October 12, 2020
We are excited to share a story about one of the newest Kairos partners, the Dinner Church Collective.
Verlon and Melodee Fosner were serving in a prototypical small church in Seattle. They faced a problem that seemed all too common: their robust, storied 90-year-old church was dying a slow and quiet death. Out of this season came an opportunity to experiment with new forms of Church. After a few missteps, they stumbled into a simple practice.
- It was a practice that piqued the interest of non-Christians and Christians alike.
- It was simple and affordable.
- It was a practice Jesus used with his disciples.
- It was a practice that the Church Fathers developed to reach and disciple believers across the ancient world.
- It was a meal, music, and message.
Over the next few years, the church reorganized around these simple principles. By God’s grace, the 90-year-old congregation began a transformation. In ten locations throughout Seattle, they gathered around a warm meal and the stories of Jesus. As word got out, something similar began to happen: simple, effective, and powerful mealtime gatherings were growing into churches!
Verlon and Melodee found themselves hosting church leaders and missionaries from around the country to share a bit about what God was doing. To their surprise, likeminded gatherings already existed in places like Detroit and North Carolina. They found immediate camaraderie with Fresh Expressions US, a movement of pioneering churches, experimenting with new forms of Christian community, created for people who may never go to an established church. In 2018, these new friends banded together to launch the Dinner Church Collective and train a new generation of mealtime missionaries.