(excerpt from Kim Turner McCulley’s How to Cultivate Community One Cup at a Time)

Building community is one of the core goals of any women’s ministry. Christian hospitality is often the vehicle through which we begin. There are myriad approaches, many of them creative and fun. But we cannot forget the simpler methods that sometimes are overlooked. In Kim Turner McCulley’s blog post “Finding Flowers Amid Thorns,” she has a series of posts that focus on cultivating hospitality and community. I encourage you to give them a read.

In Kim’s post entitled, “How to Cultivate Community One Cup at a Time,” she talks about Teacup Hospitality. I love this! She offers several suggestions on how to proceed, all of them good ideas. But my absolute favorite is to “Invite Someone to Meet You at a Café for Tea.” Here are the perks (no pun intended):

• There is no need to “white tornado” your home
• You can control the length of the “tea date”
• You will be supporting a local business
• Meeting outside your homes will eliminate interruptions

At times budgets may be tight. No need to cancel. Kim suggests taking a thermos of tea from home and meeting at a park. However you and the person you’re meeting choose to make it happen, you’ll both enjoy an intimate time of getting to know one another, praying together, and being encouragers. In time, the bond between you will deepen simply by sharing a cup of tea and some of your precious time.