A Growing Hunger for Spiritual Fruit I had the privilege of pastoring Newport Assembly of God for fifty-one years. Our church is located in a small Pennsylvania town of 1,700 residents in a rural county of approximately 46,000 people. Over the years, the Lord enabled our church to build some amazing ministries at home and abroad. We continue to be a major stakeholder in our county. The Bread of Life Outreach (BOLO) receives, processes, and distributes more than 210 tons of food, household products, non-prescription medical supplies, and durable medical equipment each month. It is rewarding to operate our local food pantry and see hundreds of families served every week. While our church was meeting physical needs in significant ways, I felt we were lacking in identifying tangible spiritual fruit. We regularly shared Jesus and prayed with the people we served. However, it was often difficult to find the quality time needed to build meaningful friendships and help people take deeper steps in their relationship with Christ. We have a saying at Newport Assembly: "We are married to the mission but dating the strategy." So we prayed and asked God for direction. Discovering Dinner Church Eight years ago, I learned about a growing church planting model centered around tables and was encouraged to read Verlon Fosner's book, Welcome to Dinner Church. The book immediately captured my attention, and I began praying and researching this movement. As my excitement grew, I started sharing the vision with our congregation. Church members were invited to informational meetings where the dinner church model was presented. Key leaders were identified and challenged to take on important roles. We organized, planned, and—most importantly—prayed as we embarked on this dinner church journey. Our goal was to reach the unchurched, de-churched, and impoverished in our community. Ideally, we hoped to find a building not associated with a church, but no suitable location became available. Instead, we settled on Newport Assembly's Family Life Center, a gymnasium with a commercial kitchen and stage. We knew church properties can be barriers for some people, so we worked hard to create a welcoming environment. Invitation cards were distributed through our food pantry and throughout the community, and A-frame signs were placed in strategic locations to advertise our new gathering. Launching The Dinner Table We launched The Dinner Table on the last Thursday of March 2019. Our initial goal was to average fifty attendees per week by the end of 2019 and one hundred attendees per week by the end of 2020. After just three months, we were averaging 123 attendees each week. When we paused gatherings one year later due to COVID-19, attendance had grown to an average of 158 people per week. We resumed meeting in September 2020 and currently average around 130 attendees each week, supported by twenty-five to thirty faithful team members who serve on a regular basis. 

This article emerged from the Fresh Expressions Podcast episode “Finding Belonging” featuring David Kim, author of Made to Belong. To listen to the full conversation, visit . Across North America, church leaders are asking important questions about how to connect with college students and young adults. Many campuses are filled with opportunities to connect, yet meaningful community often remains elusive. Despite being surrounded by classmates, roommates, organizations, and online networks, many students still struggle to find places where they feel truly known. The challenge facing churches is not simply how to gather students into a room. It is how to cultivate spaces where people can experience belonging. In a conversation on the Fresh Expressions Podcast, David Kim, author of Made to Belong , reflected on his own journey of loneliness, belonging, and community. Born in South Korea and moving to the United States at age ten, David experienced firsthand the challenges of finding connection in an unfamiliar culture. As he reflected on both his personal story and his years of pastoral ministry, he came to a realization: “I realized that wait a minute—I’m not the only one struggling with loneliness. So many of our people are coming into the church community longing and desperate for deeper spiritual friendships and communities.” While David’s comments were not directed specifically toward college students, they name a reality that many campus ministers, pastors, and church leaders encounter every day. Beneath the activity, busyness, and constant connection of modern life is a deep desire to be known. Belonging Often Begins with Shared Interests One of the practices David identifies in his work is what he calls “chemistry.” For some Christians, that word may feel uncomfortable. Aren’t we supposed to love everyone equally? David suggests a more nuanced approach. He explains, “There is actually a way for us to love all and still be okay to lean into the few that God is highlighting in our lives.” Host Heather Jallad immediately connected this idea to the Fresh Expressions movement, observing that “a lot of these Fresh Expressions of church kind of develop around affinity groups.” That observation helps explain why many Fresh Expressions begin not with a worship service, Bible study, or church program, but with a shared interest, hobby, passion, or experience. Again and again, we see relationships develop when people gather around something they already enjoy together. Several years ago, a member of our church in Blacksburg, Virginia, began wondering what might happen if her love of hiking became a place for spiritual connection. Emma, an avid hiker, noticed that many people in our region found