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WIDER WORLD Winter: Dec 19 - Feb 20

WOMEN GROWING TOGETHER Side by Side

Rosaria Butterfield reveals how the Gospel comes with a house key Table Fellowship

with Margaret Feinberg

World Development Appeal;

Farming Godâ€™s Way

TOGETHER UNDER PRESSURE by Catherine Campbell

Sonya Anderson Shore Street, Donaghadee

Eileen Black

Great Victoria Street/ SBFH

Rachel Cubitt Whiteabbey

Eleanor Drysdale

Wellington, Ballymena

Joanne Dunlop Craigavon/Antrim Hospitals

Sharon Heron International Meeting Point

2019/20 Roberta Irvine Greystone Road, Antirm

Heather McCracken Belfast Health & Social Care Trust

DEACONESSES Serving God, the Church and their community

Amy Magee

Tracey Nicholl St Jamesâ€™s, Ballymoney

www.presbyterianireland.org/pw

Michelle Purdy

Hazel Reid

Ballyclare

First Broughshane

Margaret Robertson

Rosemary Spiers Greenwell Street, Newtownards

Elmwood

Heidi England Probationary Deaconess

Paula Burrows

Student Deaconess

Louise Davidson Student Deaconess

Sylvia Santos Bryce Student Deaconess

EDITOR’S LETTER

You can email Suzanne at: widerworld@presbyterianireland.org

CONTENTS Suzanne Simpson, Editor

My family and I have recently experienced a massive upheaval in our lives. An electrical fire in our kitchen has meant we have had to leave our home for an undetermined amount of time while an army of builders, plumbers, electricians, painters and joiners work to put it back together again. Since this happened, we have experienced radical, ordinary hospitality from our family, our friends, our church, our colleagues and our neighbours. Homes have been opened to us. Clothes and toys have been provided for our kids. Dinners have been delivered. Prayers have been said. The list could go on. Our painful circumstance has been met with overwhelming generousity and kindness; each one giving us a glimpse of the Kingdom to come that Jesus describes in Matthew 25:34-36: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” This issue of Wider World is filled with visions of the kind of hospitality that Jesus is describing here. In ‘Side by Side’, you will read how entwined hospitality and discipleship have impacted women’s faith journeys within our congregations. Catherine Campbell invites us to consider how we are using our homes to serve the Lord and share the gospel, just as Priscilla and Aquila did. Best-selling author, Rosaria Butterfield, is living out this call in North Carolina today, using her home as a tool for the Kingdom by welcoming in people who look, think, believe and act differently so that, through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, they will become part of the family of God. And if you want to know how you’ll go about feeding all of these people, Margaret Feinberg has fantastic suggestions for making your time spent at the table together transformative. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed these articles and assisted in the coming together of this issue. And, as one year draws to a close and another begins, I pray that you will be blessed and be a blessing as you prayerfully seek opportunities to open up your home and welcome in the ‘stranger’. To bring comfort and hope to those in need. To see the poor and the poor in heart restored in Jesus’ name.

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Side by Side Together Under Pressure: Priscilla & Aquila The Lives in the Day of a Deaconess Radical, Ordinary Hospitality Real Empowerment Loving Our Neighbours PW Group Focus - A Crafted Revelation Helping Families, Restoring Hope Farming God’s Way: World Development Appeal Called to Follow, Commanded to Love Taste and See with Margaret Feinberg Mission-Minded People The Nook Global Mission

Editor: Suzanne Simpson Contact: Presbyterian Women, Congregational Life & Witness Department, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW. Email: widerworld@presbyterianireland.org Web: www.presbyterianireland.org/pw Tel: +44 (0)28 9041 7256 Like us on Facebook: Presbyterian Women Follow us on Instagram: @widerworldmagazine Digital download: issuu.com/presbyterianireland Designed by: Break - madebybreak.com Printed by: Peninsula Print & Design Wider World is the magazine of PW. Published quarterly: March, June, September and December. Annual subscription: £6/€7 or £1.50/€1.75 per issue. Each year, an order form will be sent to Wider World agents. This should be returned, together with payment, to the above address. If required, invoices will be issued upon receipt of the order form. Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Presbyterian Church in Ireland’ marked Wider World on the reverse. Wider World is available on CD for blind and partially sighted people and is produced by Belfast Talking Newspapers, Unit 4 Lyndon Court, 32 Queen Street, Belfast, BT1 6EF. Our sincere thanks to Belfast Talking Newspapers and Winnie Moffett for coordinating this service. For further details telephone +44 (0)28 9041 7256. The Editor reserves the right to accept, reject or edit contributions. Opinions expressed in Wider World are not necessarily those of PCI, Presbyterian Women or the Editor.

