Defeat, Pivot, Enjoy, Thanks

The smoker was smoking, the grill was grilling, and the salad was chilling, ready for a second Sunday Supper with the new church family. A few texts and calls later, most reservations had been regretfully cancelled. Now what? DEFEAT.

 took a breath and asked God what to do next. I won't say I heard a voice, but I did clearly have the thought, "Ask your neighbors over for dinner." PIVOT. We got right to it. Four of the houses we visited opened their doors, and we gave the invite. Everyone was glad to meet us and surprised by the invitation. Two families had other plans for dinner, but the other two accepted. One neighbor who had plans asked if he could stop by after their date. 

ENJOY. We had a great dinner with six neighborhood guests and seven of the church family. It was a great time of conversation, storytelling, and building excitement for what we hope our growing neighborhood will become. There was talk of future block parties and how to connect with neighbors we had yet to meet. 

The neighbor who planned to stop by actually did. He brought a housewarming gift and a note that included his and his wife's contact information. They have a one-month-old. He took home some of the smoked chicken, and it was great to be able to offer something delicious. We’ve connected a couple of times already and I see a friendship forming.

It would have been great to have a repeat of the week before with the church"regulars", but this was a big win and great introduction to our neighbors. They will all be invited to the next Sunday Supper, and they all know we are a family sent here to start a new church. If nothing else, we are creating a community who live together and are beginning to care for each other. 

Later in the evening, we saw a neighbor outside who had not answered their door. Latrice and I walked down to introduce ourselves. He said he saw us on his doorbell camera while he and his wife were out. We told him of the invitation, who we are as church planters, and invited his household to next the Sunday Supper. He replied, "You doing Bible study? My wife and I will be there!" THANKS, God.