Prayer Focus

Ministry and Hospitality: One and the Same? [November Prayer Focus]

by Mark Watson

Everyone needs food and rest — which may be why nothing has as much potential to bring strangers together as fellowship and sharing meals.

This gives missionaries around the world huge opportunities to share Christ’s love through hospitality, whether it’s providing a safe place of retreat for fellow missionaries who are feeling burned out or running a cafe in the heart of Tokyo that attracts people from all walks of life.

This November, will you pray with us for hospitality ministries around the world?

Click here to get a printable version of these requests, and sign up here to get the new prayer focus in your inbox each month.

1. Pray for new guests and curious friends.

Hospitality ministries should create atmospheres that welcome strangers with warmth and kindness.

For the past three years, TEAM missionaries Eric and Melissa Lundquist have hosted a Christmas celebration in their home known as “Advent Open House”. They invite as many guests as they can — neighbors, families they know through their sons’ Austrian school and people they just meet through the rhythm of daily life.

“The first year, we had just a handful of people that came,” said Melissa. “The second year, we had about 15 … and then last year, we were surprised that about 35 adults — and about 15 kids — came by!”

Pray that nonbelievers will come to these events and celebrations. Pray that God’s people will be able to create deepening friendships that lead others to Christ.

2. Pray for the upkeep of retreat centers and guesthouses.

Most hospitality ministries operate out of spaces that require plenty of upkeep and accommodations.

Take the Kelo Guesthouse and Seminar Center in Chad for example. The center hosts seminars, provides lodging for visiting theology professors, serves as a recording station for an audio version of the New Testament — and much more.

But doing all of this can be difficult with the center’s outdated plumbing. And the entire center struggles to run on two solar panels and a generator instead of normalized electricity.

Pray for resources to make places like the Kelo Guesthouse comfortable and inviting. Pray that repairs will be affordable and quick. And pray that God will continue to work despite outdated accommodations.

3. Pray that events and retreats will run smoothly.

At SonRise Café in Tokyo, Japan, the owners not only serve coffee and other fresh baked goods, but they also host various outreaches throughout the year. Photo by TEAM

Imagine you’re hosting a dinner and you burn the cake. You’d probably be too distracted to make good conversation with people. Or what if guests couldn’t find your place? They’d arrive stressed out or might give up on coming at all.

SonRise Café was launched eight years ago in the bustling city of Tokyo as a way to attract people from all walks of life. Throughout the year, the ministry team hosts various outreaches, including an annual Thanksgiving feast in November. Each member of the team contributes to the meal and invites people from the community. After the dinner, they give a slideshow presentation on the origins of Thanksgiving, with a special emphasis on the Creator to whom Christians give thanks.

“It is an evening full of chances for talking, getting to know each other and fellowship that lasts for hours,” said TEAM missionary Kelly Baughn.

Ask God to direct the details that go into events like SonRise Café’s Thanksgiving feast. Pray that hosts will be well-equipped, guests won’t be hindered from coming and God’s love will clearly show in every element of each event.

4. Pray for partnerships with local churches.

When local churches see the value of showing hospitality to members of their own communities, it creates long-term, sustainable cycles of ministry. TEAM missionaries in Europe have started a ministry that reaches out to women who have been victims of the sex slave industry and/or caught up in a life of prostitution.

Every Christmas, the ministry packs around 1,000 boxes with homemade cookies, a new Bible verse calendar and an invitation to the missionaries’ annual Christmas party. Then, they distribute the boxes to women on the streets and in the brothels of their city.

It is an enormous undertaking that requires the support of numerous local churches.

Pray that local churches will come together to help with projects like this one. Pray for unity among God’s people as they strive to demonstrate hospitality to their communities.

5. Pray for restoration for worn out missionaries.

In Paris, the Robelots run an apartment called “The Upper Room,” which is specially designed for missionaries to come for a time of intentional care and relaxation. Photo by TEAM

Missionary work is draining — even Jesus needed a break from time to time. Missionary care often involves providing places for workers to find encouragement, prayer, counseling or just time for rest and renewal.

TEAM missionaries Paul and Missy Robelot have made their ministry all about caring for fellow missionaries in exactly these ways. They run an apartment just outside Paris called “The Upper Room” — and everything they offer is free of charge to the missionaries who come through.

In the words of Missy, “God’s most precious assets in missions are missionaries!”

Pray for member care workers to have wisdom when ministering to fellow missionaries’ needs. Pray that missionaries will be restored and refreshed so they can continue spreading the Word without growing weary.

6. Pray that people will come to know Christ.

The greatest way we can ever serve others is by leading them to the salvation of Christ. TEAM missionaries Buan and Theresa Anderson run a retreat center in France where church groups can meet and experience spiritual renewal.

However, Buan says the ultimate goal of their work is to help bring more people to Christ: “We just pray that young and old would come to meet … Jesus Christ, and that somehow our center can be a step in each person’s process.”

Pray that these ministries introduce others to Christ. Pray that all people will come to know the Lord’s grace and love.

7. Pray for an outpouring of workers.

At TEAM’s Karuizawa Retreat Center in Japan, missionaries have the opportunity to escape the pressures of daily life and find spiritual, emotional and physical rejuvenation. But sadly, the center’s long-term caretakers had to retire recently.

Short-termers are filling in for now, but the center is in desperate need of full-time workers who have a passion for missionary care and hospitality ministries.

Ask God to provide teams of people with a heart for hospitality and missions. Pray that the right people with the right skills will be led to places like the Karuizawa Retreat Center.

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer! Click the image below to get a printable version of these requests to remember how to pray all month long.