Hospitality as a Ministry

Back in the mid-1980s, I went on a short-term mission trip to southern India with a group of Uni students. It was an eye-opening experience for many reasons, but one of the things that struck me most was the hospitality of the people.

A Lesson in Hospitality

After teaching us a few phrases in the local language, our team leaders sent us off in pairs so we could practise those words with people we met. My teammate and I soon came across a man sitting outside his house, so we tried to start a conversation.

The few phrases I knew roughly translated as, ‘Hello my name is Nola and this is John. We are trying to learn Kannada [i.e. the local language]. We cannot speak Kannada properly.’ I remember the team leaders telling us that if we didn’t pronounce it just right, it could mean ‘I cannot somersault properly.’

Well, our pronunciation must have been good enough, because the man understood us and invited us into his home. He spoke English, and while his family prepared some food and drink for us, he spent about an hour teaching us different words. We were overwhelmed with the hospitality the family showed us, especially as we were strangers from a different culture and religion.

(And if you’re having trouble spotting me in the photo, I’m the one in the middle with the burgundy sari and bad perm!)

An Undervalued Ministry?

Hospitality is sometimes undervalued in western culture. I remember a young woman who was asked to be the hospitality coordinator at a training base for a large mission organisation. At that time, about 100 students and staff lived on-site, and all staff were responsible for raising their own support.

Her role included delegating and supervising the housekeeping duties that kept the base operating, baking treats to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions, and looking after the needs of guest speakers and visiting missionaries. No doubt there were also many other behind-the-scenes tasks. She told me that when she went on a missionary trip to Africa, she had no trouble raising funds. However, people weren’t as interested in supporting her when she moved into the hospitality area. Presumably, going on an outreach was seen as more important than showing hospitality to others, but the Apostle John didn’t make such a distinction.

A Biblical Example

In his third letter, John commends Gaius for the love he’d shown to travelling missionaries, thus sharing in their work. However, Diotrephes was more interested in his own position. Not only did he fail to welcome other believers, but he tried to prevent others from doing so, even expelling them from the church.

By treating the missionaries this way, Diotrephes was actually hindering the spread of the gospel. (See 3 John 5-12)

What About Us?

This is a challenge to me. I have so much decluttering to do in our spare room at the moment, that I would be thrown into a tailspin if someone suddenly rang up and asked if they could stay for a couple of nights!

But hospitality can also involve the little things. Getting to know people over a meal. Inviting someone for afternoon tea. Creating a welcoming space where people feel loved and accepted. Offering a drink to someone, even if they’ve just popped in for a minute. And yes, maybe I need to clean out the spare room just in case. We never know where the hand of hospitality may lead.

Do you have any examples of hospitality that really touched you in some way? I’d love to hear your examples.

Photo References

All photos from Pixabay, except for team photo from author’s collection. Featured photo by Skitterphoto. Baking photo by Finn-b

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2 Responses

  1. Back in the olden days, when the Rowe family owned Kenilworth Homestead, I stayed there for six weeks after getting a bit burnt out in a live-in house of prayer for two years. The Rowes shared their home, their farm and property, their river to swim in – their everything. And lots of talking including around the fire at night. I ended up de-mobilising a mobile home and building a roof and verandah onto it, as they also offered for me to stay on their property for as long as I wanted. I’ve actually set much of my current WIP there, in my ‘more or less’ way. They were legendary for their hospitality.

    1. Wow, that certainly sounds like an amazing time and so generous of those people. I hope you patented that mobile home. You may have invented the tiny house that’s so popular today! And I can imagine it would have been full-on being in a live-in house of prayer for two years. I bet you have some amazing stories from your time there though. Thanks for commenting.

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