WOM E N ’ S M I N I S T RY

Side by Side WOM E N G ROW I N G TO G E T H E R As Women’s Ministry and PW Development Officer, Pauline Kennedy is responsible for supporting the ministry of Presbyterian Women and assisting in the development of strategy and coordination of women’s ministry generally. Here, along with some of those involved in the regional events, she shares about the heart behind the ‘Side by Side’ initiative.

e can all think of different people in our lives who have helped us grow as Christians. People who have gently encouraged us, given us a hand up when we were struggling, and taken the time to pray with us. Side by side relationships with others can be simple, but their significance can last a lifetime. As I look back on my life, I am thankful to God for the people he used to draw me to him and help me grow in him. Paula from Wales springs quickly to my mind. She reached out to me in friendship, shared her life and shared what Jesus had done for her. Eventually, she led me to him as we chatted into the small hours of the morning back in October 1982. It’s good to have relationships that go deeper than small talk. When God blesses us through the people he has brought into our lives, it is so that we, in turn, can draw alongside others to pass that blessing on. In the Bible, we see the power of drawing side by side in Christian relationship. It’s what Jesus did. He didn’t just teach from the front, he modelled his life, side by side, walking, talking, eating, serving and reaching out with his disciples. Throughout the gospels, we see how Jesus demonstrated that making disciples and building faith was done up close. ‘Side by Side’ is not a programme, and it’s not the next new ‘shiny thing’. It’s simply doing what we’ve been called to do by the One who did it for us. Therefore, we need to intentionally find fresh ways to invest in the lives of others. In her book, ‘One-to-One’, Sophie DeWitt defines this as: ‘One Christian taking the initiative with another individual to help them know Christ better and obey him more fully, through studying the Scriptures, prayer (for and with them) and sharing one’s life with them – leaving the results to God.’

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Being side by side with someone is not complicated or difficult. Every day, God gives us ways to connect with one another in our church families and communities. We can get side by side to develop: • A caring relationship with someone you know is going through a hard time • A prayer partnership • An outreach relationship that helps someone experience church and explore the gospel maybe for the first time • A working relationship that helps someone grow in leadership • An intergenerational relationship in which women share their faith and benefit from their differing life experiences • A discipling relationship in which you read the Bible together and talk about what God is teaching you through his Word. So who is God putting on your heart even now? How could you invest in them over the next year? Pray for opportunities and conversations, and be alert to God’s leading. Then, ask him to help you to take the next step. Love always moves towards others. Getting side by side – rather than keeping our distance – is about answering that call to love and be loved in the community of his Church.

Stories from Side by Side

Side by Side together Allison Moffett is a member of Richhill Presbyterian Church and works as a GP in the local village. Married to Jonny, they have two children, Seth and Emily. What I have learned over the past few years is that we were never meant to do this life alone. We were always meant to be part of the family of God. For me, the last 4-5 years have been a bit of a blur, as a new mum, working and studying for GP exams, moving house, having baby number two and moving house again. To be honest, during that time life was chaotic and stressful. It’s only now that I can look back and see how it was nearly impossible to be a good friend to anyone, and that meant I was very lonely. I distanced myself from church with the all-too-easy excuse of being ‘too busy’, and found myself even more isolated, in a ‘terrible twos’ house, watching non-stop CBeebies, feeling even more unhappy and lonely. That Proverbs 31 woman could not have been further from my radar. I hadn’t lifted my Bible in months and I felt like a fraud for even showing up to church. I felt people looked at my life and thought it was perfect, but all I could think was, “If my life is so perfect, why am I so unhappy with it?” I felt weak for not coping better with what seemed to be normal struggles that everyone goes through. Then, after communion one night, someone from the congregation saw me and spoke to me. I mean she saw me. She cared enough to see me, and see my struggles and she came alongside me and listened. She asked me to join a small group, and I can honestly say that it has been my lifeline. Had she not come alongside me that night in church, and had I not made that commitment, my life may have taken a very different path. We met every week, studying God’s Word and praying together. We shared our lives with each other, including our struggles and our worries. Do you know what I discovered? Believe it or not - no one is perfect. We are all struggling through life with insecurities, worries, problems and temptations. We all have disappointments. We all let each other down and we all have been let down by others. We all sin and we all lose sight of the purpose of this life. To anyone who feels lonely or lost; to anyone who feels worthless or inferior to others; to anyone who feels guilt, temptation or addiction; to anyone disappointed with what life has thrown at them, I would say this: if you have a hunger to get close to God again, join a small group or find a Christian friend to study God’s Word with. It is here you will learn to open the Bible again, learn to pray again and learn to hand over everything to Jesus. It is here that you will be honest with each other and accountable for each other and help carry each other’s burdens. As great as it is to have friends to meet with for coffee, lunches and play dates, there is nothing more fulfilling than a group of friends studying the Bible and praying for each other. We need each other. We need the Bible. We need Jesus. And we all need the support and sincere encouragement that comes from having good friends.

