The Invitation

Congratulations! You’re going to invite a bunch of women into your home to talk about Jesus.

Isn’t it exciting! Isn’t it terrifying?

Is your heart pounding? Mine was!

Take a deep breath. Relax. We’re going to take this one step at a time, and the first step is simply coffee and conversation.

Your first Neighborhood Café will be just that: a Café.

Look back at the beginning date you chose. On that day, you’re going to have a little party to meet, greet and treat your neighbors. This day will be an Open House, an easy, informal time to invite the woman in your neighborhood to come to your home and enjoy coffee or tea and cookies. It’s a piece of cake… if you decide to serve cake!

Please remember: the sole purpose

of your Neighborhood Café is to

show love to your neighbors, not

shove them into an agenda.

Let me tell you about three different women who left a lasting impression on me when they invited me to their homes.

Shortly after moving into a new neighborhood, a woman stopped by to introduce herself and invite me for coffee. There was another woman there when I arrived, whom I soon learned was my neighbor’s manager in the multi-level marketing program she tried to sell me. I felt used, like a prospective target rather than a potential friend.

Some of your neighbors will be understandably suspicious of your invitation.

Another time, a woman from my church invited me to her home for lunch. She used her best china to set two pretty place settings with flowers from her garden and delicious food. I was honored and humbled. She said, “I just wanted to spend some time getting to know you better.” We did become friendly but we drifted apart. I still remember her kindness whenever I drive down her street.

Some of your neighbors will never become more than casual acquaintances.

A third woman invited me and several other women to her home for dinner one evening. Some of us were great friends already, others had never met. We filled every room of her home with laughter, and I left with a longing to spend more time with my new friends. She still sends us cards and notes, and we’re all hinting that she needs to do it again soon!

Some of your neighbors will become your new best friends!

Your Open House is a time to get to know each other. Ask questions. Find out what you have in common. Love on your neighbors with extravagant hospitality and extreme kindness. This may be your only opportunity to meet some of these wonderful women. Now is not the time to lay out the Roman Road. This is the time to show that the road to your home is paved with acceptance, graciousness and an honest offer of friendship. And, Sisters, you must be sincere. Any ulterior motives will be sniffed out at the door.

While your Open House invitation should make it clear that this special date is for coffee and conversation, you should also state your clear intentions to bring Christ to the party. Here is an adaptation of my first Café invitation:

Dear Neighbor,

Can you believe it? I’ve lived on the corner of Rosewood and Longwood for over seven years, yet many of the women who live nearby are complete strangers to me.

Let’s change that at “The Rosewood Café.”

No, it’s not a real café – it’s just a time when we can get to know each other over coffee at my kitchen table, the best place for starting new friendships and deepening old ones.

Please join us on Friday, October 24 from 9:30 to 11:00 am. I would love to meet you and tell you about a neighborhood Bible study I’ll be hosting here in my home.

I’ll brew the beans if you’ll bring a mug!^©

“Bring a mug…”

“I’ll brew the beans if you’ll bring a mug!^©” turned into a powerful little psychology lesson. Strangers I had never met showed up at my door clutching their mugs to their chests! Their mug was a conversation starter, an instant ice breaker. Bringing their own mug made each woman a participant instead of an observer. It gave her something to do, a task to perform. Your neighbor might be as afraid to come to your Café as you are to invite her! Bringing comfort from their own kitchen made them more courageous.

The Invitation

For your Open House invitation, you can use pre-printed invitations found at many stores – even the card aisle your local grocery store! Look for invitations or stationary at scrapbooking, craft or office supply stores like Hallmark, Archiver’s, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, JoAnn Fabrics, Office Max or Staples.

You can print invitations on pretty paper – heck, you can write them by hand on scrap paper. I want to assure you that you don’t have to be a designer, writer or millionaire to host a Neighborhood Café! Adapt these tips to your talents, your abilities and your needs.

There are many online resources you can use to create the invitation to your Open House:

Visit www.hp.com/#Explore for free projects and templates you can customize and print at home.
Go to www.office.microsoft.com/templates to download free templates you can customize and edit using Microsoft Office programs such as Word, PowerPoint or Publisher.
Download Smilebox, a free program from Hallmark, at www.smilebox.com. For a small monthly fee you can design thousands of projects, email them, print them at home or send them to Walmart for printing. You can even post your creations to Facebook or your blog. (Your Café can have its own blog page on this website where you can connect with your group. Click here to see my Café’s page as an example.)

Want to get creative and make your own invitation? Copy the images below and add your own contact information. Contact me to request a Neighborhood Café logo customized for your community. I will email you a picture file you can use on your invitation, like these:

Here are sample invitations for your

Neighborhood Cafe Open House:

Classic Cafe!

An Elegant Invitation

A Fun, Whimsical Style

Click each image above to download a FREE printable invitation you can produce at home! Heavy cardstock paper is recommended. Invitations are also included in the Cafe Kit, with fill-in-the-blank lines or preprinted with your Neighborhood Cafe name and contact information.

You’ve made the commitment. You’ve set the date. You know how many invitations to make, and now you have tools and tips you need to create that invitation. Next, we’ll talk about what to say when you pass out your invitations and meet your neighbors, many of them for the very first time!