How To Invite Someone To Church

Inviting someone to church is a simple thing but let’s face it, the idea of it can be nerve-wracking. There’s some inner dialogue that can happens: How do I bring it up in conversation? What if I get rejected? What if I make them uncomfortable?

Some of us have developed the habit of avoiding speaking about or just hesitant to talk about church. You might feel uncomfortable or even embarrassed about it. Well, here are a few tips that will help you get past these feelings and take the next step to invite a friend, a coworker or even someone you bump into.

1. Pray about it and make a list. Appeal to God’s promise that He will soften hearts to the gospel (Ezekiel 11:19) and ask God to open a door for opportunities to come with those you know. (Colossians 4:3). Pray and ask God to lay on your heart friends, neighbors, classmates, co-workers and family members who live in our area whom you can invite to church. Write down those names and earnestly pray that the Lord open their hearts to the idea of visiting church.  Next time you have a conversation with one of these people, get your radar up for for an opportunity for a casual invite.
2. Be a good friend, neighbor or coworker. God calls us to love our neighbors, even if we do not always get to share the gospel or offer an invitation. Jesus said “The second (commandment) is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31) It is vital that we are a good friend first before extending an invitation to church.
3. Use your device to invite. A text, email or phone call are simple ways to communicate an invite. With the busyness of today’s society, sometimes these methods of communication may be best or only way to administer your invite to church. Here is a short message example:
   

   Hi _________, I’m not sure if you’d be interested, but I wanted to extend an invite to our church this Sunday. We have two services, one at 9am and the second starts at 10:45am.  No pressure, just wanted you to know that there was an open invite. If you have any questions about the service or our church, let me know.

4. Social media invitation. Some of you are like the Sultans of Social Media and masters at posting, tweeting and sharing. You can use the powerful influence you have over your 1900 closest friends by posting a link to our church’s website or social media site and expressing your love for the church.
5. Face-to-face invite. This is the most personal and often, the most effective way of inviting someone. It allows you to fully express yourself (i.e. tone, body language, etc.) to the person which helps people feel your care and warmth. Many of our friends have skewed ideas about church or just have no idea of what going to church entails. The more we talk about church; the more we help demystify church and break down misconceptions. Help those you know see that church is about getting to know God and his people, not rules and tradition. Talk about the benefits of belonging to a church and share about the exciting ministries you are a part of.Here are a few easy questions to ask:
   • I was wondering, do you go to church anywhere?
   • I’m curious—did you ever go to church when you were growing up?
   • Hey, what are you doing Sunday morning, want to come along to church with me?
   • There is a men’s meet night coming up at my church, want to come along?