Everything changes the day Kristen ran out of options.

In 2018, at 23 years old, after years of searching for peace from everything she had been through, Kristen looked for it in all the wrong places. She tried everything except God. But when she finally hit rock bottom and had nowhere else to turn, she cried out to Him. Wanting to learn more about God, she reached out to one of the only Christians she knew, a coworker.

That same day, they met at a coffee shop.

At a table.

Kristen poured out her story, her pain, her questions, and her hopelessness. Her coworker did not have all the answers, but she did have Jesus. So, at the table, she invited Kristen to church a few days later.

Before attending, Kristen made a deal with God. She would hold onto her life long enough to go to church and see what happened. 

Nothing dramatic happened that Thursday night at Young Adults. There was no audible voice from heaven assuring her that everything was going to be okay. But something shifted. Kristen left believing that if she kept showing up to church, things would eventually be okay.

Over the next several years, Jesus began transforming every part of her life. What started as survival became surrender. What began with questions became conviction. What began at a table became a calling.

For years, Kristen knew she would eventually start a nonprofit. She just did not know what it would be.

Then she began noticing something.

Jesus spent a whole lot of His ministry around tables.

Tables where strangers became friends.
Tables where sinners became saints.
Tables where questions were welcomed.
Tables where grace was served before people had their lives together.

As she studied Scripture and looked at an increasingly divided, lonely, and distracted world, Kristen became convinced that the table was not just furniture. It was one of God’s most overlooked tools for discipleship, hospitality, and evangelism.

That conviction became Table 12.

Today, Kristen leads Table 12 with a solid vision: to encourage Christians to live so hospitably that the world cannot help but pull up a chair.

Through creative content and practical hospitality training, Table 12 exists to welcome the lost, equip the found, and send believers back into their worlds to host (and love!) like Christ.

Kristen is quick to point out that she cannot save anyone, and neither can Table 12. Only Jesus can do that. But she believes every Christian can create spaces where people encounter His love. And when ordinary believers open ordinary tables, extraordinary things happen.

When she is not building Table 12, she is probably tapping into her creative side, whether through dance, fashion, or interior design. She also loves baking, cooking, and creating spaces where people feel at home.

And if there is good comedy, contagious laughter, or a reason to celebrate, she is all in. She believes one of the greatest ways to honor God is to fully enjoy the life He has given us.

That same wholeheartedness is what she now brings into building Table 12 from the ground up.

Kristen does not claim to have answers for every hard question.

She knows firsthand that life can be painful, confusing, and hard to make sense of. She has wrestled with darkness, grief, disappointment, and doubt. But she has also experienced the faithfulness of Jesus meeting her in those places.

And if there is one thing she hopes people discover through Table 12, it is this: No matter your story, your questions, your doubts, or your past, there is still a seat for you at the table.

And one day, by God’s grace, every table that pointed people toward Jesus will find its fulfillment at the great wedding feast of the Lamb.