Sarah and Lindsay both work in midtown Manhattan. Sarah is a Christian; Lindsay isn't. After several attempts to share Christ with Lindsay, Sarah simply invites Lindsay over to dinner, where she has many folks from her local church coming over for a meal and fellowship. Lindsay meets a handful of singles and a few married couples with kids.Read the rest.
She spends the evening eating and talking about life, which naturally leads to faith, since that's what everyone else shares in common. She witnesses thankfulness and hears about the providence of God in their lives. She sees how Christians interact with their friends, spouses, and kids. One single girl invites her to coffee, and another family invites her over for dinner, where a few other church members join her.
When she finally comes to church, she immediately recognizes a dozen people, rather than feeling alone. After a few visits, she attendes a Bible study that explains the basic parts of Christianity and tries to answer difficult questions and objections. She then joins a small group fellowship that regularly meets for meals and game nights outside of their study time.
After some time of visiting and engaging, Lindsay suddenly realizes, "I believe this stuff." She doesn't have all of her questions answered, but she feels a warm affection for Jesus and conviction of her sin. The gospel seems like such a great relief. She is added to their number.
A great vision for this is mapped out in this book.
1 comment:
I absolutely love this line in John Starke's article: "Christians are called to be hospitable because we serve a hospitable God." Unfortunately, I think that a lot of people forget that, and they put up defenses around new people or people that are different from them. It's time for us to come back and bring hospitality back to our churches and lives!
Post a Comment