Stories from Side by Side

Side by Side reaching out Deborah Sloan is a member of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church. She sits on the Women’s Ministry Panel and works as a university lecturer.

After attending a focus day on women’s ministry in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, last year, I felt that God was prompting me to do something with the passion I already had for women of all ages in my congregation. I prayed about it and, considering we were entering the summer period when no organisations were meeting, schools were off and people generally had a little more time, I decided to organise some ‘gatherings’. Part of my original idea was to engage those on the outskirts of the church or who didn’t attend church, so, I chose to use my house for six Monday night gatherings in July and August. I based the structure of the evening on a format used by Shore Street Presbyterian Church’s ministry called ‘GIFT’, which had been shared at the focus day. This was to go for a walk, have a short talk and then share supper. I approached my minster with this idea and he was very happy for me to go ahead with it. I also shared the idea with a couple of friends who helped to organise speakers. On that first Monday I didn’t know how many people would come (if any!) or how it would turn out. I still remember the look on my husband’s face as women started stream down our driveway at 7.30pm. I also remember sitting in amongst all these women and thinking, “I actually don’t know what I am doing!” But, there is something amazing in bringing people together and allowing God to lead. Not every night went perfectly. The high numbers that came on the first night were followed by low numbers on week three, when it rained heavily and people decided to stay home. Yet, instead of a large group of women standing in different places having different conversations, the numbers enabled us to all sit around the same table and have one deeper conversation. Numbers are not the priority. God used that night to connect smaller numbers on a much deeper level. As summer drew to a close, I knew I didn’t want to leave the connections we had made hanging until the following year. So, I organised one-off gatherings in November and in May. The first was ‘In Conversation with Teenagers’ and the second was ‘In Conversation with ‘Wise’ Ladies.’ These featured Q&A sessions and time to hear how each group was walking in their Christian lives. I couldn’t possibly have known how these gatherings would develop over the course of just a year. I didn’t have a plan - in fact a lot of the time I didn’t really know what I was doing! However, looking back, I can see that God had a plan. I believe God has given me a specific passion for women’s ministry, so I responded to his prompts to take action. I got started, not knowing where it would lead, and God did the rest.

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Resources We want to inspire and enthuse you to catch this vision, and we also want to enable and equip you by highlighting some great resources that are available. Side by Side web page features a downloadable version of the Side by Side video and recordings of the talks and stories shared at these events. Visit presbyterianireland.org/sidebyside for more information. Women Growing Together Side by Side is a resource that summarises the heart behind side by side relationships, giving practical suggestions about what to do next. It is available to purchase from the Congregational Life and Witness office or through the Side by Side webpage. ASK is a set of cards, on various themes, which can be used as prayer prompts. SHARE is a resource that helps support congregations to develop their community witness and grow in confidence in telling others about Jesus. PROXIMITY is a resource that has been specifically designed for meeting one-to-one or in twos and threes to study the Bible.

