In Romans 15:7, the apostle Paul gives us a simple but powerful exhortation: As a church family, we ought to welcome one another the way Christ has welcomed us. Wow!

Okay, so the question that should naturally pop out to us from that sentence is: How did Christ welcome us? And the answer is that He welcomed us into His kingdom through His death on the cross for us. The finished work of Christ was the greatest act of hospitality that has ever been carried out.

"As a church family, we ought to welcome one another the way Christ has welcomed us."

Paul says it is with that kind of sacrifical love that we also ought to welcome one another. And that's why I'm so excited about The Gospel Hospitality Initiative. Part of what it means to be a member of a local church is that we welcome each other into our homes and into our hearts. At Five Points, we want it to be normal for an older couple to have college students over to their home on a Thursday night for dessert, or for a younger couple to invite a widow to have lunch with them after church. In fact, Paul says in Ephesians 3:10 that our living our lives together in this way is what displays the manifold wisdom of God in the Gospel. 

But we know it can be difficult (i.e. awkward) to get started. That's why we created this initiative. All you have to do is submit the form, letting us know that you are open to either hosting or joining another Five Points member for dinner. Once you submit the form, you will be paired with 2-4 other members who are of a different life stage than you. You will all receive one another's contact information and one person will be selected to host the dinner. Then you simply set up the day and time and enjoy dinner together. That's it! There is no long term commitment here. Just one meal together with members you probably don't really know yet.

And you know what's really cool? You can submit the form as many times as you would like and each time we will pair you with different members of our faith family. Our hope is that over time, this initiative will create a rich web of relationships across our entire membership that will create a greater sense of family and foster stronger unity. 

So, why not give it a shot? Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

Warmly,
Pastor Drew