In June of 2021, we launched The Table @ Westport in Westport, Washington. We are a weekly dinner church that started with just four guests in our first week, growing to an average of 60 people each week in 2024.
We follow the typical dinner church model, offering a terrific meal, great community, and a short Gospel message. With a wonderful team and a welcoming community, we’ve seen tremendous growth. One surprising discovery was that seventy percent or more of our guests are not regular church attenders. Many of them have little or no relationship with Christ.
That’s the foundation of where we started—we began as a dinner church.
The Rising Cost of Meals and an Unexpected Blessing
About a year and a half ago, we grew concerned with the increasing costs of providing more than just a basic meal for our guests.
We wanted to offer something special each week, but feeding sixty people every week was expensive.
Then, our sister dinner church in Ocean Shores (The Table @ Ocean Shores) introduced us to a food bank distributor. They connected us with the North Beach Senior Center Food Alliance, which became an incredible blessing. At first, I would take my truck and a crew to pick up food. We were able to use most of it for The Table.
As time went on, we received more and more food—so much that my truck wasn’t enough. Eventually, I had to bring a utility trailer. Oh, too bad, I thought, praising God the whole time!
From Surplus to Community Outreach
As we received more food than we could use, I started sharing the extras with our local senior center and posting on Facebook for anyone in need. But it quickly became clear that this wasn’t enough.
In mid-2024, I reached out to local food banks. While many had their own sources and didn’t want to change their systems, something unexpected happened. One individual, trying to help neighbors in a small apartment complex, started picking up food. Then another joined. Then another.
Even food banks that had previously declined began to take part after seeing what we were doing. Now, each week, I take a 14,000-pound flatbed trailer to Ocean Shores, bringing back four to six pallets of meat, dry goods, dairy, vegetables, and treats. On one trip, we received nearly a thousand pounds of pork shoulder, much of which went to a local rescue mission—what an incredible blessing!
Feeding the Multitudes
Today, we share food with about ten different groups. Each week, we meet at South Beach Christian Center, unload, sort, pray, and distribute food. Altogether, we help feed around a thousand people every week.
That’s the mechanics of what we do. But here’s the real surprise—the true blessing.
A Wider Reach: Meeting People Where They Are
Through food distribution, we’ve been able to reach a whole new group of people. From shut-ins to low-income families to the homeless, we’ve connected with communities we hadn’t reached before.
Just like our dinner church, the food distribution team is made up of seventy percent or more non-church attenders. Each week, I share a short message and gather prayer requests before we pray and load up the food. As people load their vehicles, many come to me personally asking for prayer.
What an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with people who need to know that He cares for them!
A “Coincidental Accident” That Wasn’t
The Neighbors Sharing Team, as we now call it, has opened doors to new geographical areas and lives I never knew existed. It has been an eye-opener.
I never set out to start a food distribution ministry. In fact, the thought had never even crossed my mind—I never even prayed for it! But here we are. It’s one of those moments where you step back and say,
“Hmm, God, what are you up to?”
I now love being able to share what we have with those who go deeper into the community. And the best part? Lives are changing. People are seeing God move in ways they never expected.
More Than Just a Feeding Program
One thing I try to do is invite people to see what we’re actually doing with food distribution. Many assume it’s just another feeding program. But when they come and witness the impact firsthand, their perspective changes.
Several people who were once skeptical have now become supporters and cheerleaders for what we’re doing.
A Deeper Calling
Thirty years ago, I became a kid’s pastor. For decades, I thought that’s what I’d always be. But in 2017, I attended a dinner church encounter with Verlon Fosner, and my life hasn’t been the same since.
I used to believe that being a kid’s pastor meant I was deeply engaged in the community. But now, as the lead pastor of a dinner church and coordinator of a food distribution team, I’ve learned that there’s always another layer of society to reach.
There are still so many people who desperately need to know the love of Christ. And if it takes a meal or a bag of groceries to start that conversation, then we’ll keep showing up, keep praying, and keep sharing the hope of Jesus.
