Party in the Front!
New book from the Crossway family encourages us to overcome loneliness and love our neighbors…
It all started with a simple shift.
One summer Saturday morning, Ty Dannenbring and his family decided to bring their pancake griddle from the backyard to the front. Why not connect with neighbors while enjoying breakfast? What came next was transformative. People stopped by on their walks. Some of them said hello for the first time. Ty and his family met many neighbors they’d barely gotten waves from before. A few of them even stayed a while, enjoying a pancake or two.
Simply put, it was a party!
This is the idea behind Party in the Front! – Overcome Loneliness and Build Community Right Where You Are. This new book, written by Dannenbring (a member of The Crossing in Fort Collins, Colo.) and Jeff Dillon (a Pastor at Redemption Church in Loveland, Colo.), makes the case for a practical and powerful shift in how we view and love our neighbors.
Jeff shares, “When we started on this journey, we really wanted to give people practical and fun ideas for how to build community in their neighborhoods. That is certainly a big part of the book, but it also became about more than that – it’s about how the Gospel transforms our ability to love and care for those around us.”
This transformative power is significant in two ways. For one, it helps address the cultural challenges we face when it comes to knowing and building community with the people next door.
Ty went on to say, “We’ve come across some really eye-opening statistics about loneliness in our culture. This includes the fact that almost half of Americans experience feeling lonely on a regular basis. The US Surgeon General reports that loneliness is as dangerous for our physical health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
Party in the Front! provides helpful ideas for overcoming these challenges, including ways to engage and get to know your neighbors, and simple ideas to spark connection. Those ideas range from hosting a pancake breakfast in the front yard, to setting out a cooler of popsicles in the summer, to simply sitting with a cup of coffee on your front porch or stoop for 15 minutes a day. The point is to bring what can often remain hidden – including our lives and the love of Jesus – out into the world for our neighbors to see and experience.
Ty and Jeff continued with some insights on the vision and how the book can help, “We have what we call the ‘Recipe for Successful Connections’ in the book. We think it takes humility, music, food and laughter. But it all starts with the heart – recognizing that we ourselves have been greatly loved, and that love motivates us to love those around us. This is the heart of the Gospel – and also the heart of the book. The Gospel doesn’t just move us toward other people, it also helps us recognize and overcome the things inside of us that prevent meaningful relationships.
These guys don’t write as those who have it wired but as followers of Jesus who are simply growing like the rest of us. Jeff says, “If I’m honest, I often would prefer to be alone, to drive into my garage and close the door and block everyone else out. But that’s not how God has treated me. Despite my brokenness, he has come to me. By grace through Jesus, he has forgiven me. He has invited me into a relationship with him. It’s with this heart that my understanding of community – and the power of relationships – takes on a whole new light.”
This is also the story behind the unique cover of the book, which features a Highland cow hanging out in the middle of a Party in the Front. The Highland sort of became the mascot accidentally. But it represents the idea so well. These cows are messy, far from perfect… and yet people love them because they are authentic and unique. There’s a message in there for us and the way we can humbly bring ourselves and our stories to the world.
The journey of writing and publishing the book has itself been transformative for Ty and Jeff both. Now, they’re sharing the message with as many people as possible. Recently, they were invited on the Focus on the Family – Boundless Podcast, to talk about the book and concept behind it. They have multiple podcast appearances lined up through the end of the year, and hope to share with churches and civic groups around the country in 2026.
Ty summed it up, “It’s been an incredible experience to have the conversation with so many people. We think the book has found an audience because the message resonates with us all – there is a problem of loneliness in our world. But the Gospel presents the solution to that problem – and that solution often comes through our hearts and hands.”
Party in the Front! It is available for order in paperback and digital formats on Amazon. Follow along online on Instagram @partyinthefrontbook.
For church information or to have Ty and Jeff come and share at your church, contact Jeff Dillon as Redemption Church Loveland – jeff@redemptionloveland.org.
Check out the “Boundless Podcast” episode on Youtube…