Mission StatementFamily Dinner is a mid-week fellowship gathering for families and young adults who seek to love and walk with our neighbors, while living our faith and growing in a loving relationship with God and each other.
VisionThe three part goal is to provide:
Clear Lake Family Dinner's RootsIt all began in 2009 when four couples gathered together and discussed desires to grow closer to Christ while growing closer together. At the time there was little in the way of community for young adults and young families in the Clear Lake area. We would see all these young adults and families at church on Sunday, but would not have time to really get to know them. There was also no real place to invite people to where they could meet and get to know the people they saw on Sundays. The hope and goal was to gather together regularly, share life, have fun, and be a welcoming environment for anyone who wanted fellowship. Adore Ministries had recently begun a weekly potluck meal at a family’s home in Houston with this exact goal. So with a little guidance and advice, we began Clear Lake Family Dinner every Thursday at Matt & Lucy Coles’ home.
Ennie and Cana Hickman from Adore Ministries shared that the key was to keep it simple: no meal planning, no real set beginning or end time (so there was no such thing as being late), and no real format except to eat together and build relationships with one another. This simple format also allowed for people to miss a week or many weeks of the dinner, but still be able to come back without missing any “content” so to speak. And it worked! Week after week this community dinner was held and people came with food in hand. It soon grew very quickly & the need to grow great relationships & community was being fulfilled. In December 2010, our beloved Matt Coles passed away from cancer. It was a great loss to our community and obviously to Lucy and their three young boys. Matt was passionate about many things and one of the things most dear to his heart (outside of his family of course) was Family Dinner. So, Lucy, with the help of her dear friend Julie, continued to host Family Dinner until God called her to move into the Houston area in 2012. Lucy and her family truly paved the way for Family Dinner with a beautiful example of ministry, hospitality, and sacrifice. We are extremely grateful for their commitment to make Family Dinner the life giving environment it is today for many families. The on-going history...In May 2012, Michael & Erin Franco graciously began hosting Family Dinner. As natives from Southern Louisiana, there was always a party at the Franco house. Erin was famous for her sweet southern hospitality and great baking while Michael was known for his crafty building skills and always ready to tell a great joke or crazy story! About a year and a half after they began hosting, God called them back to Louisiana. It was bittersweet for all of us to say goodbye, but we know their friendship will last a lifetime.
In September 2013, Elliot and Sarah Snell stepped up to the plate and began hosting family dinner at their home in Seabrook (with very little notice we might add!). Sarah & Elliot had a handful of adventures while hosting family dinner, but they continued to host through all the ups and downs (no electricty, severe bug bites, water leaks etc.) and they did so with flying colors! Just prior to the Snells hosting, it was decided at a Family Dinner Meeting that Family Dinner could be hosted for approximately 4-6 months at one home and then be moved to another family’s home. So in March 2014, Craig & Kristen Lanham began hosting family dinner. Their daughter, Harper, was only 6 months old at the time, but that didn't stop the Lanhams from getting their house "kid ready." They created a play room and filled their house and backyard with big kid toys just for the family dinner "big kids." What a wonderful gift! All the kids (& adults too) loved it! In August 2014 Josh & Katie Hanson began hosting family dinner. Good times were had by all as the Hansons showed so much sweet hospitality. We also celebrated Family Dinner's 5 year anniversary during this time with a concert at the park with Adore ministries' Ennie Hickman & Ike Ndolo. As Josh & Katie prepare the way for baby #3, they passed the torch on. Since January 2015, Peter & Kristin have been hosting Family Dinner at their home in Seabrook. {Just as a side note, we've grown from 4 families with 3 kids all together to about 20 families with over 25 kids!} |
Timeline of Host Families
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