The infant church was born into a hostile environment. The early followers of Jesus faced mockery, persecution, and even death as they willingly paid the price to share the gospel with others. The early church grew and expanded at an amazing rate due to their bold faith, persistent evangelism, and welcoming hospitality. One of the great catalysts for growth in the early church was the practice of extending hospitality toward strangers.
While our modern culture usually understands hospitality to be the pleasant welcome of people and simple accommodation of their needs, we tend to practice it most readily among our friends and family members. What happens when the church begins to practice hospitality the way it was understood in the early church? What happens when we extend love and kindness to strangers, the way Jesus modeled with the woman at the well, or taught with the story of the Good Samaritan?
Some churches are discovering that practicing the ancient art of hospitality can bring new vitality to their congregations. I would like to share some stories with you and explore together what this might look like in our own context.
Speaker: Craig Kraft is the Director of Outreach Canada. He has been involved in pastoral and missions ministry for the past three years in Canada and Southern Africa. Craig is currently doing doctoral studies focused on diaspora missiology in Canada.
