The Madness of Hope

Facebook Brunches

I have over eleven hundred friends on Facebook, many of whom are acquaintances and some friends of friends through church. Our church has around 4400 attendees so there is no way to know everyone. I begin to think what a cool thing it would be to invite all my Facebook friends to my house.
The more I thought about it, the more the excitement grew inside me. Not only would I build intimacy with my ‘friends’ but they would make friends with each other as well.
So I put out an open invite on Facebook inviting everyone to my house for a brunch, the only stipulation being that each lady was to bring food to share with the others. Some thought I was crazy to post my address on line and have an open invite but that was alright.
The first brunch was in November, 2010 and forty four ladies showed up. My backyard was set up with tables decorated with a fall theme. Groupings of chairs around the grassy areas invited ladies to relax and soak in the sun, enjoy the trees and great conversation with each other. The brunch began at 10:00 and although it was set to end at noon, there were still ladies here at 3pm! Amidst fruit salad, breakfast casseroles and monkey bread, new friendships were formed. It was so exciting to notice all my ‘friends’ on Facebook now becoming ‘friends’ with the new ladies they met at the Facebook brunch – success!
God begin to lie on my heart that in addition to the brunches being a connection event, they were also a great opportunity for a testimony to be shared. Not only would this bless those present, it would also provide an opportunity to share the amazing power of knowing Christ. With this in mind, all ladies were also asked to invite a friend who needed connection with other ladies.
The next brunch included the first testimony, and it truly touched everyone’s hearts. God brought the right people that day, those that needed to hear that word from the Lord.
God then laid it on my heart to ask the ladies to bring a friend to the next brunch who doesn’t know Christ so they can hear how God can make a difference in their lives. They got to socialize in a non-threatening environment, eat to their heart’s content, and hear the testimony of one lady’s journey to not only come to belief in God, but how God was with her through many trials.
These brunches are proving to be very successful! We’ve heard amazing testimonies, such as one young woman’s struggles with drugs and low self-worth, and how one woman’s life was forever changed by decisions made in the past, the death of her daughter and how God remained faithful through it all. Some of the comments shared with me after these brunches say it all: “This morning was such a blessing to me”, “I loved the opportunity to build new friendships,” and “I am so excited to hear more testimonies of how God is working in people’s lives”.
I never know how many women will show up, but God does! Each time it is a different group of ladies and more friendships are formed. It is also a forum now for ladies to share their testimonies. At the last brunch, I announced I would be giving a workshop on how to give your testimony effectively and six ladies expressed an interest!
Life is about community and sharing our struggles and victories through Christ. God has turned what began as a simple social event into a time of making new friendships, encouraging one another and sharing Christ…it doesn’t get better than that!
My prayer is that beyond fostering new friendships, these brunches at my home will become a safe place to bring the lonely, discouraged and those seeking Christ. Won’t you please join me for the next one?