Joining a table is the primary way you can serve our mission.
"Becoming a table member gave me the opportunity to both give and receive. While serving I felt the joy and fulfillment that God intended for us" — Randy B
“When You are Giving of Yourself, You will never be Poor in Spirit”
Time Commitment
You will receive 6-8 hours of training from Open Table University that will engage your skills in developing trusting relationships. This training is facilitated by your facilitator and has benefits far beyond the Open Table experience.
Once training is complete, the first meeting with your brother or sister and table team is called Breaking of the Bread. This is a pot luck meal held at one of the homes of the team members and usually lasts about two hours.
One-hour, weekly meetings follow beginning with a Life Story where everyone on the team shares their story to build on the relationship. The Life Plan meeting is next where the brother or sister shares their goals and aspirations with the team. The Life Plan is the guide for future meetings which continues for approximately one year. Time for supporting the brother or sister during the week is divided among the team and depends on the need.
Concerned about the commitment? One of the benefits of the table model is that the team members support each other. It is expected that there will be vacations, schedule conflicts etc. One question that might be helpful is what is the best use of your time. Compared with other commitments, we believe that this experience will be one of the most rewarding ones available.
Financial
There is a fee of $10 a month for 12 months per Table member, or a total of $120 per member. The purpose is to demonstrate that a Table member has some “skin in the game,” in demonstrating their commitment to staying the course. We encourage every individual serving on a Table to pay their fee. However, when there is a hardship, the congregation/organization can pay this fee or work with Table members to fundraise (this is known as a scholarship). It can be a very powerful message of commitment to a Brother or Sister that not only do people volunteer to help, but they also pay to participate.
As with any mission trip, there are administrative costs for Open Table University training, facilities costs, research and development for the model. If you choose to join, this may be the least expensive mission trip you will ever go on.
Join a Table Spoken Word
Spoken Word video by Troy Burnett, Associate Director of Student Services at Liberty University