“[Jesus’] mission strategy was a long meal stretching into the evening” — (Tim Chester)
In many ways, sharing the gospel over food is a time-tested part of Christian ministry; beginning with our creator who came to eat with people like us!
Luke’s gospel is full of stories of Jesus eating with others. Jesus shows that meals are about more than food. He uses it to display community, friendship and welcome. Especially to those who were considered to be beyond the reach of God. It also points to a greater welcome and hope beyond this world. A future Kingdom which includes a banquet (Rev. 19:9).
What is a Meal with a Message?
A Meal with a Message is a chance to invite your friends over for dinner and discuss faith in Jesus! Firstly, we want to offer hospitality because we know that we have experienced a generous welcome from the God we believe in. Secondly, it’s a meal with a purpose. It’s the chance to share something of Jesus and our faith with a view to inviting friends to ask questions or discover more.
This resource is shaped for a student environment. This is a quick guide to help you get a flavour for how it could work in your CU.
Hosting the meal and inviting friends
- Start with a venue: It could be where you live: Either your halls of residence or your house. Or the accommodation of another CU member. In the living room or kitchen. No space will be perfect, but make sure it is reasonably practical, comfortable, and accessible. If you think it would be more comfortable for them to be in a familiar setting, you can always offer to go and cook the food in their flat
- Think about the meal: It doesn’t have to be gourmet cooking, unless you really want to. Remember that recipes with less time in the kitchen will mean you get to spend more time round the table. If you are worried about cooking or have few facilities to cater, no problem. Order a takeaway
- Who do you invite? Pray about who to invite. Think about people from your course, halls of residence, previous CU events, mutual friends, clubs and societies meetings etc. If you cannot think of anyone, but would love to host, that’s wonderful. Offer to cook for another CU member and they bring their non-Christian friends.
- Buddy up: It’s worth having at least one friend from the CU come and help. One person can be good at evangelistic conversations, and another is a brilliant cook. (Or both!) Having a friend makes a big difference. If this is not possible and you are hosting by yourself, ask a friend to pray for you before and call you afterwards. For support and to keep you accountable to not shy away from the main content of the message
- Be personal: Let them know why you would love them to be there
- No surprises: Tell them who will be there, where it will be, what you will eat and (importantly) what the purpose of the evening is. You want to invite them to a message, not to a surprise agenda.
Example: “Hi James! I keep on thinking about what you said in our conversation about [topic]. I have a friend who specialised in [that topic] who is in town on Wednesday – I’d love for you to meet her. She’ll be sharing about how she approaches it as a Christian. Come to my house! I’ve invited Jonny and Grace from [our course] too. I’m making pizza base, so just bring your own toppings.”
Note: be aware of other people’s boundaries when it comes to allergies or having an otherwise complex relationship with food
There are different ways to deliver the message. Here are some ideas:
- Give your testimony: Since they know you, it would be best coming from you to hear why you became a Christian and how faith in Jesus has changed your life (watch Sam Chan, ‘How to share your story’ for pointers)
- Uncover: Do the first study in Uncover Mark together. Get three copies of Uncover Mark from the CU, give them to three friends and invite them to a meal to do the first study as a ‘taster’ session. At the end ask them whether they’d like to carry on looking at Uncover Mark either as a group or individually.
- Watch a video: There are lots of clips on YouTube that make good discussion starters, or even running a film discussion. (See the appendix for details)
- Explore groups discussions: These resources written for students dig into the themes of freedom, suffering, happiness, truth, hope and acceptance
- All studying the same course? Watch a Leadership Network video, invite a Christian expert in that field to talk about that topic, or you could speak about how your faith impacts studying that subject
- Student worker / guest – 5-10 minute talk after dinner, Q&A during dessert
How does a Meal with a Message fit into CU life?
- Small Scale: Small-scale events like Meals with a Message are more relational, accessible and less likely to be disrupted. In fact, for those in smaller CUs, this might be your main evangelism strategy for the year.
- In Impact Groups, hopefully your CU will have a vision for hospitality, and Meals with a Message provide an ideal application of what you will be learning in small groups.
If you have any questions or thoughts about how this could work in your CU, your staff worker will be trained on how to use these resources and will help you apply it to your university context.
Appendix – Evangelistic Video Suggestions
Intro to Christianity
Christmas
Easter
Other
