Sometime when you get a chance, compare the pictures of a house from 50 years ago to a house today. You will probably notice one big architectural difference – houses from 50 years ago had a large front porch. Houses today… not so much.
We live in an era today where social media has redefined the term friend. What we usually call a friend today would have been an acquaintance 50 years ago. In fact, many of our friends on social media are people we have never met.
The Bible uses the term hospitality. Christ-followers are expected to show hospitality, even to strangers (Heb 13:2, Romans 12:13, 1 Tim 5:10, 1 Peter 4:9. When Matthew meets Jesus, he invites Jesus to his home where the Scripture says that Jesus dined with “many tax collectors and sinners.” Matthew threw a party and invited his friends to meet Jesus (Matthew 9:9). When Jesus meets Zacceus, where do they go? Jesus goes home with Zaccheus for dinner! (Luke 19:1-8)
Hospitality paves the way for a more robust dialogue about Jesus Christ. As you focus on your 1, one of the best things you can do is invite him or her into your home for a meal. Too many times we try to press our friends to receive Christ before we have established a relationship with them.
For many churches, evangelism training means equipping church members with a gospel presentation. Even after being equipped, many believers still do not share the gospel because they have not developed relationships with the lost. Consider flipping your evangelism training by equipping church members how to make friends and engage them through relationship rather than presentation.
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