Hosting

Our God is a God of hospitality. He takes enemies and does something remarkable: He changes enemies into not enemies… but He does not just acquit them of their guilt through Christ’s death on the cross (though He does that!). He welcomes them in as family. We are the Mephibosheths (2 Sam 9:8), we are the outcasts whom He welcomes to His table (Luke 14:21), we are the spiritual whores to whom He is faithful (Hosea 1). And He gives us the mysterious joy, not only of welcoming others in His name, but welcoming Him in the process (Matthew 25:31-46).

Are you considering welcoming an international into your home, once or more than once? We can do it with you and help equip you. Please read on to learn about different opportunities and the approach we take to try to welcome them well.

What is the goal of hosting?

First, let’s start with what it is not. It is never a chance to trick them into listening to a religious monolog. It is not a program. But neither is it just watching a football (or futbol…) game together with no end in mind.

So what is it? It is the beautiful bridge between the first two aspects of our mission statement: 1) to let them experience grace without strings attached & 2) to have the opportunity to embrace Christ in the gospel. A key word we’ve seen make sense in a multi-cultural context in the past is this: intentionality.

Is there only one type of hosting?

No way! There is team hosting vs solo hosting. There is indoor vs outdoor. There is individual vs small group vs large group hosting. There is formal or the very messy and authentic “radically ordinary Christian hospitality” (as Rosaria Butterfield puts it).

From the perspective of Link, here are our main types of hosting / hospitality, in order of level of intentionality. All of them can have a place in our ministry to our international friends:

Social. This has no formal intentionality. It is just a way to let our international guests feel cared for. This is likely a one-time event for a larger group. It is a good introduction for us and upon which we could build by inviting them to something more intentional, such as…
Dinner & a Question. This is one example of hospitality that takes the first step from something that is only social to something that is more relationally or spiritually intentional.
Dinner & Discussion. This once a week evening event is for spiritual seekers where we look at scripture after a meal together. For this kind of hosting, it is easier for the internationals to find you if it is more than one week in a row. We also have some best practices we can share to help it go smooth for you. On the night of the event, other believers provide the food so that the host can just focus on providing the space. Ideally, the host is also prayerfully looking for those who come that they can follow up with next time or send a personal invitation to in the future. We usually have separate discussion facilitators, although a host could do that to (just ask if you’re interested).

But one time or even once a week is hard to really have a life-on-life impact like Christ did with His disciples. Are there any other options that give us more time with them?

There sure are! Having them overnight can make a big impact since it allows more time together.

Overnight. Sometimes an international may be in a condition of urgent need (such as a death in the family, etc.) and staying in a Christian home can speak volumes. Even if there is no acute problem, what a neat way to let them experience Christ in your family (even though no family is perfect!).
Thanksgiving or Christmas. Especially for our military international friends, having a place to go when their classes are out is so much more meaningful than staying in their hotel room for 3 weeks.
Long term. Whether they are a high school exchange student, a traveling nurse who is renting a room from you for a season, or some other arrangement, there are different ways to have more contact with international friends.