Hospitality
The Kingdom advances primarily through hospitality. That is one of the key values for church multiplication. Bruce Bennett says that hospitality is the central message of the Bible. Hospitality is not about inviting someone to our home for dinner, it is about the way we respond to people we don’t know. It is the love that God puts into our hearts for strangers.
Bruce says that there are three parts to hospitality:
Receptivity – a welcoming spirit towards foreigners and strangers
Respect – a spirit that reverences foreigners and strangers
A flow of loving generosity; generous in time, gifts, and kindness
One does not have to be rich to offer hospitality. We just have to be able to look at people with the eyes of Jesus. That is how God intended the Gospel to move forward and the church to multiply.
Christians also need to learn how to receive hospitality. The way we recognize the person of peace is that God has prepared their heart to offer us hospitality. If we don’t accept it, we will miss the divine moment that God has prepared.
Report from the field
The Wilkes-Barre District led by Al Sones has a vision for expanding the church in the coal region of northeast Pennsylvania. They have been talking as a district about what that would look like. They have committed to each pastor creating a “to do” list at their monthly district meeting. They have a weekly prayer meeting by conference phone call. Several of them have also been going into area towns and just talking to people they don’t know to see if God will reveal a person of peace. Please pray that they will have fruit for their work and God will raise up many church planters in northeast Pennsylvania.
Prayer Team
A big “thank you” to all those of you who have responded and committed to be on the Mt. Bethel prayer team. We are asking you to fast one meal a week to pray for our church multiplication work and pray for me as I “champion” this cause. Please e-mail me if God is calling you to be part of that team.
See it with my eyes
I have been telling God and Bruce for some time now that I want to see this church multiplication with my eyes. Bruce has invited me to go the Egypt to see this. I am considering going in March and meeting Bruce and Pastor Raif Azab in Egypt to see Bruce’s system in action. Please pray that God will direct these plans.
Be with Him
God’s ultimate goal for your life:
“I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:3
The path we are to follow as we move toward the goal:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. If you love me you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of Truth”. John 14: 12, 15-117.