Come On Over / Mrs Elizabeth Carrillo

Mrs Elizabeth Carrillo

Wife / Mother / Helps w/ her Husband's Sunday Class

Lighthouse Baptist Church

Lemon Grove, CA

Come On Over!

I love to party, the Baptist way! I mean, over food, laughter, and stories! It involves some work, but I seriously love having people over at our house. Sadly, hospitality seems to be a dying practice in our society, and even in our churches. We're too busy, or perhaps, too concerned that our house is not company-ready. Do we really have to live in a Taj Mahal, or be able to afford steak and lobster before we can invite company over? 

My family has enjoyed great fellowship both in times when we feasted on popcorn, mixed nuts, apple slices, and lemonade in our friends’ small apartment, as well as during sumptuous meals at the lavish homes of our friends. I prepare simple meals when we have company over. My go-to menu includes homemade lasagna (my part-Italian husband's favorite!), green salad, and garlic bread, though at times, I cater to the special whim of guests for pancit, lumpia, and adobo! (If you have any Filipino association, you know that these dishes are labor-intensive, but a definite taste-bud delight!) Oh and by the way, if company offers to bring something, don’t be bashful to say, ‘Yes, what would you like to bring?’ It's more important for me to spend time with guests than enslave myself in the kitchen. You see, it's not the size of the house or the food that is served that matters, but the spirit of the home! 

‘Use hospitality one to another without grudging.’ - 1 Peter 4:9 KJV

Now hospitality is not a time for roast-the-pastor or fry-the-church sessions! The goal is to edify one another. Sometimes, it's a training session on table manners for young parents with young children, or just a time for fierce board game competition! And to make a suggestion, we try not to invite the same people over all the time. We try to have a good mix of church prospects, new visitors, faithful members, and even departing members. Whatever the reason is for the get-together, every gathering at home or in church should be soul-conscious and love-driven! 

How about our hospitality in the church? Do we stare at visitors as they locate empty seats in our Sunday school classroom or main auditorium during the service? If you've experienced this as I have, you'll agree that it's awkward and uncomfortable! Nobody should be walking up and down the aisle looking for a seat, when we can easily give up seats occupied by our purses! 

Have you ever visited a church and have been standing in your seat during visitor welcome waiting for members to welcome you? Have you sat alone on a long pew where nobody thought of sitting next to you, or of even inviting you to sit next to her? Quite ugly scenarios to describe, aren't they? Yet these are happening in the churches of our country, while we talk about love and compassion in the body of Christ! Remember the adage, ‘people don't care what you know until they know that you care’? 

‘A man that hath friends must show himself friendly...’ - Prov. 18:24 KJV

I am not perfect at this, but I try to demonstrate friendliness in our church and practice hospitality in our home. A simple gesture just might convince a visitor to come back to church,

as one lady I invited to sit with our family did. She confessed later that she vowed not to come back had I not spoken to her. Well, she not only came back to church, but became a choir member, a greeter in our Adult Bible class, a very close friend, and she ended up giving another lady a ride to church on Sundays! 

During visitor welcome in church, I try to locate the visitors first before I exchange pleasantries with the dear regular ladies in our church (and we ladies know how long those pleasantries can take :)). More than likely, I'll see my friends again the following Sunday, but I may never see that visitor ever again!

Hospitality is truly a great way to show that we care. Yes, be diligent in keeping a clean home, but it's your friendly and caring spirit that really matters. Go ahead and howdy with friends at church, but be quick to welcome a visitor, and offer her a seat next to yours. Being friendly is good for your soul, comforting to the visitor, helpful to the church, but most of all, pleasing to the Lord! I have forged lasting friendships from simple acts of caring and friendliness in our church, and while practicing hospitality in our home. 

‘As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ - Gal. 6:10 KJV

I am certain that the Lord is pleased and honored when we demonstrate love and friendliness to each other. I promise you, your joy will be full when you practice simple acts of hospitality!

So, as my then young sons would often ask, ‘who's coming over?’