by Greg LeMaster

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In June 2018, we started eight weeks of training with 20 people interested in starting a Dinner Church at Graceland Baptist Church in Powhatan, Virginia. Previously, a couple of deacons and I had attended a conference led by Verlon Fosner about the Dinner Church movement his church had started. We came back excited to share with our pastor and others in our congregation about this great ministry opportunity in our community. Many in our congregation felt our excitement and agreed that we had an opportunity to bless our community and make a lasting impact.

At the conclusion of the conference, we had asked Verlon about the context of our church at Graceland, where we were already serving people through our weekly food pantry. He suggested that the food pantry could be the perfect place to start a new congregation that might blossom into a Dinner Church. Indeed, it did!

We began our training with all 20 people reading Welcome to Dinner, Church by Verlon Fosner. We then worked through four weeks of video instruction covering many aspects of starting a Dinner Church.

At every training, we prayed for the Lord to show us and guide us in this exciting new church plant. We decided to start slowly with one Dinner Church a month and let the Lord lead us from there. In August 2018, we launched our first Dinner Church, which we named “At the Table Church,” on the last Thursday of the month. We knew people who visited our food pantry often had their greatest need for food at the end of each month, so we felt the last Thursday would be a good time to share an abundant, delicious meal with them.

About 10 people, in addition to our team, attended that first gathering. We met new friends and got to know people from the food pantry even better as God turned strangers into friends at the table. As the months went by, we saw how much people loved being “At the Table” as we broke bread together, shared fellowship and the love of Jesus, heard a Jesus story followed by discussion, and prayed over the needs of people in this new congregation (Acts 2:42).

Now, eight years later, with multiple Dinner Churches in multiple locations, we see how the Lord has led us to so many people who needed to experience the love of Christ in action. Dinner Church is relational and authentic, and many of these “not yets” are simply drawn to it. Currently, we are ministering to more than 200 people, including food pantry regulars, individuals with special needs and their families, and veterans. It is such a blessing to see people who, for different reasons, wouldn’t attend our Graceland services on Sundays come and tell us that At the Table Church is their church—and indeed, it is!

If we had never stepped out in faith to start our first Dinner Church, we would not have experienced the joy of seeing people come to faith in Christ and belong to the family of God. I pray that you and your church will consider starting a Dinner Church “vine” that reaches beyond the four walls of your church and into your community with the love of Christ, because so many do not know him yet.

Impact Missions is now offering seed grants to help churches interested in starting a Dinner Church. Learn more.

Rev. Greg LeMaster is associate pastor for outreach at Graceland Baptist Church, a BGAV-participating congregation in Powhatan, Virginia.

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