03/23/2026
Our next Connections event is tomorrow, March 24th at 6:30 to 8:00 in our new Kids area! Please enter through the main doors on the south side of FBCO. This event is free. We will have coffee, tea and water. We have an amazing panel of women talking about family discipleship. We hope you join us!
Emily Kuykendall is an amazing young woman who shared some great hospitality tips with us at our last Connections event in February. Here are some of the things she shared.
- “It’s crucial to differentiate between entertaining and hosting. Entertaining is when you set the stage for an elegant, organized event to celebrate someone or something significant. Hosting, on the other hand, is when you invite others into your life. It’s nice to take the dirty laundry off the couch, but that “inviting others in” might include toys on the floor, dishes in the sink and maybe a house that’s not picture perfect.”
-“ hospitality plays a huge role in discipleship. The hospitality starts in your heart with being willing to include transparency in vulnerability in your relationship. After that hospitality in heart, hospitality in space invites such a deeper relationship. You learn how to care for one another in a more intimate way. For instance, my mentor has come into my house for the past year during my kids’ nap time. As a stay at home mom, she often catches me with a house that is in complete disarray from the morning of playing with my children. Our time together in my genuine space has usher in a deeper intimacy of sharing prayer requests, knowing how I’m doing, and being able to ask me hard questions as needed.”
- “ there are many obstacles to hospitality, but busyness, insecurity, and skills tend to be some I feel the most. Identifying a routine time to host, our “time tithe”, has been helpful for us to keep time open to invite people into our home. Messiness is a big one! Part of my process has been to accept my life stage with humility and also to get better at an on the go pick up process. Lastly, when people feel they don’t have the cooking skills or conversation abilities, hosting can feel very intimidating. I encourage you to find a good, simple meal, and use it often at first. That way you don’t waste energy worrying about a new recipe turning out right. Also, accept help if it is offered by the guest! My friend who is a baker, almost always offers to make cookies, and I 100% of the time accept her offer.”
-“ if you are wanting to grow in hospitality, start by praying for a willing heart. I love the picture of hospitality of the early church in Acts 2:42-45! Also, pray for opportunities to practice. This can be as simple as sitting by a visitor in Sunday School or inviting a family you already know over to your home first. Maybe you can start by meeting in a neutral place with one person, like asking another woman from church out for a coffee. Another great first step is to participate in a meal train. All of these are avenues to give glory to God in the way we welcome and serve others. No act is too small, and all of them are ways that we can grow in our faith in our obedience to Christ.”
