In the first chapter of the gospel of John, several disciples “find” others and bring them to come and see Jesus. Andrew is one of the first to meet Jesus, and he goes and finds his brother Simon and invites him to come and see Jesus, too. The next day, Jesus finds Philip, and then Philip finds Nathanael, and he, too, gets an invitation to come and see Jesus (Jn. 1:35-46).

            From the first century until now, people have continued to come to Jesus, or come to church (or both) because somebody they know has invited them. In fact, world-wide, this is the most common reason for people to begin attending church. Yet, how many of us are afraid to invite people to come to church with us? And what are the reasons that we don’t invite people?

            After all, if we really stop and think about it, each and every one of us was invited (or brought) by somebody. For some of us, we were brought to church by our parents. For others, a friend or relative invited us to come. Very few of us (if any) came without somebody either bringing us or inviting us. Who was it who invited you to come?

            An international initiative called Back to Church Sunday (B2CS) has been going for a number of years now and seeks to help us to become an inviting church.  This year, Back to Church Sunday is happening on Sunday, Sept. 25^th in churches all over the world. So, here are some things to consider as B2CS approaches.

            First of all, it is quite all right if you ask somebody to come to church with you and they say “no.” Success is not defined as actually bringing somebody with you. Rather, success equals one person inviting one person – for it is the inviting that is the hardest part! At the same time, there are some things to consider before you invite somebody.

            It is important to ask yourself the question, “Who has God been preparing in my life?” Who would be the perfect person to ask right now? Who do I know who doesn’t go to church anywhere and might come with me to St. Luke’s Zion?

            It is also important to pray. Pray for those who will be invited. Pray for the courage to invite. You can even practice asking the question: “Would you like to come to church with me?” Then, simply make the invitation.

            If you’re able to, you might even offer to pick up your guest and bring them with you. This is a lot less intimidating for somebody who is coming for the first time. It can be quite unnerving for people to walk into a church for the first time and not really know how things work or what they should do. When we’ve been here for a while, we tend to forget what it’s like to be a visitor.

            Finally, we need to keep in mind that this is not intended to be a one time visit. Assume that your guest will come again the following Sunday, and invite them again! Having introduced them to some friends over food and coffee, they might even feel more at home the next time.

            Think about this and pray about this, and ask yourself who you could invite to come with you on Sunday, Sept. 25^th. The basic vision for B2CS is quite simple: If every one of us invited a friend and they accepted, we would double our congregation. Let’s do it! Oh – and I almost forgot. I will invite somebody to come, too!

                        In Christ,