The Central Importance of Hospitality for Mission

David Mathis:

The twelve of us sat in silence, on the edge of our seats. You could have heard a pin drop. 

I had pilgrimaged from Minnesota to muggy Orlando, and her stifling August humidity, for a weeklong intensive course on evangelism with Steve Childers. Fortunately, Reformed Theological Seminary is as air-conditioned as it is Reformed. 

With only a dozen students on board for five 9-hour days with one of the country’s top church-planting strategists, it was a rich week, to say the least. During these precious hours, the Beijing Olympics were playing second fiddle to learning about the advance of the gospel around the world and in personal conversation. 

Time and again Childers had thrown us curveballs. He knew how to keep us on our toes. But now he had us nothing short of captivated. 

“You know what the key to evangelism in the 21st-century will be, don’t you?”
He wasn’t talking Global South, but the Western hemisphere — and America in particular.
I’m sure he could see on our faces how eager we were for his answer. Wow, the key, we were thinking. This is huge. 

He paused and smiled that memorable Steve Childers world-evangelism grin. He waited. Still waiting. Still paused. Still nothing. Hold it . . . hold it. I was almost ready to burst with, “Just c’mon already!” 

Finally he lifted the curtain. 

“Hospitality.” 

Then another long pause to let it sink it.

Read the rest.

Along these lines, you have to get this book.  It's really strong.