There is an old statistic in the Lutheran church that says the average Lutheran invites 1 person to church every 7 years! I don't have a source for that and I question its validity, however, while it might be an exaggeration, I do believe there is a glimmer of truth to this statistic. A recent study showed that 82% of people would come to church if a friend invited them. That is pretty incredible! In addition to this, 72% of Americans describe themselves as spiritually open, especially younger generations who are more open to God than before the pandemic. These numbers are astronomical and if this is truly the case then we must wonder why is Christianity on the decline? Well...
Only 2% of Christians invite friends to church.
At least it isn't just a Lutheran issue! Church, we are just flat out bad at inviting friends to church. I get it. Talking about religion can be scary. It is one of the three things you're not supposed to talk about in polite conversation, right? (money, religion, and politics) People have strong opinions of faith and the Christian church. Especially today when being a Christian could mean any number of things and its almost like you have to apologize and explain that you aren't one of "those" Christians before you can even get to an invite. Yes, our culture has strong opinions about religion, but read those initial statistics again. The majority of people are curious and willing to accept an invitation.
I think deeper than the cultural assumption of Christians, a reason many of us struggle to invite friends to church is because we aren't always proud of what happens in our churches, maybe even embarrassed. Now, I know that is not the case at Christ the Servant...right?! All joking aside, it is important that we ask the question of ourselves, are we proud of what we do on a Sunday morning? Are we proud of what our church does beyond Sunday morning? If your answer is an exciting YES to these questions, then why wouldn't you want to invite a friend to be a part of it? The truth is, it is okay if you're not that excited because we can grow and change that. It is important that we are honest about these things so that we can feel proud and excited about what is happening at our church and WANT to invite our friends to "come and see!"
Too often we think that we just need a new program, a better logo, flashier graphics, a hip leader, lights and smoke machines, pizza parties, a big sign, lots of advertising, the list goes on and on of the ways we can market the church. Don't get me wrong, some of these things are important, but at the end of the day, the churches that have significant growth are the churches where invitation is part of the culture.
When we talk about invitation, we aren't asking you to go out and proselytize and convert people. In fact, the people who are already a part of a church or faith community are not the goal! An invitation can be as simple as this, "How would you like to join me at my church this weekend? It is a terrific community of people who care for each other and I have found it to be an uplifting and life-giving community." Especially in this current political climate, the church can be a place for people to find peace, rest, to mourn, to celebrate, and seek comfort. Those coming don't have to believe. They don't have to commit to anything. All you are asking is if they want to "come and see." And the invitation doesn't have to start with worship. Invite them to wine tasting, theology pub, making lunches for the shelter, book club, game night, or any other gathering of our community where they might make connections and develop relationships. What if they say no? You dust your feet off and move on. That is the beauty of it, there is no harm done!
But, if you aren't ready to make an invitation quite yet, maybe consider the ways you can include and welcome new people when they do come to visit us. Recently, I read a post on social media that had the 3 rules of engagement when attending church.
They are:
An alone person in our gathering is an emergency
Friends can wait
Introduce a newcomer to someone else
What would it look like if each of us followed these rules every Sunday? This is a game changer in hospitality and welcome. Our invitation goes beyond just "come to church" and demonstrates a deep desire for community, community where everyone matters.
The Great Commission is given to us by Jesus who says, "...go and make disciples of all the nations..." We are called by Jesus himself to tell others the Good News. The best way we can do that is with an invitation to "come and see." Now more than ever, our world needs to hear the Good News of hope from the one who comes with mercy, compassion, and grace. People are hungry for it. Loneliness is an epidemic in our world. Community is more important than ever. So, who are you going to invite?
Want more? Check out this podcast episode about a church that has grown from 0 to 700 in just 14 months!