Suggested Reading Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin We all know it’s important to study God’s Word, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. What’s more, a lack of time, emotionally driven approaches, and past frustrations can erode our resolve to keep growing in our knowledge of Scripture. How can we, as Christian women, keep our focus and sustain our passion when reading the Bible? Popular Bible teacher, Jen Wilkin, is concerned that sometimes we let our emotions rule our study of Scripture and forget that the Bible is primarily about God, not us. Offering a clear and concise plan, she challenges hungry women to go deeper in their study of Scripture. This book can help you to refocus your efforts on feeding your mind first and foremost. Whether you’re young or old, married or single, ‘Women of the Word’ will energise and equip you for the kind of Bible study that transforms both your heart and your mind.

One to One by Sophie DeWitt The gospel is all about changed lives. Peter, James and John, transformed by Jesus’ teaching, were commanded to ‘go and make disciples of all nations.’ Many of us have been influenced by an individual within our own journey to faith. ‘One-To-One’ unpacks the practical and spiritual implications of this ministry, and shows how we can support each other one to one. Taking the New Testament examples of Jesus, Paul, Timothy and Titus, Sophie DeWitt looks at what this means for us in practice. In this book, she interviews people who have experienced this ‘one-to-one’ work and their comments are interspersed with biblical principles to provide honesty, encouragement and real application for Christian living today. A full list of resources for one-to-one work is also listed towards the end of the book including: study resources; courses for new Christians; three sample studies from Colossians for new Christians; two sample studies from Mark for non-Christians; books to read and recommend; podcasts, internet resources and counselling organisations. In May 2020, Sophie DeWitt will be the keynote speaker at Presbyterian Women’s Conference held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast.

I N T E RV I E W

Radical

Ordinary Hospitality

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Rosaria Butterfield became a Christian in 1999, in what she describes as a ‘train-wreck’. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert charts that difficult journey. In her latest book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key, she encourages us to consider a life of ‘radical, ordinary hospitality’ in which our homes are not our own but instead God’s tools for his kingdom as we welcome those who look, think, believe and act differently from us into our everyday (sometimes messy) lives; helping them see what true Christian faith really looks like.

s I sit down beside Rosaria Butterfield in a now empty tent at New Horizon, a Christian festival held on the Coleraine campus of Ulster University, I am certain that I am going to be deeply challenged about how I open my life to others. But, as she lifts her knitting from a bag sitting next to her, I sense that this will be a gentle revelation communicated with the grace that saturates her message of gospel-filled hospitality. I begin by asking how she defines the radically ordinary hospitality that her family practises in their home in Durham, North Carolina. ‘First of all, I called it ‘ordinary hospitality’ until publishers got involved. They like adjectives more than I do!’ she jokes. ‘I don’t think it’s radical, I think it’s pretty ordinary. What it means is that you are daily and intentionally seeking the stranger for the purpose of welcoming that stranger as a neighbour, then prayerfully, by the power of the Holy Spirit, watching that neighbour become part of the family of God. For my husband Kent and me, the intentional part has involved things like homeschooling our foster kids so that prisoners could come to our home on day-release and come to our church on the Lord’s Day. We are also intentional with our neighbours and our church family by opening our home daily at dinner time. ‘We have always practised family devotions, and now we have up to 25 people at the table. People that we don’t presume are going to catch the gospel by osmosis, so after dinner our children bring the dishes to the sink and send mugs of coffee down the long rows, along with Bibles and psalters. Kent will explain that everyone is welcome to stay for devotions, but they don’t have to, and that we’re going to read a chapter of the Bible and we’re going to talk about it; then we’re going to sing a psalm and ask for prayer requests before praying together.’ What do you find to be the benefit of doing this nightly, rather than setting aside a weekly time, as many of us may feel more comfortable doing? ‘Because we do this every night, there’s no rush. There’s no sense that we better get the gospel in or that person might get in the car and be hit by a meteor! We also realised that we had a group of people in our church who were suffering from almost chaotic loneliness. Not just single people or those struggling with same-sex attraction, it was recently divorced people and people with a recent diagnosis. We saw how loneliness captures the Christian and terrifies them. So, we invited them to come every day, and if they needed to move in, they were welcome to.’ As you and Kent opened your home, what did you learn was necessary for people to be able to accept an invitation? ‘When you engage in radical, ordinary hospitality, you learn early on that your words can’t be stronger than your relationships and, therefore, building relationships is foundational. One of the things that comes from seeking strangers is that you become emotionally and intellectually sensitive to the strangers in your midst. You begin to notice people who are deeply afflicted by abuse and addiction. You start to realise that inviting them to dinner next Tuesday at 7pm might not be very helpful because they don’t know if they will be sober or safe next Tuesday at 7pm. You’re alert to the fact that people’s lives are deeply hurt and compromised, so you become more creative about being open and available to meet their needs.’

