Hospitality was vitally important to the spread of the gospel in the days when the church was just beginning to flourish because when traveling to a new area, people were at the mercy of the people who lived in that city. Christians took hospitality seriously, and because they did, the gospel was able to take root as it spread through displaced Christians who were welcomed into the homes and lives of others. It’s no wonder, then, that the biblical authors of the New Testament put such an emphasis on hospitality:
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“Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality” (Romans 12:13).
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“Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
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“Be hospitable to one another without complaining” (1 Peter 4:9).
From a purely pragmatic perspective, the early church had to practice hospitality in order for the gospel to continue to move throughout the world and for the church to grow. But there’s also a deeper reason why hospitality is so vital – that’s because practicing hospitality is one of the simplest and most tangible ways we model the truth of the gospel. The word hospitality comes from the combination of two words: “love” and “stranger.” Literally, then, hospitality is the love of strangers.
This is a powerful description of what the gospel is. When we were strangers and aliens, God took us in. When we were without a home and family, God brought us into His. When we were without hope in the world, God adopted us as His children. In the ultimate act of hospitality, God provided a way to welcome us through the death of Jesus Christ. God is ultimately hospitable, and therefore hospitality is a characteristic built into the spiritual DNA of all those who have experienced this divine hospitality.
Choosing the way of hospitality says something about the nature of the gospel to others. Specifically, here are three simple ways we can practice hospitality in our small groups:
1. Learn names.
Calling someone by their name is the simplest way to communicate that a person matters. They are worth knowing. They are worth paying attention to. This should be a regular challenge to small group leaders - that while we may start with nametags, within a couple of weeks, every leader should be able to greet each person by name.
2. Make the most of small talk.
At the beginning of every small group, there is always a period of small talk. We ask people how they are, how their week has been, or what’s new. But if we want to practice hospitality, these moments at the beginning of a group are vitally important. Here is an opportunity not to ask a general question, but to be specific in our inquiries. We should ask about some prayer request. Or some comment a group member has made. Or follow up on some revelation about themselves they’ve given. In order to do that, every small group leader should make a practice of keeping notes about their group, reviewing them before every meeting, and then making a point to have more personal conversations.
3. Reach out between meetings.
Hospitality isn’t just something that happens in the hour or two we have together within our groups; it’s cultivated through what happens between meetings. Much in the same way leaders should make the most of small talk, they should have a goal to reach out to a couple of group members between meetings. They can follow up on prayer requests, offer a word of encouragement, or simply check in. But with small but regular contacts like these, group leaders communicate that gospel principle of welcoming and loving the stranger.
None of these actions happen by accident. They only happen when group leaders catch a bigger vision of what they’re doing. We aren’t just hosting a group or walking through a study, as important as those things are. We are extending God’s invitation of hospitality.
As you are preparing and placing your order to disciple your group or congregation after Easter or this summer, remember the group leader role isn’t just to run a group, but to be an avenue of God’s hospitality.
