Listen and Subscribe
You can subscribe to the Dinner Church podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you prefer to listen. Help us get the word out by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts.
Watch
Episode Shownotes
You can start a Dinner Church in almost any context. In this episode, you’ll hear from Megan Monterrosa who has started two Dinner Churches in suburban neighborhoods in Washington State. Megan brings not only a passion for life transformation, but a love for tasty food to her ministry.
Listen in to hear how Megan reimagined the Dinner Church model for her context and the similarities you find anywhere that people gather around Jesus’ table.
Megan Monterrosa serves on staff at the Grove Church in Marysville, Washington where she leads a Dinner Church called The Neighborhood, and is an executive assistant to the lead pastor. She is passionate about reaching the lost, seeing Jesus move in the lives of individuals, and helping them discover their God-given purpose in missional living. She is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree from Kairos University and is in the process of becoming a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God.
Interview Summary
“I started to think about incarnational living,” shares Megan Monterrosa, describing a pivotal season where God expanded her heart for marginalized neighbors.
Though trained as a children’s minister, Megan experienced a profound personal call to “get out of this building and walk down the street to where people live a completely different life.”
This spiritual prompting compelled her to pioneer dinner churches in Washington state suburbs, despite initial confusion. As she explains, “I had no idea that dinner church was not just about feeding.”
Learning the Art of Facilitating Community
Launching her first dinner church required growing new skills: “God started to change and transform me into, I mean, my heart just started to break for the lost in ways it never had before.” Rather than presenting information, Megan learned to listen, ask thoughtful questions, and gently create space for spiritual conversations. She describes the humility required in this facilitator role:
“You have to be okay with your head exploding a little bit and be open to what God is doing in each space.”
Megan Monterrosa
Navigating Two Meaningful Church Models
Running dinner churches out of an established church prompted rewarding “dexterity.” Megan articulates, “I live in both worlds every day, so I see the wonderful things God is doing” in each expression. Though learning to communicate their unique strengths stretched her, Megan guided her congregation toward grace: “Both are beautiful. It’s amazing how God is working.” This fostered missional flexibility.
Setting the Table with Loving Presence
Above all, Megan has learned the art of spiritual preparation for transformative table fellowship. As she advises dinner church leaders, “Set the table, allow the love of Jesus to be evident in everything that you’re doing, and let the Savior be good at His job.”
When we graciously make space for Christ through prayerful hospitality, he can powerfully meet people where they’re at.
Megan Monterrosa
Reflection Questions
- When have you been called outside your comfort zone to reach new people? What equipped you for this ministry?
- In what ways do you need to learn to listen rather than control in spiritual conversations?
- How can your church encourage “dexterity” in appreciating diverse church models while avoiding unhealthy comparison?
- How can you tangibly prepare both physically and spiritually to facilitate transformative table fellowship?
- Who feels marginalized in your community, and how can you extend gracious dinner invitation to them?
