Once upon a time, a discussion online encouraging ministers to go overseas caused me to think about international ministry travel. The discussion got very interesting as multiple individuals from overseas started making bold requests for people to come to their groups and assemblies. A discussion to encourage American ministers to seek God about going beyond their comfort zones quickly turned into a commercial for every foreign ministry to petition Americans to work for them. The requests were, and are, always the same: “We’re doing this and this, you are most welcome to come to our country.” Something inevitably comes up about orphans and widows, housing and, of course, a the call for money.
If we are to go to these countries, we are told the expense will be ours. We’re to pay for our airfare, hotel, and transportation. Many require us to forward money to cover any group events. No offering will be taken. We will receive no compensation in any form for the event. There are requests for building costs, books, and Bibles. Yet when they want to visit the United States, it’s suppose to, once again, be at our expense. Whether we’re going or they’re coming, the expectation is the same: we pay for them and for what they want to do, and they do not think they should assume any cost.
Like it or not, the expectation to receive and not give isn’t in line with Christian hospitality.
Caution in ministry
When I started covering people back in 2004, my first connections were all overseas (specifically, Pakistan, Zambia, Kenya, and India). Regardless of nation, most wanted a few things from me: a lot of time, materials sent at my expense, and certificates. A few were bold as to proclaim themselves my “representatives” in their respective countries. Not knowing any better, I provided what I could. Before I knew it, they were gone. We reached a point where they wanted something they didn’t get, and then they vanished.
Not every overseas ministry is like this. Throughout the years, I’ve worked with many different ministers in diverse places. I kept in contact with the first person I covered for years. He was a missionary in Zambia and was never a problem. When he expressed his desire to come to the United States to help our work, he never asked us to cover the cost. There are many others I adore who I know are doing the work of God, making a difference, and standing for truth. We support one another in prayer, in truth, and in the day when we can work together in person for the work of the Kingdom.
But this doesn’t change the fact that we’re often inundated with requests to go other places with the catch that we must cover everything. If we are called to go, we need to learn more about the who, what, where, when, and why of where we are going, who we are going to, and why we are going there. We need to have a plan. More importantly, we need to know what God asks of us in these situations. We need to recognize what God asks of ministers, as well as what God asks of those who invite us to minister.
Christian hospitality
Yes, we need to hear God’s call. Yes, the church needs a bigger outlook than four walls of a church. Let’s not shrink ourselves into nonexistence. At the same time, we need to be careful in what we pursue. God does not ask us to just give or anywhere; He asks us to sow. Sow, indeed, in good soil. And the way we determine good soil is by assessing various fruits. The one major fruit we need to examine here is the fruit of Christian hospitality.
The word “hospitality” is defined in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance as “Love to strangers; hospitality.” It is listed in the Bible and is listed as a spiritual gift. In ancient cultures, hospitality levels indicated a person’s character. As we can see with Lot and the angels (Genesis 19:1-9), it would have been unseemly for him to leave the men on the side of the road or allow them to be harmed. Guests were guarded with one’s very life, health, and safety, and all in the name of hospitality.
Hospitality was a way of life, a way people approached their own image and assistance of others. It didn’t matter how poor they might have been; they were to be hospitable. The story of the poor widow and Elijah (1 Kings 17:8-26) proves this. She was afraid her hospitality might cost her more than she could afford. In her stead, God blessed her hospitality and saw to it her her needs were met. When we are hospitable, our needs are met, no matter how abundant they may seem to be. No one is exempt, in the name of being poor, from being hospitable.
Not just for the Old Testament
Examples of hospitality flourished among the first century church. Lydia extended herself as a hostess to the Apostle Paul and his companions (Acts 16:14-15). Paul traveled between churches, supported by others (Philippians 4:10-19). Leading church in one’s home is another extension of hospitality (Colossians 4:15).
In modern times, visiting ministers and ministries should be treated hospitably by those who invite them. I often say, “If you know I’m called, then you make the way for me to come.” Inviting agencies should provide transportation, hotel accomodation, and offering. In other words: when we invite someone to minister for us, we are willing to do what they can to see their needs are met. We should be willing, in all things, to make them as comfortable as possible.
In reverse, those who receive hospitality shouldn’t behave unseemly or make excessive demands.
Manifestations of Christian hospitality
When Jesus commanded the first disciples to go out and proclaim the Gospel, He gave them the following instructions:
Now after this the Lord chose and appointed seventy others and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come (visit).
And He said to them, The harvest indeed is abundant [there is much ripe grain], but the farmhands are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
Go your way; behold, I send you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
Carry no purse, no provisions bag, no [change of] sandals; refrain from [retarding your journey by] saluting and wishing anyone well along the way.
Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this household! [Freedom from all the distresses that result from sin be with this family].
And if anyone [worthy] of peace and blessedness is there, the peace and blessedness you wish shall come upon him; but if not, it shall come back to you.
And stay on in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.
Whenever you go into a town and they receive and accept and welcome you, eat what is set before you;
And heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come close to you. (Luke 10:1-9, AMPC)
Jesus set the disciples up to receive hospitality from others. There is no shame in receiving it, nor does it make a minister all about money. Those who proclaim the Gospel are able to freely proclaim it because they have freely received from those who have heard it. If the ministers in question aren’t receiving hospitality, they cannot freely give the message.
