Four Seats At The Table

Summer of Celebration Series …

Celebrating the Faithfulness of God in Ordinary Places

Small Beginnings, Eternal Impact

There are moments in ministry when God allows you to see beyond the seed and into the harvest.

Sometimes the seed is a sermon.
Sometimes it is a prayer.
Sometimes it is simply a dinner plate and an invitation.

And sometimes, it is R200.

During my second visit to South Africa, the missionaries I was staying with had recently launched a small youth group. When I arrived, they were only a few weeks in. About twelve students gathered weekly in their home — teenagers from different churches, different backgrounds, and vastly different stories.

Over the next eight weeks, I had the privilege of stepping in, teaching, praying, playing, and laughing with the group while I was there.

Every week followed a simple rhythm:
Dinner together.
An icebreaker game.
Teaching from Scripture.
Prayer.

Simple.
Yet week after week, the room filled with laughter, honesty, tears, questions, and the presence of God.

A Safe Place to Come

The students came from difficult circumstances. Many did not come from stable homes. Some of the students had experienced deep trauma and abuse. Several were navigating situations far heavier than most adults should have to carry.

Spiritually, they were all in different places. Some knew Jesus personally. Others were simply curious. But they kept coming.

God quickly grabbed my heart for this small group.  There were many that I began praying for immediately asking God what he wanted me to do or say knowing that my words and actions must be guided by Him.

This particular testimony is in regards to Shantel.  A tall beautiful girl with an infectious smile.

She was a late teen and faithfully brought her little brother, Daniel, each week because he could not be left home alone. During one of our early conversations, she admitted that her parents did not know where she was going every week. She was afraid to tell them she was attending a Christian youth gathering at the missionaries’ home because she did not know how they would respond.

I gently encouraged her to tell them the truth.

Eventually, she did.

Removing the Barrier

Around that same time, a local church was preparing to host an Alpha course — a relational evangelism program built around meals, conversation, and the gospel. The beauty of Alpha is that it is open to anyone and everyone and they welcome all questions.  

The cost to attend was R50 per person which included dinner.

For many families, even that small amount can become a barrier.

I felt the Lord prompt me to remove the barrier.

I offered to pay for any student who wanted to attend but could not afford it. I also offered to pay for any student who wanted to invite a friend. When the launch date was unexpectedly postponed until after I returned home to the United States, I purchased ten tickets anyway and left them behind for whoever needed them.

Ten simple tickets.

R50 each.

I later found out that four of those tickets had been used by Shantel.  

Shantel.
Her little brother Daniel.
And her mother and father.

As Only God Could Do

As only God could orchestrate, the entire family attended Alpha together.

And there, in the middle of ordinary conversations, a shared meal, and the simple presentation of the gospel, both parents gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

Everything changed.

Today, the family is attending church together.

Together.

A teenage girl who was once afraid to tell her parents where she was going each week now worships beside them.

A little boy who simply needed somewhere safe to come with his sister now watches his family walk with Jesus.

Two parents who may never have walked through church doors otherwise encountered the transforming love of Christ because someone made room at the table.

The Kingdom Multiplies Small Things

R200.

About eleven U.S. dollars.

In a world that constantly tells us small things do not matter, the Kingdom of God tells a different story.

Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves and fish.
He praised the widow who gave two small coins.
He compared the Kingdom to a mustard seed.

God has always been in the business of multiplying surrendered offerings.

Sometimes we hesitate to give because what we have feels insignificant. We wonder how far our contribution could possibly go. But obedience in the hands of God is never wasted.

A meal matters.
An invitation matters.
A safe place matters.
A listening ear matters.
A youth group in a missionary’s living room matters.

And sometimes, four seats at a table can change an entire family forever.