Todd Barrier  

Have you ever invited anyone to church? Was it intimidating? Was it nerve wracking? Was it successful? Statistics show that outside of people who grew up in a church or had family members there, most members became members because they were invited by someone.  

As the numbers in pews across America continue to shrink, we have to get back to what works for getting more people to hear the gospel of Christ. So how can we make our invitations more effective, so that people will accept those invitations? Here are a few things I think we can do.  

-Stop the judging (Matthew 7:1-2)  

Stop deciding who deserves to be invited to hear the gospel and invite anyone willing to listen.  

-Get out of the building.  

Sometimes we have a “if you build it they will come” attitude about church services. We just expect people to show up. For people to know who Christ is and what His church is all about we have to get out and serve (Matthew 20:26-28).  

– Get in the building.  

Our time together is important, and we should treat it that way (Hebrews 10:24-25)  

– Keep it together (Eph. 4:11-16) 

Be unified and people will flock to Christ and His church. We live in a divided world and people crave unity and togetherness. 

– Show the love.  

All attitudes and successes in Christianity grow out of love. Whether it’s an invitation, serving someone or teaching someone love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8) 

So, let’s get out there and show love while growing the Kingdom of God and let people know “you’re invited.”