Page 31 - Digital Church in a Lonely World

The second expression of inconvenient hospitality is what people do outside of a weekend service. After
all, if someone is at church for two hours a week, they still have 98.9 percent of their week remaining!
So, practicing hospitality in our homes, and in our daily lives, is crucial.

Embracing the reality of the imperfections of community is important, because our instinct, if given
the option, will be to avoid it. Why put ourselves in a place where we have to deal with broken, fallen,
hurting and selfish people? We must lean into the imperfection of community as a part of God’s plan to
grow and mature us, and see it as an opportunity to help others grow.

Keeping our distance may be less risky, but it robs us of the richness of true community. Community
acts as a growth agent. Sometimes it’s hard.

Inconvenient hospitality means orienting ourselves to the grassroots needs of a local church community
and opening our lives and emotions to others.

HOSPITALITY’S EFFECT ON SPIRITUAL VIBRANCY
Hospitality is correlated with spiritual habits in the home. Christian households that have regular
visitors show a slight but significant lead in faith engagement.

Households who receive regular visitors Households who do not receive regular visitors

Discuss God 94%
and faith
90%

Pray together 93%
87%

86%
Bible reading
73%

n=2,347 U.S. practicing Christian adults and teens; April 5–11, 2018.

DIGITAL CHURCH IN A LONELY WORLD 31