One of our Cultivate Training  groups was recently discussing the concept of relational momentum, and how to encourage it in the early days of starting a church.  The question was: How do you know if you’re really gaining momentum?  What do you use for a scorecard?

The conversation worked its way around to food.  Which is an interestingly Biblical destination.  Jesus was constantly sharing meals with his disciples, the Pharisees and – much to their disdain –  tax collectors and sinners.  The early church “devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.“  The Corinthian church ate and drank so much that Paul accused them of gluttony and drunkenness!

There is just something about eating together.  We most often share our meals with family and close friends.  We seldom eat with strangers. What better way to know if strangers are becoming friends and family, than to pay attention to how many meals we are sharing with them?  I would suggest that you add meals to your church plant scorecard by asking these questions regularly of your core team:

• How many meals have we shared with others?
• How many meals have we eaten together?

You will know you are creating relational momentum when, instead of planning which nights you will invite others over for a meal, you’ve reached the point where you have to schedule which nights you will eat alone.