Hospitality

There's a particular kind of ministry that doesn't happen at a Bible study or a large group event. It happens at our dinner table. It happens when a sorority girl drops by and ends up holding Peyton on the couch. It happens when three guys come over to lift weights in the garage and end up talking through Romans by the squat rack.

For us, this isn't a separate program. It's how the whole thing works. Students see a marriage, a baby, a real home, a normal Tuesday night — and they get to picture what following Jesus actually looks like across the years. Ministry and family aren't competing for our time. They share it.

The dining room is one of the most-used rooms in our house. Students come over for dinner most weeks of the school year — sometimes a handful, sometimes more than will fit at the table. The conversations that happen over food are different from the conversations that happen anywhere else.

Some of the most consistent discipleship rhythms happen in the garage gym. Guys come over to lift with Blake — squats and dumbbells one minute, talking about Scripture and what God's been teaching them the next. It turns out a barbell is a great place to have a real conversation about real life.

Hannah has students over throughout the week — coffee in the morning, walks around the neighborhood with the baby, lazy afternoons on the couch. For college girls who are far from family, time with a young family is rare and meaningful. They get to ask the questions they'd never ask in a Bible study.