In our Renewing Relationship series we discovered that God renews relationship through the practice of hospitality. In his sermon, Pastor JD gave us this simple definition of christian hospitality:

Hospitality: following Jesus, inviting others into your life, and inviting yourself into the lives of others.

Easier said than done. We as christians often stuggle to know how to invite peopel into our lives and hesitate to hear God’s challenge to inivite oursleves into the lives of others. This is why Romans 12:12 says “practice hospitality,” because it takes practice.

Letting God shape a rhythm of hospitality in your life takes practice. So we came up with a unique way of kick starting a step towards being more hospitably:

 30 – Day Hospitality Challenge

How does it work? You simply pick three of the following suggested hospitality practices and try three in thirty days:

• Spontaneously invite a friend/neighbor over.
• Invite someone to participate with you in a hobby.
• Invite someone from Mill City out to lunch after church, or to hangout sometime in the week.
• Invite yourself to participate in a friend’s hobby.
• Connect with someone you haven’t connected with for a while.
• Try a Missional Community gathering if you’re not connected with one.
• Invite the neighborhood kids over for a game night or meal at your family’s place.
• Invite a “neighbor” to join you for a meal (in or out).
• Host/join in a neighborhood house warming party for new neighbors.
• Throw a birthday party for a neighbor.

Download a printable version for your fridge or place where you put reminders.

Hopefully this will be a creative way to kick start new rhythms of hospitality in your life. God is renewing relationship with the world through his hospitality (always inviting us into his life, and inviting himself in to our lives) and he asks us to join him in doing that with the people around us. The world needs us to participate in God’s hospitality.

Want to learn more? Check out OHOH, a missional community focused solely on hospitality.