Should You Invite People to Church?

When one of my daughters was in high school, she invited me to go to a high school baseball game. The main reason she invited me was that she needed me to drive her there so she could watch her boyfriend play. Needless to say, I wasn't all that excited about attending the game. I could see much better baseball in other venues. The game was being played at an inconvenient time after a long day at work. And I didn't want to cozy up to the boyfriend too much. But I went. I went because I wanted to spend time with my daughter and show my support for her.

During those same high school years, I was invited to attend a meeting of the Principal's Council. This was a group of parents who got together with the principal to hear the latest news and to help shape the direction of the school. This was a worthy cause. My children were in high school. I wanted to help make a difference. I went willingly and with a sense of purpose.

Which scenario is most like an invitation to church?

It may be scenario number one, the ball game. You invite your friend Bob to church. He isn't that enthused about going. He's one of the more than 80% of the people in our culture who doesn't think faith or church attendance is all that important. He can hear better speakers and better music in other venues. The time of the service is in the middle of his restful weekend. And he doesn't want to be pestered by a bunch of religious people. He may go because he cares about you, but he doesn't wake up in the morning with a deep desire to attend a church.

But what if you aimed for scenario number two? What if you didn't invite Bob TO church, but to BE the church? What if your church was so committed to transforming your community that you could invite your friend Bob to help mentor and tutor kids twice each month in a program that meets in the local public school? Bob, like the vast majority of all human beings, wants to make a difference in the world. He wakes up in the morning and wonders why he is here. He wants to leave a legacy and help make people's lives better. So Bob enthusiastically agrees. He's in! As he volunteers, he gets to know you. He asks why you and others are giving their time away like this. He finds out that it's rooted in the self-sacrificial Spirit of Jesus. After a couple months, he is intrigued. He wants to meet more people like you--people who give themselves away to help others. He asks if he could go with you to church.

Do you see the difference? There will be people who are receptive to an invitation to church. But percentages show that most people who don't know Jesus won't want to start there. That means you have to figure out a way to infiltrate the world with Christ's love. You have to show the world how good, right, helpful, and life-changing the Savior is. Once they see the Spirit of Jesus, they won't be able to stay away.

What kind of invitations are you offering? Keep inviting people to church. Keep asking people who are interested in God to hear His life-changing Word. Keep bringing people with you so they can experience the miraculous reach of the Gospel.

But will you also invite people to BE the church with you? Will you help develop your outreach to the lost, lonely, disenfranchised, forgotten, and weak? Will you be a church that cares about your community and makes an effort to lift it up in the name of Jesus? Then, will you invite people who crave purpose to be part of the greatest purpose there could ever be?

It will make church much more than a high school baseball game.
(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-eight)

Infiltration

Church Planting Series, Part seven

I read about Cameron Hughes the other day. He’s a Super Fan. He’s a hired gun to fire up crowds at sporting events. Hughes sits in the crowds—-just like any other fan. He blends in. But once the stadium crowd settles in and settles down, Cameron Hughes springs into action. He gets out of his seat. He dances. He urges people to cheer and shout for the home team. He peels off layers of team t-shirts and launches them into the crowd.

The strategy works. The team owners pay Hughes a couple of thousand dollars to do his thing, and it’s worth the investment. Fans enjoy the game. The crowd responds. The home team gets the home-field advantage.

It’s all about paying a price to send someone in so everything can change.

Sound familiar?

God paid the highest price as He sent His only Son into the world so everything could change. Jesus infiltrated the world-—beaten, bleeding, dying, forgiving, rising. He still infiltrates our lives—-the living Word, the water and the Spirit, bread and wine. Because of Jesus everything has changed. Life is new. Life is eternal.

Now you’re the Super Fan. You’re sent to infiltrate the crowd-—the sin-sulking, fad-lulled, hope-drained, reality-blinded crowd.

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter worship are not necessarily your acts of infiltration. You’re equipped and sent at those gatherings. You’re fed and forgiven. You’re renewed and returned to the grace and will of God.

But where’s your infiltration?

I’ve been speaking to church planters and ministry entrepreneurs about infiltration lately. I’ve been calling this infiltration work “splash” events (thank you, Rev. Paul Meyer for the term!). How and where are you “splashing” in your community? A church planter is not as much about meeting in a building as he is about splashing in the community.

For example, you schedule an extra Easter service (on Saturday) in a growing area (or Christmas service—start planning now!). You publicize it and make it as visible as possible. You recruit a core team to attend. Then you watch for the community’s response. Who knows, you may find some servant-leaders who crave getting together as children of God! Infiltrated! A new beginning!

What if you decide to offer four weeks of Christian parenting classes in a local community center? Once again, you publicize, recruit and bring a core group. Splash! Infiltration! What might God do?

What if you offer Bible study time in two area nursing homes? What if you bring your VBS to a neighborhood that needs a church presence? What if you start a Christian young adult gathering in an area of town that is new and growing? What if you reach back into an urban area with a weekday kids ministry or after school program or mother’s day out?

Do you get the idea? Splash! Infiltration! Seeds planted! Something may grow. Momentum has begun. The Spirit is at work.

Planting churches and expanding outreach means that you pay the price to send someone in so everything can change.

It’s the infiltration that God demonstrated in Jesus and shows us so clearly during this Holy Week.