meaning, reflection, and even a sense of God’s presence while spending time outdoors. Rather than waiting for a church committee to launch a ministry, she simply invited others to experiment with her. The first hikes included moments of silence, prayer, reflection, and conversation. Participants were invited to pay attention to creation through their senses and notice where God might be speaking or inviting them deeper. What began as a simple invitation created opportunities for meaningful spiritual conversations among people who already shared a love for the outdoors. We’ve seen this same principle surface in a variety of experiments among college students and young adults. Some have gathered around intramural sports, discovering that shared practices, regular rhythms of games, and post winning (or defeat) milkshake runs create natural opportunities for friendship. Others have explored communities built around gaming and shared interests that provide a low-pressure environment for students to spend time together, build relationships, and eventually engage in deeper conversations about life and faith. The common thread in each of these examples is not the activity itself. Hiking, sports, and gaming are simply the contexts. The deeper reality is that people are often more willing to explore questions of faith after they have first experienced a sense of belonging. Shared interests create space for trust, friendship, and community to develop naturally. Belonging Happens Around Tables Not every Fresh Expression begins on a hiking trail or athletic field. Some begin around a dinner table. At First Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, a ministry called Sunday Slowdown creates space for college students to step away from the pressures of campus life. The gathering centers around a home-cooked meal, board games, and a simple invitation to set phones aside and be fully present with the people in the room. In a season of life often marked by deadlines, constant notifications, and increasing isolation, Sunday Slowdown offers something many students deeply need: a place to slow down and be known. This desire to be known is one of the central themes David returns to throughout his conversation with Heather. Reflecting on the role of vulnerability in healthy community, he asks, “We want to be known but if you do not open up then how can we be truly known to begin with?” Genuine belonging requires more than simply occupying the same room. It requires trust, openness, and the willingness to share life together. Gatherings like Sunday Slowdown remind us that meaningful community is often built through ordinary practices. Sharing a meal, playing a game, listening to another person’s story, or simply being fully present can create the conditions where deeper relationships begin to form. While these moments may appear simple from the outside, they often become the foundation for significant spiritual conversations and lasting friendships. Beyond Content Toward Connection Many churches work hard to create opportunities for learning and discipleship. Bible studies, classes, and small groups remain important tools for spiritual growth. Yet David offers a helpful challenge for those leading communities. “When your group is primarily about regurgitating content, then you’re not really able to forge meaningful relationships.” David is quick to clarify that he loves Scripture and values Bible study. The issue is not the content itself. The issue is stopping there. As he explains: “We have to move on from being just regurgitating content to how that content is affecting and shaping and forming our lives.” This insight may be particularly important when considering ministry among college students and young adults. Many students are not looking for another lecture. They are looking for people who will walk alongside them. They are looking for spaces where questions are welcomed, stories are shared, and faith becomes something lived rather than simply discussed. Heather reflected on this same reality from her experience helping leaders start Fresh Expressions. “I’ve encouraged them to lead with their own limitations rather than walking in the room and saying, ‘I’ve got all the answers.’” Authentic community is rarely built through expertise alone. More often, it grows through honesty, curiosity, and a willingness to journey together. A Question Worth Asking As church leaders consider ministry among college students, young adults, and emerging generations, perhaps the first question is not: “What program should we start?” Perhaps the better question is: Where are people already finding connection? Around meals? On hiking trails? Through intramural sports? In gaming communities? Around creative projects? Through service opportunities? Through shared passions? The Fresh Expressions movement has discovered time and again that belonging often begins in ordinary places and through ordinary experiences. Long before people are ready to explore faith, they are often looking for friendship. Long before they are looking for a church service, they are often looking for a place where they can be known. The goal is not to create an activity for students. The goal is to discover where God may already be creating opportunities for belonging. What shared experiences already exist around your campus? Where are students already gathering? What passions, interests, hobbies, or needs might become the starting point for meaningful relationships? What if the next Fresh Expression among college students begins not with a program, but with belonging? These are some of the questions we continue to explore together during the Fresh Expression Incubators.