Video Transcript: Video: Fellowship and Hospitality Ministry Introduction

Henry - Hello, I'm Henry Reyenga and with me is my wife, Pam Reyenga, and  our dog Monty with some of these tapes and videos. So we are here to talk  about fellowship and hospitality ministry. Now if we look back at our Life  Fellowship and Hospitality Ministry was hugely important. And what were some  of the reasons we found it so crucial to have a great theological and practical  skill level understanding of these two topics, we looked at what were some of  the things that strike you  

Pam - Well, having a welcoming, attitude, a welcoming presence, to people  saying, hey, you know, I met you before being friendly, you have that and  inviting them into your home, if you want to get to know them more deeply, and  help them feel even more welcome. That's huge opening your home and your  life. To them a  

Henry – In a lot of ways. These are the skills and understandings that are  essential for doing effective ministry. We've seen a lot of things in four decades  of doing ministry, and a lot of the troubles that people have relate to their lack of  understanding of fellowship or hospitality, or they weren't trained in their home,  their home did not get some of these skills growing up, and they have actually  learn them somewhere along the way.  

Pam - Right, they don't feel as comfortable learning how to be more  comfortable.  

Henry - So Pam, and I are going to share our thoughts and biblical study and  skills, study and reflect our also experience of years of applying the principles of  fellowship and hospitality ministry. So welcome aboard and our little poodle will  join us as we go through these teachings. So first of all, the biblical view in this  is an introductory section and the biblical view.  

Pam - The approach how we approach other relationships is fellowship and  hospitality.  

Henry - So here's some Bible passages. Three translations here the NIV, the  ESV, and the KJV.  

Pam - Okay, NIV, Romans 12:13, Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality. ESV, Contribute to the needs of the saints an seek to show  hospitality. KJV, Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.  

Henry - Now there's one word in there. Notice the word Koinonia after the word  share, or contributor, distributing and notice the word phyloxenia. So practice 

hospitality. Now in this passage is really interesting. Romans passage, because  it has both of those concepts using the actual Greek word that we're going to  study in this class. So did you notice a distinction between those two words? In  that one passage was clear to you? It wasn't clear to me from the readings was  a clear was,  

Pam – Probably not at first glance, but you've talked.  

Henry – Get to the next slide here. And really then,  

Pam - So fellowship is a shared special friendship with those, you know, your  partners. So it's with people you know. And then hospitality is sharing friendship  behaviors with people you do not know or that are newer to you. They could be  they're your potential partners in ministry, though, you do not know or do not  know. Well.  

Henry - So the distinction in that Roman passage is really, for those who are in  your group. That's more fellowship Koinonia. But for those who are not in your  group, practice hospitality. I think that's a fascinating way to think that as we  begin this class, to have sort of two categories, those you know, and those who  don't know, and hear in one passage, we see, in essence, the foundation of the  biblical view. Now, is it sort of true that some of us feel more comfortable with  fellowship, and others feel more comfortable with hospitality. Another word,  some feel more comfortable with people who already know and some feel very  comfortable with meeting new people. So it's really in our marriage. We probably reflect a little bit of that divide, I mean you're more comfortable I feel like, this is  what I have a most adorable marriage, my girl, my woman.  

Pam – No, it is true, I being more introverted, early on more shy person? Yeah,  new people were more intimidating to me, You know people I knew I was  already kind of comfortable with. I felt like I could be more open with them. And  so you're right. And you were great with both groups.  

Henry - But I think I really, I am kind of knit together. If I go into a restaurant or  go into a church, I mean, practice hospitality in the sense of meeting new  people, making them feel welcome. In for us has been a beautiful combination.  Now, if you're thinking about ministry, or you might have that combination in your marriage. Now, if you don't have that combination in your marriage, or you have  a little of this and a little of that, it's still a strategy in ministry, we're looking at our lives strategically. Lord, who are we? So what that means in practical as you get  into the subject, as you go through this teaching, ask yourself, you know, am I  more this way? Am I more that way? If I married is my spouse more this way or 

that way? If I'm single, how do the traits of covering the bases of existing people  you know, and new people, you're yet to know? How can strategically in ministry That combination works out because sometimes they're in conflict, for instance,  I like I'm in the mood to meet new people and give more and then it's like, well,  

we have existing people who we already know or we have to have a balance.  So there's even scheduling wise,  

Pam - your time or something. Say, Okay, Lord, give me to do those things. 

Henry - Now, it's interesting in Greek world, Greek and Roman world, the  meaning of the word Koinonia was fellowship is a friendship as a byproduct of  partnering fellows are together in something. So in our next presentation, we're  going to dive into fellowship as our first topic here, but it's really interesting kind  of in this first session, the Greek world was sort of like very cliquish, you know, if people you already know. And but it was a byproduct of an association. More  more. So. Unless you were born in a family, of course, there's a fellowship in a  family, but but very much it was connected to something that you have in  common. And that was when that Greek word was used. Koinonia. It was  brought further than in Christ, that commonality, changes the whole world. So in  our next presentation, we're gonna dive deep into fellowship. So you're  introduced. I think this is gonna be an incredible mini course. I think we're going  to share many interesting thoughts. I know, when we were researching this and  proofreading all this and everything. We even were reminded of some of the  things we've shared over the years and learned a few new things ourselves. So  welcome aboard to this mini course on fellowship, hospitality and our role in  these things.