Opening Your Home for the Sake of Christ
The holidays have a way of exposing how we view our homes. Some women dread the constant flow of people, crumbs, dishes, and interruptions. Others feel left out because they are waiting on hospitality from their church or community but rarely receive it. And many Christian wives genuinely want to be hospitable but feel inadequate, embarrassed, or unprepared.
If that is where you find yourself this season, take heart. Scripture speaks clearly to the calling of hospitality, and Christian women throughout history have embraced it as ordinary obedience. As Rosaria Butterfield writes, “Those who live out radically ordinary hospitality see their homes not as theirs at all, but as God’s gift to use for the furtherance of his kingdom.” (The Gospel Comes with a House Key) That is a far cry from the modern mindset that treats the home as a curated display or a personal retreat where few are ever welcomed in.
This post comes from years of learning, failing, repenting, and trying again. Our home is not perfect. But there is rarely a week that goes by where non-family members are not inside it. We want our table to be a refuge for others, and we want to regularly feast, celebrate, and gather people we love, along with people we have only just met.
Below is what we have learned about Christian hospitality, especially during the busy holiday season, and how you can cultivate it in your home.
At the end you will find a link to our full podcast episode on this topic.
Hospitality Is About the Selfless Care of Others
It is easy to confuse hospitality with entertaining. Entertaining is about impressing people. Hospitality is about serving them. One requires polish. The other requires love.
Mystie Winckler puts it plainly:
“Hospitable homes are tools used in the formation of people, not trophies to be kept beautiful.” – Simplified Organization: Learning to Love What Must Be Done (aka my favorite book of 2025)
If your goal is to have people think well of you, you will resent the work. But if your goal is to give yourself to others, you will see the heart of Christ in all of it.
Douglas Wilson once wrote that hospitality “frequently uncovers a multitude of sins.” Every woman who has hosted knows this. Clutter, exhaustion, impatience, cramped spaces, last-minute meals. Yet Peter commands us to “use hospitality one to another without grudging.” The Lord loves a cheerful giver, even in the kitchen.
Hospitality is fundamentally sacrificial. It is letting others into your real life, not your curated one. You don’t have to hide your children’s toys or have a perfect menu. You only need a heart willing to serve.
Your Home’s First Guests Are the People Who Live There
If hospitality is building up the body of Christ, it begins with the family God already placed under your roof.
The New Testament reveals that the earliest gatherings of the church happened in homes. And the home still becomes a primary gathering place when we treat it as a place of refuge and discipleship. A table centered on prayer, conversation, Scripture, and joy will naturally be a table others want to sit at.
So make sure you have bandwidth in your week not just for guests but for the people who share your last name. Hospitality cannot thrive in chaos. Nor can it thrive when everyone is spread thin with no margin. Love the residents of your home first, then invite that love to overflow.
Invite Outside Your Circle
It is tempting to only invite people we know well. There is comfort in familiarity. But Christian hospitality means opening the door to strangers, newcomers at church, neighbors, and anyone the Lord puts in your path.
Not everyone who eats at your table will become your closest friend. That is not the goal. The goal is obedience. Luke 14 commands us to invite those who cannot repay us. Paul lists hospitality as a qualification for elders, and the kind he means is not fancy dinner parties but the welcoming of strangers.
Some of the most meaningful hospitality we have ever received looked nothing like a dinner party. A friend’s parents who always bring snacks and water bottles when they pick you up from the airport. Someone who keeps medicine and sparkling water on hand for sick guests. A family who invites you to the park and brings lunch. These small acts matter. They are genuine displays of love.
Prepare Your Home for Habitual Hospitality
Hospitality is not an event. It is a habit. And habits accumulate through structure. A few rhythms that help our home stay ready:
• Keep food in the fridge. Even leftovers work. It is a joy to say “Stay for dinner, we have plenty.”
• Keep simple hosting meals stocked. Also keep options for allergies.
• Always make more than you need. This doubles as your meal prep and your generosity.
• Leave open space in your week. Hospitality requires margin.
• Use your home’s natural rhythms. For us, Monday morning is our large cleanup time after Sabbath rest. Mondays or Tuesdays tend to be easier hosting days.
• Host potlucks. They relieve pressure and build community.
• Invite people into what you are already doing. This is the easiest form of hospitality.
When you feel inadequate, pray that God would make you what your guest needs, not what you want them to think of you.
Brian Sauve said, “Hospitality is important because it is a costly gift to give away.” And he is right. This is good work, and it is spiritual warfare. Every dish, every ladle, every pot is a weapon in the fight against darkness. Meals bind people together, strengthen the church, and open the door for evangelism.
Practical Ways to Show Hospitality During the Holidays
The holiday season is the perfect time to practice simple, meaningful hospitality.
• Invite a young woman from church who has no nearby family
• Bring soup to a sick neighbor
• Keep cookies or small treats ready for spontaneous guests
• Gather families for board games
• Ask someone to join you for your normal weeknight dinner
• Bring a meal to the park and share it with another mom
• Leave extra space for drop-ins and quick visits
• Offer your home as a calm refuge during a stressful season
When you do these things, you communicate what every guest longs to hear: “I am worth the effort.”
Hospitality is evangelistic. It is discipleship. And it is a beautiful way to love in a season when many feel lonely.
Where We Want to Grow
We are continually learning. There are lots of areas where I want to practice hospitality more. I want to keep growing in delighting in the work of the home. I want to be more intentional about building relationships with unbelieving neighbors. We want to be less busy and more organized so we can say yes more often.
Hospitality is a gift God gives his people, and it is one we want to faithfully steward.
Listen to the Full Podcast Episode
For deeper teaching, Scripture, and practical examples, listen to our full episode on Christian hospitality here:
Kingdom Hospitality: Making Room for Others Wherever You Are
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