10 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Show Hospitality

I recently read a book that radically transformed my thoughts about hospitality. The author wrote that hospitality is much more than opening our homes and offering food; it is opening our hearts to others. As I considered her words, I sensed she was inviting me into new ways to show hospitality.

Hospitality is also much simpler than we often make it.

Today, we’ll discuss simple ways to show hospitality. I’ll also share the author’s words to help you reframe your perception of this gift.

Simple Ways to Show Hospitality

An Invitation to the Table: Embracing the Gift of Hospitality by Michelle Lazurek changed the way I perceive hospitality.

Her words showed me that hospitality is much more than a clean house and good food:

“Hospitality is more than just inviting some friends over for dinner. Hospitality means messing up your life. . .”

One of the Most Powerful Ways to Show Hospitality

Michelle’s words have echoed in my mind for weeks, especially the words, “messing up your life.”

Hospitality is more than opening our homes.

It’s opening our hearts to others and providing safe places for connection.

Hospitality can happen in our homes, but it can also happen in our workplaces, the bleachers of high school sporting events, and the produce aisles of our local grocery stores.

Hospitality is reaching into someone else’s world and inviting them into yours.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to read and practice the principles in today’s post. Also, be sure to read to the end of the post for a free devotional eBook to help you draw near to God as you offer the gift of hospitality to others.

10 Simple Ways to Show Hospitality

How do we offer the gift of hospitality in simple ways? Here are 10 simple and practical ways to show hospitality.

1. Invite others into your home for coffee.

Inviting someone over for coffee is simple and doesn’t require any meal prep.

This can happen any time of the day, and it requires only that you open your door and offer a warm beverage.

Remember, the true gift of hospitality is opening your heart. Create a safe space for others by being authentic about your life. It’s not about the coffee; it’s about the conversation.

2. Meet at a coffee shop.

Not up for opening your home?

Ask a friend or acquaintance to meet for coffee.

Again, remember that the gift of hospitality is connection. We offer this gift by being sincere, listening well, and showing others we care.

3. Meet to enjoy a shared interest.

Hospitality doesn’t need to involve food and drinks.

Call up some friends and meet for a bike ride.

Join a running club, start a book club, or help a friend work in her garden.

Find something you love to do and then share it with others.

4. Take a walk with someone.

This activity is free and healthy.

Walking is a great way to form connections while talking.

I meet a different friend for a walk during the middle of the day almost every day. This can be a wonderful way to spend your lunch break.

5. Enjoy dessert and inspiration.

Our friends used to host a weekly Saturday night gathering called “Pie and Piper.”

It was simple. They invited friends to their house, ate pie, and watched an inspirational John Piper video every week.

Bake a pie or cake (or order from your favorite bakery). Ask others to bring a dessert if needed. Find an inspirational video. Share in dessert and inspiration.

6. Make something creative together.

Do you like to create?

Join with others to make greeting cards, decorations, soap, or a craft.

Pick something you’ll actually enjoy creating, and others will enjoy it too.

Creative Ways to Show Hospitality in Your Community:

7. Visit an elderly neighbor or your relative and offer the gift of opening your heart.

Extend hospitality outside the home by visiting someone who might be lonely.

Elderly people are often eager for a visit.

8. Start a team or join a league.

Find a local softball or volleyball league and gather some friends to make a team and join the league.

Not up for a league?

Meet weekly in your backyard for volleyball, bad mitten, corn hole, or horseshoes.

9. Mentor someone who is younger.

Look around your sphere of influence, and you’ll probably find someone with fewer years of life experience.

Invite this younger friend to meet for brunch, coffee, ice cream, or a walk.

You never know how much of a difference you might be able to make.

10. Deliver a gift to someone else.

Deliver cookies or zucchini bread to the neighbors or cold drinks to road crews working on a hot day.

Remember that hospitality can happen anywhere.

Open your heart and create a space where people know they belong. This is the heart of hospitality, and it can happen anywhere!

Open your heart and create a space where people know they belong. This is the heart of hospitality, and it can happen anywhere! #Christianhospitality #openhearts #hospitalityideas Share on X

For a list of a conversation starters, I invite you to join me here!

Most of all, be blessed as you connect with others!

Calling All Parents (and Grandparents)!

As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.

Calling All Boy Moms (and Dads)!

God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.

Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter

Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.

Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.

Find Our Family Devotionals Here

Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.

Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing

God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!

A Free Devotional to Help You Find Peace in God’s Presence

I invite you to create space for God to transform your life by downloading a free copy of my devotional eBook, The Lean Into Grace Devotional: An 8-Day Devotional for Healing, Deliverance, and Replenishment. Find it for free here. I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!