The Magic of Hospitality

If you’ve ever visited a Disney theme park, you know it’s like stepping into another world—not just a world full of fantasy and imagination, but also a world that treats you like one of its own. The hospitality of The Walt Disney Company is unparalleled. As soon as you step foot onto Disney property, cast members, as Disney staff members are called, greet you with a smile, sometimes a wave, but never without a genuine, heartfelt demeanor.
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As most of you know, Rachel and I visit Walt Disney World a few times a year, and their hospitality is one of the reasons we love spending time there. It often feels like a second home for us, one that is always welcoming, always intentional, and always fun.

Disney’s dedication to hospitality and their customer service mindset got me thinking about how they can be applied here at Northbrook. How do we, as the church body, welcome people and treat them with the same level of kindness and warmth displayed every day by cast members at Walt Disney World? How do we ensure people want to visit our church again and again?

One of my responsibilities at the church is to help manage our greeters and ushers on Sunday mornings. Often these folks are the first smile a visitor will see, the first conversation they have, or the first time they feel comfortable and connected enough to give their hard-earned dollars. I meet with these teams regularly and stay in communication to ensure we provide visitors with a consistent experience, so they will always encounter someone who can answer their questions, get them connected, and invite them to return.

Luckily, the people of Northbrook are already warm, inviting, and friendly, but we as staff also work behind the scenes to ensure that we work with intentionality. This means we’re not just plugging in volunteers to a random spot or creating new programs in a vacuum, but are intentional about providing a feeling of welcoming and inclusiveness that brings people back, week after week.

So how do we ensure Northbrook continues to present itself as a safe, warm, and homey place? By utilizing the same method that brings people back to Walt Disney World again and again—ensuring our hospitality is always prioritized, always evolving, and always personal.

Northbrook also has something that Disney doesn’t: the conviction to share the love of Christ with our community and preserving a space where that love can grow and transform over time. Hospitality is just one of the methods that gets us there.

And friends, I’m so grateful for the way Northbrook welcomes folks to our campus. I want to encourage and challenge you to continue to be the hands and feet of Christ with our hospitality. It is truly making a difference in the kingdom.

In Christ,

​Allen Whittaker
Executive Director