Soup Night: Easy Peasy Hospitality Builds Great Neighborhoods (Recipes Included!)
How a Simple Tradition of Warm Meals and Open Doors Can Change Neighborhoods
What if changing the world wasn’t about big plans or grand gestures? What if it was as simple as opening your front door, making a pot of soup and inviting a few neighbors?
My daughter and son-in-law, Taye and Tray, have discovered one of the most powerful yet forgotten forms of faith-sharing, evangelism, and love: hospitality.
Welcome to Soup Night
Every winter, from January to February, they open their home for four or five Mondays in a row to whoever wants to come.
No formal invites. No big event planning. Just a simple, handwritten note:
“Welcome to Soup Night.”
Bring a bowl. Bring a spoon. Come as you are. Come when you can.
Tea and lemonade are provided. Adults can bring their own beverages, but most don’t. Kids are welcome. Neighbors become friends. Friends become family.
And it changed their community—first in Spring, Texas, and now in Frisco, Texas.
The Street That Stayed Together During COVID
Fifteen years ago, Soup Night began as a simple way to connect. It was something Taye and Tray just did. It was who they were. They were married for five years when they decided to open their home in Houston and begin an annual tradition of Soup Nights.
But it did something unexpected—it wove a neighborhood together.
Then, they moved to the Dallas area, about seven miles from us. And Soup Night was on the menu again every January with a similar impact. The strangers became friends. Kids played outside. Soup nights continued. Friends did what friends should do. Share life together.
And eat soup.
So much so that when the pandemic came, they locked down together—as a street.
While most families in America were isolated in their own homes, their entire neighborhood became a bubble of friendship and fellowship. People came and went, playing up and down the street, eating in each other’s homes, supporting one another through uncertainty.
And it started with Soup Night.
Hospitality: A Lost Biblical Art
The Bible is full of stories of hospitality:
Abraham and Sarah welcomed strangers into their tent—only to find they were entertaining angels (Genesis 18; Hebrews 13:2).
Boaz invited Ruth to his table, setting the stage for a love story that led to King David.
Paul commanded hospitality—not as an option, but as a way of life (Romans 12:13, 1 Timothy 3:2).
Jesus loved meals. He shared them with tax collectors, outcasts, disciples, and friends. And after His resurrection? He still chose to reveal Himself over food. (Luke 24:28-31; John 21:1)
Soup Night is a small taste of that—a table where everyone belongs.
The Final Feast
At the heart of Scripture is a feast.
The table set by God in Psalm 23.
The Last Supper, where Jesus promised, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, where people from every nation will gather at God’s table.
One could say that if you don’t enjoy Soup Night, you might be in for a surprise in the life to come. Eternity won’t be spent in isolation—it will be a feast of joy, friendship, and fellowship.
What If You Started a Soup Night?
Maybe you don’t have a Soup Night. Yet. But what if you did?
Even for one night, opening your home could change someone’s world? Get a pot, make some soup, leave a note on a few doors, bring one bowl and one spoon per person, and watch it grow.
(Strangely enough, my daughter called to say that the kids are the most excited about Soup Night. They love it. They may not eat much soup, but they love the warmth of an open home.)
Because, in the end, faith, friendship, and food have always gone together.
Now, about those recipes…. (With my rating in 🥣)
Recipes
Black Bean Soup 🥣🥣🥣🥣🥣
Serves 4
3-4 Cans drained black beans
1 cup salsa chunky Pace
1 tsp. cumin
1 cup beef broth (or other broth)
Directions
Blend 3 cans of beans with broth in a blender. Put all ingredients in pan and simmer. Salt to taste. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar, green onions, pico, tortilla chips. Takes no time and is really good with chz quesadillas as well. (Can freeze)
White Chili 🥣🥣🥣🥣🥣
Serves 8
2 tablespoons olive oil
Two onions, chopped
Four cloves garlic, minced
Four cooked, boneless chicken breast, half, chopped
3 ( 14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 (4 ounce) cans, canned green chili peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Five (14.5 ounce) cans, great northern beans undrained
Two cans, shoe peg corn
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes or until onions are tender. Add the chicken, chicken broth, green chili, peppers, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to low and add the beans and corn. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated thoroughly. (Can Freeze)
Baked Potato Soup 🥣🥣🥣🥣
Serves 4
Three bacon strips, diced
One small onion, chopped
One clove, garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded cheddar cheese.
Directions:
In a large sauce pan cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Sauté onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stirring flour, salt, basil and pepper, mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil boil and stir for two minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce heat through, but do not boil. Garnished with bacon and cheese. Serve with bread.
Lasagna Soup 🥣🥣🥣🥣
Serves 7
Half pound lean ground beef.
Half pound ground Italian sausage
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
One yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Three cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 - 24 ounce marinara sauce
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
7 cups chicken broth
Nine lasagna noodles, broken into pieces, uncooked
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
10 ounces ricotta cheese
One cup, shredded mozzarella
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Directions
In a large pot of medium heat cooked ground beef and sausage until brown. Seasoned with salt and pepper as you cook. Drain grease and remove meat from the pot. In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Tossing diced onion and sauté for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in minced garlic and cook for another minute or two. Stir in tomato paste, marinara sauce, spices, and broth. Returned meat to pot.
Bring to boil, then add lasagna noodles, (broken into fourths) to pot and reduce heat to medium to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender. Add spinach if using. In a small bowl, stirred together, mozzarella, Parmesan and ricotta cheese.
Ladle the hot soup in the bowls and dollop a scoop of the cheese mixture on top. Garnished with fresh basil.
The Anglican is the Substack newsletter for LeaderWorks, where I share insights, encouragement, and practical tools for clergy and lay Christians. I’m also an author of over a dozen books available on Amazon.
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WORD
Love your articles. Keep up the good work.