Today, several Twin Cities’ churches have established culinary departments geared at sharing the Gospel while sharing meals previously possible at only the finest restaurants. In fact, at some you nearly need reservations.


NHLC
“We are swamped,” said Brian Bergstrom, director of catering and foodservice at North Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills and Roseville. The church not only caters to in-house events such as new member’s classes, volunteer appreciation meals and youth events, but also for weddings, banquets for Lutheran Renewal and events for James Dobson and Luis Palau, among others.

“We recently held a banquet for the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ churches. We fed people from 35 states and eight foreign countries. Their response to our culinary ministry was amazing,” said Bergstrom, who regularly is asked for information on how to incorporate the food ministry into other churches.

“We are simply meeting a need and the need is increasing,” added Bergstrom, a Wisconsin native and a Cordon Bleu graduate.

Along with Chef Tony O’Donnell, the team, most of which are volunteers, is meeting the unique needs of a growing congregation. The catering department is now providing meals prior to the Wednesday evening youth and adult classes.

“If a parent had to rush home, fix a meal, herd the kids into the car and back to church, many wouldn’t show up,” he pointed out.

Others would hit a drive through window.

“We provide a meal with meat, vegetables, homemade bread and a beverage for under $5. Families get to eat together, fellowship together, relax and then attend classes refreshed.”

The chefs’ culinary skills are not wasted on simple chicken. A new addition at North Heights is the Master’s Table, a combination of spiritual learning through fine dining. A pastoral-led Bible study is combined with a multi-course meal that recently included a roasted butternut squash soup with chive puree, grilled shrimp with green onion and Thai dipping sauce and a grilled New York strip loin with a rosemary demi-glace over a bed of grilled asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes. That was only three of the seven courses.

The culinary staff has doubled the reservations for their dinner theater productions in just one year. This past year nearly 800 were served prior to the productions of “The Passion Play” and “The Christmas Window.” Bus loads from Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin brought in large numbers who enjoyed a four-course meal that included salmon or steak with rosemary truffle butter. Many attending were unchurched visitors. Many new members of the church say they joined after enjoying a meal with new friends.

“We are seeing that when a non-believer has a good experience at a church when attending an event such as a wedding, a production or funeral they remember that church at a time of spiritual crisis in their own life,” Bergstrom said.

Mark Herringshaw, North Height’s worship pastor, recently used the use of food and ministry in a sermon.

“Food connects us in two ways,” preached Herringshaw. “First it is a physical experience that can be used to explain physical truth. Secondly, it is a physical experience that facilitates not only our own health, but real relationships.”

At North Heights they are finding that people love to sit and talk about their spiritual lives and share their walk with the Lord with complete strangers when food is involved. As Herringshaw noted, the gift of food and its origin are an easy combination.


Food ministries
Food ministries can also be used in other ways. At Hennepin United Methodist Church, the culinary talents are being used to serve community meals to those in need. The walls are stretching beyond denominations as inner-city churches combine to serve the needy in a Christ-like ministry that starts with cooperation between several churches. Believers from a number of churches share joy with each other and with those in need of a meal. All leave fed and usually with a better understanding of Christ.

Soup kitchens have long met the needs of the needy at kitchens run by ministries. Those same ministries are now hiring chefs to offer a higher quality meal and a higher quality form of ministry. Not only are they meeting the physical needs but also the spiritual need to fellowship.

Sometimes fellowship itself is the most important need. Bergstrom decided to start a culinary class during the slower summer months to keep busy.

“I was blown away when 40 to 50 people wanted to attend the class,” he said.

The class has been a sell-out with a maximum of 30 spots each month. The course has nothing to do with Christianity except for the fact that it brings together believers and non-believers at a church kitchen and allows them to share time and experiences together. Herringshaw, in his sermon, noted churches have missed the point.

“There’s something about eating together that makes a church a church! We’ve [reduced] the meal feast down to little cups and flat wafers. But originally the Lord’s Supper was a real deal meal,” noted Herringshaw.

Herringshaw invites Christians and other Christian churches to, “taste and see that the Lord is good.” In seeing that food and fellowship meets the needs of many, churches are spreading the Good News and some totally awesome food.


ACTION POINT:
Tickets are now on sale for “The Thorn,” an original production on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord to be presented at North Heights March 20-April 6. Many of the performances include the dinner theater option. For information, go to www.nhlc.org.