October 14, 2025
Laura Murray’s latest book on hospitality, Becoming a Person of Welcome, I highly recommend. Murray welcomes readers into the conversation about how God invites us to join Him as his guest, to be seen, known, and loved. Murray artfully integrates various spiritual disciplines to encourage readers to align hospitality practices with generosity, presence, and hope. Ultimately, Murray points readers to the perfect model of hospitality—Jesus—and how He anticipated, welcomed, provided, and nourished His followers then and now.
December 30, 2025
This book has such a fresh look at hospitality and what it is to take that spiritual gift into every space we go to. Hospitality goes so far beyond a diner party and Laura does such a great job of not only highlighting the value of growing in that gift but reimagining what it looks like in a way that is accessible and necessary for us all!
October 15, 2025
This book is a gift to those looking for practical next steps toward extending radical hospitality. I loved the exercises at the end of each chapter that helped grow my love of Jesus and others.
December 14, 2025
Having been raised in the Deep South, I thought I knew what hospitality was all about. Yet as I grew in my faith I realized that the discipline of Biblical Hospitality is richer and more generous than we Southerners can ever be. I am grateful that my friend Laura Murray wrote this book and shared her stories, enlightening, encouraging and enriching my practice of hospitality. I especially like the chapters on confession, boundaries, and rest. I have been so blessed by this book I ordered several times to give to others!
November 6, 2025
this is a very helpful and practical book
“Becoming a person of welcome” is a very practical and helpful guide in leading the reader into a greater understanding of the many facets of hospitality. The author frames hospitality as a much broader and more expansive experience than just having some friends over for a meal. Lauren invites the reader to engage in a more robust perspective. A perspective that invites others into our lives, and provides blessings to both those who are welcomed and those who are welcoming others. At the end of each chapter the reader is invited to engage practices that encourage growth in their own spiritual formation. This book is must read for anyone who’s interested in deepening their walk with Christ.
“Becoming a person of welcome” is a very practical and helpful guide in leading the reader into a greater understanding of the many facets of hospitality. The author frames hospitality as a much broader and more expansive experience than just having some friends over for a meal. Lauren invites the reader to engage in a more robust perspective. A perspective that invites others into our lives, and provides blessings to both those who are welcomed and those who are welcoming others. At the end of each chapter the reader is invited to engage practices that encourage growth in their own spiritual formation. This book is must read for anyone who’s interested in deepening their walk with Christ.
November 12, 2025
True hospitality is more than food. It is more than a luxurious space and table settings and the perfect menu. The spiritual discipline of hospitality is the practice of making room in my schedule, in my home, in my budget, and—most challenging of all—in my heart for the people that God chooses to bring into my life.
Laura Baghdassarian Murray explores this expanded context for hospitality in Becoming a Person of Welcome with the assertion that “hospitality comes from people, not just places… It is a practice that becomes a posture, which we can carry wherever we go. We can provide welcome to stranger and friend alike.”
I especially appreciated her use of the word posture, because my posture is really my way of being in the world. As a redeemed person, I exist in the freedom and the welcome of God, and whenever I carry that welcome forward in my response to those around me, I am living into a posture of hospitality.
Baghdassarian offers hopeful and concrete practices to her readers for finding their way into a posture of welcome, and it all begins with self-reflection and awareness. If I want to take hospitality with me wherever I go, I’ll need to become more tuned in to people and their needs. I will stop looking at my watch when someone is talking to me and measuring my productivity by check marks on the ever-expanding to-do list.
There’s a very real sense in which hospitality can happen when two shopping carts meet in the cereal aisle. Genuine welcome can be extended in the pew or around the coffee machine at church. In a world so hungry for welcome, believers in Christ are uniquely positioned to turn our faces toward both the familiar and the foreign, secure in the knowledge that God has first turned his face toward us.
Laura Baghdassarian Murray explores this expanded context for hospitality in Becoming a Person of Welcome with the assertion that “hospitality comes from people, not just places… It is a practice that becomes a posture, which we can carry wherever we go. We can provide welcome to stranger and friend alike.”
