The early Christians had a powerful secret weapon for church growth -- one that we modern Christians have largely forgotten....

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Here are 10 great ideas for practicing hospitality:

• Look around your church for an elderly widow or older single person and invite them home for a meal.

• Encourage hospitality in your kids by helping them find ways to serve their friends when they are visiting, such as helping cook for them or sharing toys.

• Make your home open to others by hosting informal get-togethers to talk and fellowship.

• Offer your home or apartment as the location for a Bible study.

• Contact a local college and ask if they have a liaison for international students. Find out if there are any students who might be blessed by an American family with whom they could celebrate the Christmas holidays.

• Many singles and young families can’t afford to travel home for the Thanksgiving holidays. Ask someone you know if they’d like to spend Thanksgiving with you.

• Take your family and a few friends caroling around the neighborhood. As you go, invite your neighbors to stop by later for hot cocoa and apple cider.

• Invite people in your community who come from other cultures to offer a "taste of __________" evening. Organize it and help provide ingredients for preparing special dishes.

• Have a bread-baking party at someone's home or in the church kitchen. Keep loaves of homemade bread in the church freezer as gifts to Sunday morning visitors.

• Establish a place where people passing through can spend a night or two.