“...the gospel is especially for people who can’t change their circumstances.”

continued overleaf... 13

How then has this expression of hospitality looked in In Rosaria’s book, she details her friendship with their practice for you and your family? neighbour, Hank, whose life could be accurately described ‘A year ago, a family displaced by homelessness walked as troubled. I ask her to explain how it all began. through the doors of our church, not to go to church but ‘When Hank moved in he was a self-described recluse, to use the toilets and get some water. We were able to build and we could tell he was a broken man. He had no contact a relationship with them alongside another family in our with us until his 100 lb. pit-bull, Tank, went missing and we church who partners with us in these kinds of situations. helped to find him. I love dogs but I want you to know that We were supported by an organisation called Safe Family, my life flashed before my eyes every time Tank came running and people were praying for us. But something happened at me! Once we got to know Hank, we invited him to walk which was striking. As this family was about to move in, dogs together and became friends. However, Hank was a some members of our church became quite critical of us. As misfit in our neighbourhood. He had tattoos representing they saw it, we were ‘crazy idiots’ who weren’t considering the bad things, he used language that was ‘creative’ at best. He safety of our children in allowing these strangers to live with bought a house with a beautiful garden that he let become a us. wasteland and he kept strange hours. The neighbours hated ‘A young man, who at that time was a drug addict and not him. Then one morning, we woke up to find the DEA (Drug a member of our church (his parents would drag him along), Enforcement Administration) dragging Hank out of his said to me, “Rosaria, I just heard you guys are going to have house. That’s how we learned there was a crystal meth factory a homeless family move in with you. How about I stay sober across the street, and that’s how we learned he was a drug and I’ll move in and help you?” Let me tell you something, addict.’ no one else offered to do this, in spite of the concerns they expressed. So this young man moved in too, which caused What was the fallout from his arrest like? a member of the congregation to exclaim to me, “You’ve got ‘At that moment, our concern was very much for him, a homeless family living with you and the drug-addicted but our neighbours were very concerned about how this teenager is helping you look after the kids?!”’ would impact house prices in the area. We had seen the signs Smiling from ear to ear, she explains, ‘I know this all but we didn’t know what they were pointing to. We knew sounds crazy, but I loved this young man and he meant he had mental health issues; there were signs of unevenness what he said. He had a great deal of integrity and he was and unpredictability. But our neighbours thought it was phenomenal. He was central to integrating this homeless ridiculous that we were friends with this evil person. This is family into our home; a family who had been living in a car, where Christians need to set a better example. What might keeping two jobs and getting happen and what does happen a 6-year-old to school every is under the sovereign will of “True hospitality will cost you day. I can’t even imagine the God. Our job is not to worry money and time, heartache and about this, our job is to love our intelligence and capacity that goes with those things! Then, neighbour.’ hardship. And it will bless you at the table one night, as Kent Hank wasn’t the only was sharing the gospel, the dad person to be arrested that in ways you can’t anticipate.” of the family started sharing day either. ‘There had been a the gospel back. He spoke about how the Lord had been woman living in the house, Hank’s girlfriend, and I didn’t like working in his life in this circumstance, and that’s when we her at all. Her name was Amy and she really loved me. She realised that we weren’t just sharing our home with people used to go garbage picking at night to bring me things. Once, displaced by homelessness, this was Hebrews 13:1-3. We were she found out that I did public speaking, she came to me with showing hospitality to angels without knowing it. And my a black dress that she had found in the garbage. But my heart young teenage friend, who was helping us and staying sober, was so hardened to her that I threw it away. The day before whispered to me, “Even the homeless dude is a Christian?” the meth lab was discovered, she came to me – drunk or high ‘So that is radical hospitality. It’s a way of life. It’s a or both – because she wanted to talk to me. Here’s what I said sacrificial way of life. Some people ask me, “If I turn my to her, “I’m sorry Amy I can’t talk today, I need to get ready spare room into an Airbnb - is that hospitality?” No. Because for church. Can I talk to you tomorrow?” And tomorrow - here’s the good litmus test - with true hospitality you will was lost to us.’ It is clear that this is a painful admission for lose money. With your Airbnb you will make money. True Rosaria to make, but one that she also feels is necessary. hospitality will cost you money and time, heartache and hardship. And it will bless you in ways you can’t anticipate.’ 14 World Winter 19/20 14 || Wider Wider World Spring 19/20

