Our family loves throwing parties. We don’t love all the planning, inviting, coordinating, cooking, and cleaning (which is why we love it when others have generously hosted our parties at their homes), but we always love the opportunity a good party gives us to connect with different people, and especially to connect different people to each other.
Parties are the perfect place for us to introduce our non-Christian friends to our church family. A few years ago we had 100 people at our place for a surprise birthday party. Our house and backyard were packed elbow-to-elbow with our church friends, neighbors, and fellow soccer and football families, all enjoying a great evening together. Our friends still talk about the relationships they developed that night.
In A Meal With Jesus, Tim Chester comments on how many times you’ll see Jesus at parties in the gospels, and says this:
We should have a reputation for throwing the best parties. It’s not hard to find an excuse to throw a party:
- Personal occasions:birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs, exams, house warmings
- Sporting occasions: the Super Bowl, the World Series, the soccer World Cup
- Seasonal occasions:the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year
- Cultural occasions: Mexican food theme night,the American Idol final
There are reasons enough to have a party every week. Parties, of course, are not enough. They create a great plat- form for gospel opportunities. But they must be accompanied by a passion for people and a passion for Jesus. You don’t have to give a little sermon—just be attentive to people and open about your faith.
And you don’t have to throw your own party… Chester also says we can find gospel purpose in other people’s parties as well:
Join in with the cultural events in your neighborhood. The chances are food will be involved somewhere, because food is such a powerful bond. Look for opportunities to reinterpret what is happening in biblical categories. In Acts 14 Paul addresses the people of Lystra. They want to worship him and Barnabas as gods because the two healed a crippled man. Paul calls on them to turn from idolatry, and then says that God “did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).
How many evangelistic messages have you heard along these lines? “[God] provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (NIV). So let’s give thanks to him rather than worshiping “vain things” (v. 15). We should engage in party evangelism.