“As we share our lives with the students discussions about our faith naturally come up.”

Carrie Marston
Special to Spur Ottawa

Friends for Dinner started with just a few families and students, back in 2012. This past Thanksgiving, 70 families served over 200 students.

“I think it keeps growing because more people are becoming aware of the opportunity, both hosts and students,” explains Benton Willard, a Friends for Dinner coordinator. “Who wouldn’t want to experience this? It’s so neat.”

Friends for Dinner is a campus outreach that invites international students to experience a Canadian holiday meal (Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter) in a host home. They recruit Christian families to open their homes, giving the students a welcome environment.

Many students comment about the blessing it is to experience the closeness and love of a home in Canada—something they miss being away from their families. The outreach also creates natural opportunities for the hosts to share their Christian faith.

“Sharing our faith happens in the context of the relationships that develop as hosts extend hospitality to the students and get to know them better,” Willard explains.

“With Friends for Dinner the mission field is brought to your doorstep.”

“With Friends for Dinner student-guests come expecting the home they visit to be Canadian, with Canadian food and culture. You can be yourself,” adds Dan Wallis, the pastor of Cornerstone Wesleyan Church. “There’s no need for hosts to learn a foreign language, no need for a plane ticket, no need to get vaccinated, and no need to decipher norms of a different culture.”

Wallis says those obstacles are maybe why some people are afraid to go on missions. With Friends for Dinner it’s in the comfort of your own home. Cultures meet over the dinner table and it makes conversations rich and appealing.

Wallis believes the reason Friends for Dinner is growing is that, “It taps into the desire for well-meaning Christians to make a difference, by providing a platform to do so. Mission trips can be expensive, but with Friends for Dinner the mission field is brought to your doorstep, providing an avenue for Christians to reach out in hospitality.”

Willard says another reason it is effective is that all cultures appreciate kindness and love.

The key to a successful dinner is to ask questions, bring genuine love, an open heart, and a gentle approach to the gospel.

“As we share our lives with the students, they get to know us and what’s important to us. Discussions about our faith naturally come up.”

It is no secret that Friends for Dinner is a church-based organization. It is clearly visible on their website, so most of the time the students know they are coming to a Christian home.

Friends for Dinner also provides resources to help host families prepare. The key to a successful dinner, they say, is: ask questions, bring genuine love, an open heart, and a gentle approach to the gospel.

“We don’t have to insert Jesus into the conversation whenever possible,” Wallis says. “Friends for Dinner, first and foremost, is an avenue of sincere hospitality. It’s a way to welcome our international friends into familiar warmth and homey comfort. They can get away from school, studying, and fast food. They find a refuge from anonymity and the pressure of Canadian higher education. The best thing we can offer is Canadian Christian hospitality; not just Canadian hospitality, but Canadian Christian hospitality.”

Friends for Dinner is still looking for families to host international students for their Christmas outreach. You can find out more at www.friendsfordinner.ca.