I N T E RV I E W

‘We wrote immediately to Hank and he replied saying that he knew I didn’t like Amy but could I help her because she didn’t have anyone, and detoxing from meth in prison is really hard. I wrote to her and asked for her forgiveness. She was so gracious. I asked what she needed and one of the first things she asked for was a Bible. The only ones the jail had were King James and she explained, “I never went to school. I don’t know these words.” So I sent her a Bible and we became fast friends. ‘Sobriety was hard, but it came. And for Amy, sobriety and salvation came simultaneously. It came with powerful refreshment. In one of her letters, she described her baptism in prison in ways that I have never imagined. They did it up on the roof in small pools, and she wrote, “As I came up through the water, I saw the sunshine and my hands were cupped in prayer and I saw the chains and I thought I am now chained to Christ.” ‘Amy is now thriving in Christ and living in the Lord. Amy is looking at five years and can see daylight at the end of the tunnel. She has a shorter sentence because Hank took the fall for her. Hank, who has also given his life to Jesus, has a sentence of 18 years. He is old enough that it could be a life sentence. In his first letter to us he wrote, “I’m so ashamed. I don’t want the children to remember me this way.” He’s stumbling around in darkness, but Jesus won’t let go of him. The gospel is not just for people who can change their circumstances, the gospel is especially for people who can’t change their circumstances.’ A particularly impactful line from her book is, ‘When Christians throw their lots in with Jesus, they lose the rights to their own reputation.’ What has it been like living this out as a result of your friendship with Hank? ‘When the DEA wrapped our community in yellow tape marked ‘crime scene’, our neighbours were quick to let the police know that we were Hank’s only friends because the rest of them knew he was a very bad man. Neighbours used to tell us they had a bad feeling about Hank and we would’ve told them their gossip was a sin. So when they came to us to say, “We were right and you were wrong!” that seemed to be true. Let me be clear, there is nothing but humility in being an ambassador for Christ. You will be proved to be a fool over and over again because you will dare to love people who will hurt you or who could. You will dare to risk loving people who are just as dangerous as you are.’

How did you experience God at work within this difficult situation? ‘He used our feeble reputation to continue to stand in solidarity with Hank, and also to share the gospel with our neighbours who needed to know that their gossip, hard-heartedness, hatred, and lack of faith were all sins. That sounds really rough, but these are the conversations that real grown-ups have around the table when they’re not on social media. Social media would have you believe that if you don’t approve of each other you can’t possibly dine together. Well, we don’t agree to disagree, we disagree and we eat dinner together. We do that night after night, and one of the things that happens when we read the word of God is that Jesus Christ can be seen as the Saviour of the world. Because everyone has a gospel bridge to Jesus, you’ve just got to get off your high horse to find out what it is. And there’s nothing quite like living across the street from a meth lab, having the property prices plummet, and all the other middle class problems that came with this, to get people off their high horse, and it was wonderful. There is no gospel for nice people. Jesus said he came for sinners, not for the righteous.’ In a ‘post-Christian’ world, Rosaria’s life of radical ordinary hospitality offers hope to the hopeless and belonging to the lonely. ‘It’s not that every home needs to look like this, but if you look around your church and no home does, that means there’s no bridge to the gospel in your neighbourhoods. It’s a matter of prayerfully thinking about it. In Acts 12:1-17, when Peter was miraculously released from prison, how did he know which house to go to? It was a house he knew people could gather in a crisis. It isn’t that this has to be your house, but it has to be somebody’s. ‘Part of how the world will know your faith is real is how you care for your own. I want our neighbours, who have no desire for the gospel, to look at our houses and see that we are never lonely; that we can quickly find solutions to problems because there are so many of us mobilised; that we genuinely love each other and have so much to share because we live below our means. I want them to know this so they will ask for help. I want them to want to know what makes us tick: the gospel. I want them to want the gospel too. Radically ordinary hospitality is as simple as that.’