My wife recently visited one of our daughters and her family. They are looking for a new church home. For several years my daughter worked part-time as a children’s minister at a congregation, but decided it was time for her to be a full-time stay at home mom for a while. The congregation she had served was over 30 minutes away, so they started visiting some churches closer to their home.

Cheryl went with them to one church for a midweek Lenten Service, which had a meal before the worship service. When they arrived, no one greeted them. They tried to start a conversation with a few folks, but none of the members wanted to interact with them. They stayed anyway. They thought perhaps it would be different at the worship service itself. It wasn’t. They were made to feel like intruders rather than guests.

Yesterday I spoke to my daughter about a different church she visited this past Sunday. She excitedly told me that the pastor had a wonderful, Christ-centered message (although it was 50 minutes long!). She also said that at least 30 different people spoke to them and welcomed them and said they were happy to have them there.

To which place do you think they will most likely go back?

Scripture tells us to practice hospitality. Consider these passages.

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3)

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9)

The Greek word that is translated as hospitality is philoxenia, which literally means “be a friend to strangers/foreigners.” We usually don’t have difficulty showing hospitality to our friends. But how are we doing with those we don’t know, the strangers we encounter each day?

This is especially crucial in our congregations as we gather together to worship and praise our God. We have the best news ever. We know that God loves us in spite of the wretched, disobedient children we can be. We know that love led Him to send Jesus down here among us to live without sin and be the payment for all our shortcomings. Then, after dying in our place to pay for the sins of the world, He rose on the third day to assure us of victory over death as well. All we have to do is believe this message, and God forgives us, restores us, welcomes us into His family, and gives us everlasting life.

We are to share that message constantly in our lives and our worship services. Some have heard it before and will be built up in their faith. Others may be hearing it for the first time. Either way, the Spirit of God is at work through this message, People need to hear it.

Are you welcoming people to come hear it with you in the place you worship?