Some of the earliest invitations to come and see Jesus are recorded in the gospel of John (1:35-51). Andrew initially meets Jesus and then brings his brother Simon to meet him, too. Simon is given the name Peter. Next, Philip starts following Jesus and also invites his friend Nathanael to come and see. This seems to be the natural response after discovering the one who is Saviour and Messiah.

            Ever since that time, people have discovered Jesus, or have started coming to church through the invitations of others. Most often, that invitation comes through somebody they already know.

            For many of us, it was our parents who first brought us to church and thus invited us to come and worship. For others, it might have been a grandparent or another relative who first invited us and brought us. For still others, the invitation came through a friend, and some may even have been invited by somebody whom they didn’t previously know.

            However, at the same time, many of us have gotten out of the habit of inviting others to come. Lutherans, especially, seem to have relied on immigration and having children in order to grow the church. In fact, I read not too long ago that the average Lutheran invites somebody to church about once every 22 years!

            While this number is probably about right, I’m going to ask you to become “above average” Lutherans. I’m asking you to think really seriously about who you know that doesn’t attend church. It might be somebody who used to go but doesn’t any more, or it might be somebody who has never been to church. Who is it that God has been preparing in your life?

            We come at this business of invitation with the belief that God desires all people to come to him and to share in God’s gift of life and salvation. God draws people to himself, and sometimes God uses people just like you and me in order to invite them to come. It is God’s job to work in people’s hearts and to get them ready to say “yes.” It is our job to come to God in prayer, asking who it is that God has in mind and praying for the courage to be bold enough to ask them, “Would you like to come to church with me this Sunday?”

            Those of us who really don’t want to invite anybody need to ask ourselves what it is that we’re afraid of. If the person says “no”, that’s quite all right. It’s allowed! In fact, last year I invited 4 different people to come for Back to Church Sunday, and all 4 of them said no. However, this does not represent failure. Our job is to extend the invitation. God’s job is to work in people’s hearts. Success equals one person inviting one person. We are called to get into the habit of inviting.

            However, if there are other reasons that we are reluctant to invite, we really need to talk about it. Do we assume that there is nothing here worth inviting to? Do we assume that people will come and won’t like it? Are we afraid that we might need to make a commitment to come too if the other person says “yes”?

            This year, for Back to Church Sunday, be bold and extend an invitation.  It may be that the person you have in mind has been just waiting to be invited. And God will look after the rest.

                        In Christ,