Rather than sending out a group text or email, invite each guest individually. This will not only lead to a better turnout, but will make each guest feel loved and wanted.
Invite more people than you have space for. In the event planning world, there is usually a 40% drop off in turnout. So to ensure you have at least four people in attendance, invite 2-3 more people than you plan to come. This will pad any last minute cancellations or schedule conflicts.
Plan for unplanned guests. There is a chance someone will want to invite a friend or two to the dinner. Or you yourself, might want to invite someone last minute. So make sure you have space for at least one more person just in case.

A day or two before your dinner, clean your bathroom, kitchen & living/eating area. You don’t have to clean every crevice or corner, but do your best to clean any visible crumbs, dust bunnies, skid marks, dead roaches, etc.
Figure out where you will eat your meal. If you have a dining table, awesome. If you don’t, a couch/floor seating arrangement will work great too. And if you have the means, pick up a few floor pillows and place them around the room Moroccan style. (Candles add a little more ambiance as well!)
Decide if you want to use real plates or paper plates. It’s totally up to you. Just make sure there are plates, cups, silverware and napkins.

We live in New York City. So you don’t have to actually cook your meal. It’s totally acceptable to order Seamless and have everyone chip in. This will also take the pressure off you if you don’t have a lot of kitchen tools.
If you don’t want to go the Seamless option, have everyone bring an ingredient or two and cook the meal together. This is also really fun! (Potlucks are great too. But you might just end up with a bunch of wine and bread. So be prepared if you go that route.)
If you do plan to cook the meal yourself, its okay to ask people to bring a beverage or chip in a little financially. So don’t be afraid to ask.

The purpose of this challenge is to build deeper relationships with others in the church. So planning the topic of conversation is not only essential, but will prevent the most extroverted person from monopolizing the conversation the entire night. (You know who you are!)
Here are a few fun group conversation starters:
- What are three unlikely things that you did today?
- What does home mean to you?
- Where is the weirdest place you’ve ever slept?
- If you didn’t sleep, what would you do with that extra eight hours?
- How different is the job you have today than the one you wanted as a kid?
- If you could teleport by blinking your eyes, where would you want to go?

Encourage your guests to turn their phones off and place them in another room. After you take a quick group photo, put your phone in the other room too. (One group photo for us is all we need!)
Breathe, forget your to-do list and just enjoy yourself! You need this.