Hospitality needs to be extended, as well, on the level of the Christian community. Circle Church practiced this kind of ministry far above the average church.
I suppose much of this is related to the need expressed by the younger generation for “real” interpersonal commitments and by their re-emphasis on the material in preference for the human. We have had some quasi-commune attempts and would like to see this continue on broader levels. But mostly we have seen the life of our community extended and deepened by sharing meals together within our homes. Simply, this relates to Sunday evening in the fact that we often schedule Hospitality Nights for this precise purpose.
A few outstanding examples of hospitality in our previous traditional church experiences were so effectual in ministry toward my wife, Karen, and me that they literally transformed our attitude as to the value of this area of ministry. Yet prior to the establishment of Circle Church, to be entertained even as a staff member was the exception. And, members had little time open for one another.
A Sunday school class in one church employed an excellent solution to this dilemma. They systematically mixed their members, so that groups met in different homes for dessert and coffee after the evening service. It was effective, and yet it could have been even more so if the validity of the need to share community in hospitality had been recognized on a total church level.
This would have resulted in a consistent cancellation of the evening service, a mixing of all age levels, and the utilization of an extended period of time—the entire evening—rather than the weary moments which usually are experienced at the conclusion of the day of rest.
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