How and Why: Invite a friend to church
You are a pivotal piece to someone else’s spiritual journey.
You are being watched by your spouse, kids, grandkids, friends, co-workers and neighbors. The testimony you give when you get up and take part in weekly worship is powerful. Your actions will affect others. Posting an invite for church on your Facebook page is a great start!
We were created to worship God corporately and privately. Worshipping Jesus may be the single most important thing we do. Worship in the simplest of definitions is our response to God. Corporate worship brings together God’s Word, prayer, and fellowship. There is something that God puts deep inside our souls that NEEDS to be around other believers. We were not made to walk through this Christian life all by ourselves. We are part of an incredible body, the body of Christ.
It was Jesus who gave us the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20). We are to go into all the world, but often times we fail to go to our own neighbor. Inviting others to church is one way we can fulfill our responsibility to obey Jesus and introduce Him to a lost world. The church is the display of God’s glory on earth. It should be central to our lives and faith. Because of that, inviting others to your church should be a part of your core mission.
If you believe that Jesus is who He says He is and that heaven is far better than the earth, then why wouldn’t you want to share it with your friends and family? God can use you to bring someone to faith. Introduce them to Jesus and how He has changed your life.
You have the power to change someone’s life by a simple invitation.
Why should we invite people to church? It’s so easy for us to believe that our friends and neighbors will make it there independently. We don’t want to impose on them, and we definitely don’t want to embarrass ourselves. Inviting someone to church is a tangible way to show them the love of Christ. By extending an invitation, we are demonstrating that we care about them and want them to experience the joy and hope that comes from a relationship with Jesus. A personal invitation is perhaps the best way to invite someone to church because there is an existing connection. People will typically feel much more comfortable attending a (new) church when they already know someone there.
Recent studies show that 82% of the unchurched, are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited.
If the church has been a part of your Sunday routine for as long as you can remember, then it’s likely you’ve forgotten how scary it can be (for others), walking into a foreign building and risk being seen by people—genuinely seen. Remember, these are real people with real needs and you have a real Christ that can meet them. They don’t need “to go to church.” They need to find Christ. Since Berea First Baptist Church is a Gospel-Centered and Gospel-Preaching church, it is important to do is get them here.
Invite your friends to our Sunday Morning Connect groups, or perhaps a Sunday Night Small Group- there is less formality and more room for discussion. Stuff your faces with cake and coffee and let them see some happy Christians talking about real life. If you aren’t connected to a Sunday Morning Connect Group, this is my personal invitation to join one. Don’t know where to go? Let me know and I’ll connect you. You’ll love it! Sunday Night Small Groups are pretty amazing, too.
Ask yourself, “What does my church offer that will speak to their needs?” Base your invitations on the answer. I’m encouraged by how God will use you in bringing others to hear His word and get plugged into our church.
Here are 5 helpful tips to get your started:
- Pray before inviting someone. Ask the Holy Spirit to prompt you if you should invite someone.
- Ask them if they would like to go WITH you. Don’t throw an open invite, but instead offer to meet them.
- Explain what it (the service) will look like.
- Be by their side as they fearfully step into the unknown
- Follow up.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”- Hebrews 10:25-26.
Be encouraged.