Considering where to go
Contrary to what our inboxes may display, there are places in the world that have need of the Gospel besides Africa, India, and Pakistan. Just recently, I noticed how many under-served communities exist right in my state of North Carolina. Many Christians in nations such as China or Iran aren’t able to share their needs due to internet restrictions. I don’t seek to mock the suffering of people in Africa, India, or Pakistan, but we also can’t ignore the rest of the world has needs, as well. There are plenty of us to go everywhere. And not every minister with an international call will go to Africa, India, or Pakistan.
Maybe you’re called to work in a developed nation with deep spiritual lack. Some might feel a pull to go to an underdeveloped nation with many diverse needs. Still, others are needed in disaster areas. Some might go somewhere where needs are more spiritual than material. There is no shame in saying, “I appreciate your message, but I am not sent to go to your country.” We must go where God sends us to go, and not think every invitation is a place we belong.
Moreover, we need to consider that we can’t always go, all the time. The Apostle Paul was as much the Apostle Paul when he stayed put for fifteen years before diving into active travel. He also spent different amounts of time in different places. His deciding factor was not just spiritual need, but the hospitality he found when he went. We may be called to go overseas for a few weeks, work within the United States for several years, or to live in one country for awhile, and visit others periodically. Where we are able to go often depends on the hospitality we can receive.
Relationship
It’s a lot to expect someone who doesn’t know you to minister for them, especially when it involves traveling a long distance. We don’t have to be someone’s best friend, but we do need more information than just an email loaded with photos and ministry claims. I explain it like this: when I am invited to speak somewhere, I go with a hospitable trust that whoever has invited me won’t leave me sitting at the airport in a strange place. Traveling from Gastonia to Charlotte is radically different than traveling from Gastonia to Texas or to a foreign country. If something bad happens in Charlotte, I am 30 minutes from home, versus being stranded several hours away.
We need to build relationships with those we make the journey to minister for in person. This is true, regardless of location. Sometimes that comes from preaching, but it also comes from watching the ways of ministry and most of all, from communication. Today we have the internet, phone, email, mail, and so many different ways to discuss with one another and share about ministry. We must communicate with one another, and about more than just money! We need to know one another.
Partnership
The Apostle Paul’s ministry was financed by others who believed in what God did through Him. I know we want to pretend money has no place in ministry, but financial arrangements are part of Christian hospitality. Ministers should never leave an event without a very best offering. If someone waives their offering because they know the host, that is different from refusing to give an offering at all. That would be an arrangement made between those two parties. If we go into an area of our own volition, without invitation and for missions or teaching, those events are funded from our ministries, from those who believe in what we are doing, or from our own resources. In that case, the partnership is different than when we are invited.
Willingness to cover expenses
In keeping with Christian hospitality, the first-century ministers did not pay for their travel or housing when going to churches or church events. Today, we should never invite someone to an event and expect they will cover their travel or hotel. If someone knows a situation and insists on paying for themselves, that is between them and the host – but in being hospitable, a host should be willing to cover those expenses. Unless the event is somehow required whether one speaks or not, we should never ask someone to do that in the spirit of hospitality. If you don’t have it by yourself, get together with some other people and bring it to pass. Everyone can bring forth what they have and God can make it enough!
Making someone comfortable
When transcending cultures, we must consider the standards for Christian hospitality in our modern age. The hotel has become the international standard for traveling hospitality. If someone is transcending a culture and used to a different diet, we must consider that as well. Asking someone to just ‘make do’ with certain accomodations because you don’t want pay is unacceptable. It doesn’t need to be a five-star resort, but it does need to be clean, bug-free, and reputable. In some instances, hosts have guest ministers stay with them, in their private homes. If this is what you agree to do, then it’s also perfectly fine.
Beware scams – scams are not hospitable!
Have you ever noticed all those letters you get from certain countries are always the same? They speak of finding your website or social media, how drawn they are to what you are doing, how God directed this arrangement, and then tell you who they say they are, who their family is, how long they have been saved, and what they are doing. Usually something about orphans and widows comes up, they tell you how poor they are, and then they break into their long list of needs and how you can help them. Some ask for a crusade, others, a conference, or for a leadership event. Sometimes they send pictures, usually looking like the worst of the worst, performing various ceremonies.
The letters are all alike for a reason. In those countries, professional letter writers are paid to draft those emails and then send them out on the organization’s behalf. Your address was obtained via a list or a group, they have never been to your website, and know nothing about you. Their intention is to respond by sending them money.
I do not question poverty exists, but I have it on good authority that many of these ministries have more financial means than they indicate. Foreign countries don’t regulate donations and have different reporting and tax laws than over here. There are plenty of email scams where donation money goes to personal housing, cars, and lifestyles while leaving their followers impoverished. Poverty does not equate to honesty. In such situations, remember there’s nothing wrong with demanding proof of circumstance and refusing to do things if the rules of Christian hospitality won’t be involved.
God calls us to Christian hospitality!
Christian hospitality is God’s way. Ministers are called to receive hospitality. Rich or poor, we offer and receive it. We do our best for Him because we trust Him. In these times, we can all learn a lesson about giving and receiving. When we are hospitable, we are blessed. Maybe we are seeing so many problems and lack of blessings all around in the church – in every country – because we have forgotten the long-lost call to hospitality. I’m voting for a hospitality revival, praise God! It starts with us – and every event we have, attend, and raising up the standards God has commanded to His people.
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