It’s a meal in a home followed by a discussion about a passage of scripture. You can also find the general description of Dinner & Discussion on our outward facing website here.

We want internationals among us who do not know Christ to have a place that is safe for them to ask questions about scripture, get to know us (and us them!), and work on their English.

No. There are plenty of bible studies for Christians, but this time is not for us. It is for our friends who are with us who do not yet know Christ.

Some of them come with apprehension. They are often on different places on their journey toward Christ, and they need to taste and see for themselves the goodness of the Gospel, Christ and His Word. That is why it is imperative that any Link volunteers/Christians present will need to come with a servant’s attitude and be ready to do lots of listening…hearing with interest about ordinary topics as well as spiritual topics.

During Dinner & Discussion, there are several reasons why we seek to facilitate a discussion about scripture rather than lecture.

1. We want to help them encounter scripture directly. This helps them place their confidence in God’s word rather than in a human.
2. We want them to have confidence to return to scripture when they are not with us (which is most of the time!).
3. We want them to be equipped to go back to their family & friends (whether here or abroad) to share the Word in a similar discussion format. If they think it has to be done by a teacher, that would hinder them from replicating their experience with us.

One of the biggest ways is to pray… before, during, and after. Pray for open eyes, pray for relational connections, pray for wisdom for the discussion facilitators, pray for questions that will help open the door for our international friends to take the next step toward Christ.

The next way is to bring an unbelieving international friend to a Friday night Dinner & Discussion. When they are your friend, you have a better idea of what the next spiritual step for them is. We have had international friends in the past say they did not want to come anymore because a (well-intentioned) believer put pressure on them to take a spiritual step they were not ready for. In contrast to just showing up and meeting internationals, when you bring a friend, your ongoing relationship with them helps you be informed about how you can best support them during the discussion time. For example, it’s so tempting to hear something an international says during discussion time that seems to indicate a particular spiritual interest, and then to jump in and try to answer this perceived desire. But the context of an ongoing relationship can help us know what topics and how best to connect with them about those topics. It also sets the stage for follow up conversation, for example: (“I loved your question about why God punishes sin with death and I would love to hear more of your thoughts on that. Want to come over for lunch this Saturday and talk about it?”).

After dinner, we invite them to look at Scripture in a way that levels the playing field and makes space for them to explore. So another way is, during the study and discussion time, to let our guests talk more than we do. Many of them are PhD researchers and so they are very thoughtful. They have questions. But because Christianity is new to them, because they may not be confident with English, and because of their own cultural background, they may be shy. So be comfortable with silence. It gives great space for the Spirit to work. If you do speak, please keep it brief. Long personal testimonies or long thoughts about the passage are best saved for another time.

We love that believers want to be involved. But in order to not overwhelm our international friends who don’t yet know Christ (and which are sometimes a small number of people when we gather) we have to be careful about how many believers join us. This is one reason why we ask that you bring an international friend(s) with you (even if they drive themselves) rather than just coming alone.

There is a sign up sheet where you can volunteer to prepare and drop off the main entree, salad, bread, or dessert so that the internationals experience hospitality and the burden does not lie with the leaders every Friday night. Note: Some of our international guests abstain from pork for religious reasons, so please do not cook anything with pork. We also avoid serving alcohol for this same reason.