Sometimes an unexpected dinner guest comes along just before you’re about to serve up. You had all your quantities measured out, but now the meal you’ve planned will have to stretch to fill an extra mouth. You’re happy to have the extra guest, but it’s a bit of an inconvenience. This is something like how it feels to be part of a growing church. Many of us are excited to have new people joining the church. But, if we’re honest, it also might also feel a bit inconvenient. Perhaps we secretly liked the way things were. It’s no secret that the church has grown quite a bit since we came back together after COVID. Being part of a city-centre church will inevitably mean regularly meeting new people. The fact there are new faces every Sunday might initially feel exciting but can easily become overwhelming. How do we welcome people well without becoming jaded? Let me suggest three principles:
1. Remembering the call to practice hospitality. Hospitality in the New Testament could be literally translated, ‘the love of strangers’. Just as Christ loved us whilst we were outsiders, so, when we’re brought into the kingdom, our lives are turned inside out. We no longer live for ourselves, but rather seek to live lives of love, both for our family, and for the outsider. This should change the way you approach a Sunday gathering. You’re no longer coming just to see your friends. Instead, you come ready to welcome the stranger and help draw them into community.
2. Be willing to make room at the table. We may need to make sacrifices in order to accommodate new folks into our community. It might mean being willing to split your life group into two, so there are more places available for new people. Or perhaps being intentional about chatting to someone new on Sunday rather than the people you know already. Being willing to inconvenience ourselves is part of our call to love each other.
3. Remember we’re family. Ultimately, we’re not just loving newcomers as ‘strangers’. For someone joining the church, we need to remember they’re (likely) our brother or sister. This changes how we greet them. It’s not another encounter with an anonymous Londoner, but rather meeting a member of God’s extended family. We might have very little in common in human terms, but we have a kinship and familial connection that should draw us together. And even if they’re not a Christian, perhaps it’s even more important that we welcome them well, to demonstrate the love of God that they haven’t yet come to believe in!
None of this should be confused with the importance of intentionally building deep friendships with a few people. We all need people who know us well to speak into our lives. But don’t let the need for deep friendships stop us from being intentional to welcome new people well into our community. Let’s create a culture together, where both deep friendships and a warm welcome to outsiders can flourish.