Meals as Mission

When planting a church, it’s not if you do mission, but how you do mission. Every church is called to live in obedience to the Great Commission (see Matt 28:18-20), but the Lord also uniquely positions churches to express this truth in ways that are unique to them (See Church Unique). 

When we set out to plant Grafted (EFCA) in September 2023 with a heart to reach the Jewish community in the Twin Cities for Jesus and see them brought into relationship with the broader body of the Messiah, this idea of missional approach was certainly on our radar. And in seeking to articulate our “missional strategy,” here’s where we landed:

“At Grafted...we will equip followers of Jesus to be kingdom emissaries both in their homes through fellowship meals, as well as on their blocks through community events. God-willing, this will result in the development of prayer-led friendship with neighbors who we can generously serve and tell about Christ as the Lord provides opportunities.” 

This big-picture language has come to be summarized in this way: We extend hospitality, inviting people to our table because Jesus has invited us to dine at His.  

We haven’t always done this perfectly as a church community. We’re still working through what this looks like in practice. But if there’s anything I know, it’s that the Lord often works despite our shortcomings, not because we’re especially competent! In this post, I’d like to explain some of my thinking on doing meals as mission––elaborating on why I think it’s valuable––and encourage you to consider what it might look like to incorporate some of this thinking into your church family’s spiritual habits. 

Theology and feasting 

If you were to go through the Bible with a keen eye toward references related to feasting and food, you would end up with quite a list! God’s Word is teeming with the idea that meals and relationships (whether between two humans, or between the Lord and humanity) are linked together thematically. While I’m sure there are a plethora of resources that lay out a more comprehensive and cohesive theological framework for us, I want to highlight a few ways the Bible highlights feasting: 

1. Covenants and redemption 

In my devotional time, I’ve been reading the Book of Genesis, and one of the amazing things I’ve noticed is how often the idea of covenant comes up and amid that, how often people are eating. Even in the tension-filled interaction between Jacob and his uncle Laban, as Jacob seeks to flee from Laban with his two daughters, they eat together as an expression of the covenant they are establishing with each other (see Gen 31:43-47).  

But this is not an occurrence unique to Genesis. If you turn to Exodus, you’ll see that God called Israel’s leaders onto the mountain (Sinai) to eat in His presence (see Ex 24:9-11). Even as we consider the sacrificial system (see Leviticus), it too prescribes moments where a sacrifice is to be made and then a portion of that sacrifice is to be eaten. As I’ve heard apologist Glen Scrivener put it, your priest was also your butcher! 

2. Celebration and remembrance 

Built into our church’s heart to serve and reach the Jewish community is the organic expectation that Israel’s calendar would somehow interact with how we do church life on a regular basis. Slowly but surely, we’ve begun to introduce certain Jewish holidays into the regular rotation of community observances. This means that when Advent approaches, we also have Hanukkah in mind as a covenant community. 

While we may view Israel’s calendar as only types and shadows (see Col 2:16-17) of which Jesus is indeed the fulfillment and substance, I still think there’s value in remembering God’s work among His people in the Hebrew Bible, which gives us categories (e.g., priesthood, atonement, substitution, etc.) through which we can appreciate Jesus now. And when we look at Israel’s seven annual observances (see Lev 23), we find that several of them have a food-related component, especially because Israel’s festivals are at times related to the harvesting seasons. As the late Randy Newman recounted, a Jewish comic once said many Jewish holidays can be summarized by the phrase, “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat.” 

To be sure, however, it is important to remember that these components of Israel’s regular practice find fulfillment in Jesus Himself, who has brought down “the dividing wall of hostility” between Jew and Gentiles (see Eph 2:14), and created people united in Him and to Him. We embody this as a people as often as we come to the Lord’s table. 

3. Consummation and communion 

In Isaiah 25:6, we encounter what some have come to understand as the messianic wedding banquet, an idea that is repeated in Revelation 16:6-9. Once again, this is imagery involving food, but this time, not in terms of covenant or celebration in this age, but a joyful reality about the age to come, where God will dwell with His people again.  

Even in Matthew’s gospel account, when he’s describing the conversation around communion during the Passover season, Jesus makes the statement, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom” (Matt 26:29). Even our future redemption is linked with food! 

However we look at it, and no matter what theological camps we come from, food plays a practical role in the ongoing story of redemption, from beginning to end. In our ministry context––and I suspect of many ministries––introducing more opportunities to eat together can only help facilitate greater relational intimacy between the people of God and the people they are seeking to reach with the good news about Messiah Jesus. 

It just makes sense 

In light of the biblical case for meals as mission, let’s take a step back and consider why incorporating food into our missional rhythms might be beneficial.  

First, food is a common need! We all need food and drink to live. Our polarized world tends to highlight our differences, but when we invite people to our table, no matter where they come from, it shows people that we care about them even if they’re not followers of Jesus. Feeding someone tells your neighbor, “I love you, no strings attached.” It’s also a practical expression of humility, as we too come to the same table to eat, acknowledging that we also are a people in need. 

In addition, eating provides what I call “distractibility.” Have you ever found that having conversations with people is sometimes easier when you’re going for a walk or drinking a cup of coffee? We can easily overthink the conversation component, but when we’re multitasking, we let our guard down and the relationship can naturally flow. If you can’t talk about anything else, at least you can talk about the food! Eating can serve as a catalyst to deeper and more meaningful conversations because it can take some of the pressure off having to be perfect and eloquent. 

Meals also make your church ”stickier” (see Larry Osborne). While many of our church families have a “new person seminar” or “membership class,” regular meals make welcoming people a faster, more relational process. Grafted introduced this from the beginning, and while it’s difficult to navigate with the hospitality volunteers, it’s worth it.  

Are you hungry? 

At Grafted, we have weekly fellowship meals after the worship gathering, annual events that usually incorporate food, and an Erev Shabbat (Hebrew for “eve of the Sabbath”) gathering once per month. Should you choose to try and implement something along these lines, let me encourage you to be extra thoughtful about how you go about eating liturgically, because meals are easy opportunity to incorporate a variety of spiritual practices (e.g., prayer, remembrance, etc.). If done thoughtfully, meals as mission creates easy opportunities for your congregants to invite first-time guests, and for those guests to immediately begin building a connection with your church community.  

The Scriptures seem to clearly exemplify the idea that meals are an organic means by which relationships can be facilitated. As people of the gospel, it should be our deepest hope that those relationships will be a means that God uses to lead people to the Messiah. Meals as a strategy for mission has been a blessing to our church family, and at times we have about as many people at Erev Shabbat as we do on at a Sunday Gathering (which isn’t saying much for a newer church plant, but worth noting)!   

I think if you critically consider meals in the context of expanding the Kingdom of God and edifying the people of God, you may just find it’s an easy addition to your church life rhythms, which the Lord may use in beautiful ways.