Open Home Policy

The pastoral assistant (do they really need to use such offices and titles?)at my church and his wife have an open home policy in their house. This means that they are ready to welcome visitors at any time to their home without notice.

Having an open home policy is a really beautiful way for a Christian family to make their house available for the service of the Lord. They are using their home for evangelism, for fellowship with other believers and for ministering to the lonely. This really is a commendable ministry.

Obviously, a family with an open home policy will need to set clear boundaries for their visitors. One boundary I would very much recommend is to request that visitors remove their shoes. While this might not seem like the hosts are rolling out a red carpet for visitors, visitors must remember that the family with the open home are granting access to their house to far more people than an average family. They naturally want this to make the minimal inconvenience to their lives. What is more they can show far more hospitality if they are not cleaning up all the time. A shoe-free home will also be a more welcoming place for small childen who prefer to make use of the floor, rather than the furniture.