As Christians, we know that hospitality is important, but if you’ve ever tried it, you also know that it can be really hard, and we can find so many reasons to put it off. When I moved out of my parents’ house five years ago, I decided to try to invite everyone from my church over at least once in the space of a year. As a single person, I had to get creative as I set out on this endeavor. Here are some things I learned by doing and by observing.

1) Just do it

Hosting people can be very intimidating. What will we talk about? What if they don’t like the food I made? Just remember that God blesses all obedience and He has clearly commanded that we show hospitality (1 Peter 4:9). Even if at the end of the visit you feel that it went poorly, remind yourself that God is pleased with your obedience, and His pleasure is ultimately what we’re after. 

2) Think about inviting more than one family

When you invite more than one family that means you can leave them to talk to each other while you prepare food/get things ready. This also takes the pressure off you to keep the conversation going because if you have more people together, naturally there will be more opinions and topics coming up.

3) When inviting strangers, have some prepared questions/topics to discuss

If I don’t know the people coming over, I try to have some getting-to-know-you-questions and interesting topics in the back of my mind so that if the conversation gets stale I can revive it.

4) Know how to cook something

You don’t have to be a master chef to have people over – most people don’t care what you feed them (though it is always wise to ask about allergies and if there are any foods they don’t like). But it is good to put in some practice until you have few staple recipes up your sleeve so you can cook without getting stressed.

It’s also handy to have extra cookies in the freezer – cookies are a treat even unthawed – and ingredients for a meal that’s quick to put together for when you haven’t had time to prepare.

5) Take people up on their offers

Often, when I invite people over, they ask if they can bring something. Say “yes.” If you’re making soup, one family could bring buns and another family could bring dessert. This helps cover the cost of feeding a lot of people and it makes people feel more comfortable when they’ve helped out.

6) Remember the kids

Own toys and books for children. This doesn’t need to be costly if you keep an eye out at garage sales or visit a thrift store or two. And if you have children, hosting families with other children is a wonderful opportunity to teach them to look not only to their own interests but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4).

7) Know it doesn’t have to be perfect

It’s more important that you actually practice hospitality than that you’re all put together. It’s nice if your house is clean, but it’s okay if it’s not. We all have homes. We all know homes get messy. Some of the best visits have happened when I’ve left the dishes heaped on the counter, thrown together some macaroni, and we ate off plastic plates.

Conclusion

Finally, when it comes to being hospitable perhaps the most important thing of all is deciding that you will be. God doesn’t call us just to host the people we like. We are to welcome strangers, our neighbors, and our church families.

Maybe you’re church is too big to have everyone over in a year. Could you do it in two years? Three years? At the very least you could try to talk to everyone in the lobby after church in the course of a year. Give it a try.

Don’t know your neighbors? Start by saying “hi” and learning their names. You could host a games night, invite them over for pizza, shovel their driveway, or plan a block party. The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon is a good resource on neighboring well.

And remember, hospitality is how you get to know strangers. Look around you at church on Sunday morning, I’m sure there will be visitors you could talk to. If you invite them into your home that’s fantastic, and if you simply talk to them at church it’s still showing hospitality as you welcome them in your church setting.

Through hospitality we tangibly show God’s love to those around us. Prayerful consider how much you and your family can do this year. And then do it.