I especially appreciated her use of the word posture, because my posture is really my way of being in the world. As a redeemed person, I exist in the freedom and the welcome of God, and whenever I carry that welcome forward in my response to those around me, I am living into a posture of hospitality.
Baghdassarian offers hopeful and concrete practices to her readers for finding their way into a posture of welcome, and it all begins with self-reflection and awareness. If I want to take hospitality with me wherever I go, I’ll need to become more tuned in to people and their needs. I will stop looking at my watch when someone is talking to me and measuring my productivity by check marks on the ever-expanding to-do list.
There’s a very real sense in which hospitality can happen when two shopping carts meet in the cereal aisle. Genuine welcome can be extended in the pew or around the coffee machine at church. In a world so hungry for welcome, believers in Christ are uniquely positioned to turn our faces toward both the familiar and the foreign, secure in the knowledge that God has first turned his face toward us.
October 21, 2025
Becoming a Person of Welcome is one of those books that quietly reshapes how you see your daily life.
Laura Baghdassarian Murray reframes hospitality—not as fancy entertaining or perfect homes—but as a spiritual posture that reflects God’s heart of welcome. It’s not about impressing people; it’s about being present with them.
As someone who has long seen hospitality as my spiritual gift, I’ll admit I used to wonder if it was “enough.” This book changed that. It gave me language and purpose for something I’ve always felt called to, showing how hospitality is every bit as sacred as preaching or teaching.
I love that Laura encourages us to slow down, reflect, and imagine new spaces where we can live out welcome—in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and even online. It’s full of wisdom, Scripture, and gentle prompts that help you practice what you’re reading.
This book made me feel seen, validated, and inspired. I’ll be rereading it soon—there’s so much depth in these pages.
Perfect for anyone who wants to cultivate spiritual depth, community, and a more open heart in everyday life.
Laura Baghdassarian Murray reframes hospitality—not as fancy entertaining or perfect homes—but as a spiritual posture that reflects God’s heart of welcome. It’s not about impressing people; it’s about being present with them.
As someone who has long seen hospitality as my spiritual gift, I’ll admit I used to wonder if it was “enough.” This book changed that. It gave me language and purpose for something I’ve always felt called to, showing how hospitality is every bit as sacred as preaching or teaching.
I love that Laura encourages us to slow down, reflect, and imagine new spaces where we can live out welcome—in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and even online. It’s full of wisdom, Scripture, and gentle prompts that help you practice what you’re reading.
This book made me feel seen, validated, and inspired. I’ll be rereading it soon—there’s so much depth in these pages.
Perfect for anyone who wants to cultivate spiritual depth, community, and a more open heart in everyday life.
October 26, 2025
This book challenged me in the best possible way! It's helped me see hospitality as a lifestyle that reflects God's heart of love for others. This book isn't piling things on my to-do list or making me feel bad about not doing more. Instead, it is full of practices that invite me to consider with God how I can become more hospitable in a world that is often anything but.
I love how Laura weaves in her story of Armenian heritage and her years in church leadership to help us capture a new vision of hospitality.
If you've been wondering how you can be more loving to those around you, this may be a great place to start.
PS... I let my mother-in-law look at it while she was visting me, and she loved it so much she took it home. Off to get another copy for my bookshelf. :)
I love how Laura weaves in her story of Armenian heritage and her years in church leadership to help us capture a new vision of hospitality.
If you've been wondering how you can be more loving to those around you, this may be a great place to start.
PS... I let my mother-in-law look at it while she was visting me, and she loved it so much she took it home. Off to get another copy for my bookshelf. :)
October 20, 2025
This is the kind of book that lingers after you put it down. Murray begins by inviting readers to consider hospitality not just as something we "do" but as a way of being with and for one another as reflections of God's own invitations. Throughout each chapter, readers have glimpses of Murray's own family stories, life experiences, and challenges, that have guided her curiosity and practices that open the heart and mind to a way of expanding welcome not only for others, but for welcoming one's own story as well. Great small group questions at the back as well!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews