When I asked Kylie* if she was coming to the next Alpha session—a series designed to explore the basics of the Christian faith—her response caught me off guard. "No, I don't like the food. The meat is too salty, and the vegetables were cold."

I had to admit, the food wasn’t great.

The team that organized this outreach thoughtfully chose the meeting room of a nearby Mexican restaurant, hoping to create a welcoming atmosphere for international students. It was a strategic move, a much better fit for this audience than a typical church hall.

They even made the meal free, which was a big draw for students, especially those from abroad.

But Kylie's* comment made me pause and think: How often do our food choices inadvertently become a barrier to people coming to faith in Jesus?

When we work with a team to host dinners for 100 international students, we make sure to offer vegetarian, halal, and non-halal meat options. Yet, even with these choices, we sometimes miss the mark.

Over time, we’ve found a couple of solutions that work well when inviting diverse groups to our home for dinner. For larger gatherings, we ask everyone to bring a dish to share. This way, there’s at least one dish everyone will enjoy—the one they brought! Another option is to set up a 'snow on the mountain' spread, where guests can start with a base of rice and then add their choice of ingredients, like chicken curry, coconut, celery, and more.

To connect more deeply with the Muslim community, my friend Wagdi* has made a significant decision: he doesn’t eat pork. Ever. His friends say they can smell who has eaten pork just by their body odor.

As we continue in our cross-cultural witness, it's worth reflecting on the subtle ways our habits—something as simple as what we serve at dinner—can impact the message we’re trying to share. Are we building bridges with our choices, or are we unintentionally creating barriers?

Let’s be mindful of how we can better welcome others at the table, making sure that nothing stands in the way of them hearing the Good News.

Before you go, let's pray together:  "Lord Jesus, thank you for the many wonderful people you have brought into our communities. Thank you for the delicious styles of cooking they have developed.  Let us enjoy those and share the parts of our food culture which will build a bridge to sharing the Gospel.  Thank you that we have wonderful news to share.  Keep us from doing anything that would put up a barrier to keep them from responding.  Amen"

Have a great week connecting people to Jesus and other believers.