By Rachel McWhirter (she/her), Director of Digital Ministry @ Christ the King (Houston)

Like any spiritual practice, interfaith engagement requires rhythm. It can’t just be a response to crisis. It has to be built into the life of the church—planned for, prioritized, prayed over. Create regular partnerships. Feature interfaith voices in community forums. Make space in your newsletter or livestream to highlight other faith traditions’ holidays, not as an “othering” move, but to say: We see you. We’re glad you’re in our neighborhood.

Yes, it can be uncomfortable. Yes, you will get it wrong sometimes. But that’s part of the growth. God doesn’t just show up in our certainties. God shows up in the stretch.

What interfaith engagement gives the church is a bigger imagination—a reminder that our story is one chapter in a much longer human story of seeking, longing, and loving the divine. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe the goal is not to be the whole story, but to be a good neighbor in the story.

Because in the end, this practice doesn’t just help us understand others better—it helps us understand our own faith more deeply. When I hear a Muslim neighbor talk about prayer as a rhythm of life, I reflect on how I engage prayer in my own day. When a Jewish friend shares about Sabbath as delight and rest, I wonder what it would mean for me to actually practice that, not just preach it. Interfaith engagement doesn’t dilute—it deepens.

I believe this work makes us more fully the church. It is the gospel with skin on. It’s the meal where no one is turned away. It’s the livestream with an open comment section. It’s the messy, holy work of showing up—together.

And when we do it well, we begin to glimpse the kind of table Jesus was always pulling together. Not a table of sameness, but a table of welcome.

A bigger table than we ever imagined.