God is a missionary God. God is also hospitable in his nature. He makes his enemies friends and invites them to intimate communion. The mission of God in Scripture often occurs through hospitality when God’s people encounter the not-yet people of God at table or in hospitable environments and invite them to believe. This motif of mission as hospitality plays out through the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and through the Eucharist. It can also be observed through the witness of monks and contemporary missionaries who embraced a hospitable approach to mission. For the church to participate in God’s mission today, a vision to win, conquer, or change the world should be exchanged for a conviction to welcome the stranger and make room for others while proclaiming the gospel—that is, to imitate the hospitable God in mission.

How to make disciples using hospitality Deep down, every Christian wants to make a difference. But for many of us, the years come and go and we never do. The good news is: change can be as simple as opening your front door. The Simplest Way to Change the World is about biblical hospitality and its power for the gospel. Since people will sooner enter a living room than a church, hospitality is a natural and effective way to build relationships for Christ. You’ll learn: How the home can be a hub for community How hospitality leads to joy, purpose, and belonging How it grows families to love the things of God How it’s not about being the perfect host How to be hospitable regardless of your living space Hospitality is a beautiful legacy of the church, and a great way to make disciples. As you open your life up to others, you share in the very character of God and experience His joy. And you get to witness lives change—including your own. Includes 20+ creative ideas for hospitality, plus questions for small groups

How does hospitality shape who we are as Christians, and how should we extend this hospitable love toward others? In this resource, we'll look at how biblical hospitality plays out in Christian homes-for women and men-and how we might consider our small acts of hospitable love as larger participation in God's plan to see disciples of Jesus be made and welcomed into the household of faith. We hope that you might begin to consider what it looks like for you, no matter your season, to begin shaping your home and life toward a hospitable aim.

If you’re a leader in a church or business, and you want to improve your culture of hospitality, then you’ll love Danny’s new book. It’s a must-read! -Dan T. Cathy, CEO, Chick-fil-A When it comes to interacting with guests, churches typically gravitate towards one of two camps: over-the-top, shock-and-awe, let-us-entertain-you or oh-man,-some-people-just-showed-up, underwhelming experience. Each extreme has drawbacks: on one end, people become the center of the universe. On the other, hospitality is effectively ignored in deference to the "serious business" of worship. People Are the Mission proposes a healthy middle, one where guests are esteemed but the gospel is the goal. Danny Franks, Connections Pastor at Summit Church, shows churches how to take a more balanced approach - a "third way" that is both guest-friendly and gospel-centric. He shows why honoring the stranger doesn't stand in opposition to honoring the Savior. People are the mission that Christ has called us to, and if we focus on people we can better assist people to focus on the gospel.

For most of church history, hospitality was central to Christian identity. Yet our generation knows little about this rich, life-giving practice.