RECAPTURING THE TABLE OF FELLOWSHIP

“They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.” – Acts 2:46.

In the earliest days of the Church, before grand sanctuaries and sound systems, before committees and programs, there was a table. Around that table, believers gathered not just to eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of Jesus, but to share life in the most ordinary and sacred of ways—through eating and drinking. Acts 2:46-47 tells us that they “shared their meals with great joy and generosity—  all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” The table was not simply a piece of furniture; it was the heartbeat of the Christian community.

Eating and drinking together was more than nourishment—it was fellowship. It was where walls fell, where forgiveness began, and where love became visible. The early Christians understood that the gospel is best experienced not just preached, but practiced in community. When they ate together, they were saying, “You belong here.” They were declaring the radical inclusiveness of Christ’s love, a love that tore down the barriers of class, race, and status. Around the table, the slave and the master, the rich and the poor, the Jew and the Gentile found themselves equals before God.

Somewhere along the way, the modern church has lost the power of that simple table. We have replaced fellowship with formality, and community with convenience. We move quickly from service to the parking lot, from handshake to moving on to the next stage of the day. However, the early church reminds us that discipleship occurs best over a meal, where stories are shared, laughter is enjoyed, and burdens are carried together.

When we sit at the table with others, we mirror the ministry of Jesus Himself. So much of His work took place at meals—He ate with tax collectors, broke bread with sinners, and instituted communion during supper. The Lord didn’t merely teach from a pulpit; He revealed the Kingdom of God over loaves and cups. In doing so, He showed us that spiritual transformation often begins with simple hospitality.

To eat and drink together is to slow down, to look one another in the eye, and to remember that we are one body in Christ. It’s to say that faith is not just vertical (between us and God) but horizontal (between us and others). The table is where both dimensions meet.

Imagine if our churches once again became places where shared meals were as sacred as sermons—where newcomers found a seat and strangers became family. Imagine small groups that didn’t just discuss Scripture but embodied it around a casserole dish or a pot of coffee. That is what the early church looked like. That is what the modern church must recapture.

Discussion Questions:

1. When was the last time you shared a meal with someone in your church family?
2.  How might your table become a ministry space this week?
3.  What barriers keep you from practicing fellowship as the early church did?
4.  How can your church recapture the joy of eating and drinking together in Jesus’ name?