More Than Pizza Night
Some of the sweetest ministry happens around the family table.
Years ago, my husband and I prayed that our home would become a place where people felt welcome - a place where families could gather, children could play, conversations could linger, and Christ would be present in the everyday.
One of the ways God has answered that prayer has been through something surprisingly simple.
Homemade pizza.
For years we have made our own pizza as a family and over time, we've tweaked the method and recipe. It has now become a part of the weekly meal rotation, and one of the first meals we want to provide when filling our home with family and friends.
Every week the dough comes out to rest on the counter, and someone opens a can of San Marzano tomatoes.
The grill is lit.
Music is usually playing.
The table is covered with kraft paper.
Before long, the kitchen fills with the rhythm of measuring, chopping, laughing and assembling pizzas together.
We started simple, with store bought dough, sauce, cheese and a myriad of other toppings. But over time we wanted to improve the experience.
The first change we made was to make our own dough from scratch. And honestly, it's been the best switch, but not necessarily because of the cost savings or the superior taste and texture.
It's the process of making the dough together.
About once a month, Marc pulls out the mixing bowl and the kitchen scale, while I reach for the bread flour. Together we measure and mix a large batch of cold-ferment dough, separate it into individual dough balls, bag it and store it.
After a few batches of homemade dough, Marc decided we needed to make our own sauce. We did some research and discovered that San Marzano tomatoes were the way to go. And my goodness! They make the best tasting, freshest, most delicious sauce I have ever tried. And it's super simple to make.
We usually make 4 pizzas (feeding teenage boys is no small task), which used to be a long process with only one pizza peel. We would assemble the pizza on the peel but also needed a peel to remove pizza from the grill. This meant we'd have to wait to assemble a pizza until one was cooked and cut.
One of the best things we've done to improve the process is adding a second pizza peel. My practical mind thought one was enough, but as the primary maker of the pizza, Marc insisted we needed another. As usual, he was right. Two peels make everything flow much smoother and more quickly - a must when making pizza for a crowd. While one pizza comes off the grill, the next one is already waiting to go on.
It's a small thing, but somehow it captures what pizza night has become for us. It's more than a meal.
It's an activity shared together.
Somewhere along the way, pizza stopped being dinner and became one of the rhythms that binds our family together.
One evening we invited two families over for pizza and fire.
Between all three families there were fourteen kids running around the yard. 
A fire crackled in the fireplace.
A basketball dribbled in the driveway. Shouts were coming from kids swinging in the hammocks.
The picnic table disappeared beneath bowls of dough, toppings and flour.
People gathered around the table, making pizza. Marc helped the younger kids stretch dough and add toppings.
Conversation and laughter filled the late summer air, and my heart overflowed as I witnessed the mission for our home in action.
I was watching God answer a prayer I'd prayed years earlier.
As the evening wore on, we ate a lot of pizza, laughed a lot, and sat around the fire as we shared life together.
Looking back on that evening I think about how I got to see God answer the prayer for our home.
He gave us so much more than pizza night.
He gave us community. A reason to gather.
A meal that slows us down and makes time for relationships.
He gave us a tradition our children will remember for years to come.
Our Homemade Pizza Setup
If you're curious about the tools we've collected over the years, here are the ones we consistently use every pizza night. We didn't buy everything at once - most of these were added little by little as this tradition became part of our family's rhythm.
Kitchen Scale
The biggest improvement we made to our dough consistency. Also a staple in my sourdough bread making.
Pizza Stone
We've used ours for years and love the crispy crust it creates.
Wooden Pizza Peel
Perfect for assembling the pizza on before it goes on the grill.
Kraft Paper
Makes cleanup ten times easier
Fine Mesh Strainer
Essential for straining the tomatoes, keeping the sauce rich flavorful.
San Marzano Tomatoes
The very best tomatoes for a fresh tasting sauce.
You certainly don't need everything on this list. We started with store bought dough, and one pizza peel! These are simply the tools we've added over the years as we've tweaked our process to make pizza night a little easier and a little more enjoyable.
What's a meal tradition for your family?
It doesn't have to be elaborate.It just has to make room for people.
Maybe it's not pizza. Maybe it's pancakes on Saturday morning, or Soup Sundays. Maybe it's Taco Tuesdays or backyard burgers with neighbors.
The actual meal isn't really the point.
The invitation is.
I'd love to hear from you.
What's one meal, tradition, or simple rhythm that brings people around your table?
Leave a comment below - I love hearing the ways God is at work in other homes.