The Power of Invitation
My presentation notes:
Intro: What stops us from inviting someone to church? More often it is fear or apprehension - how will they react, what will they say, if they come, will they even like it?
At the same time, you know what this place, its people, and this faith have meant to you. You know the comfort, the joy, the community, the purpose, and the peace. So, we all have a lot of reasons to invite someone we love, not just on a Sunday, but into this community and faith.
So, tonight, I want to explore 5 things:
What has invitation meant to you?
What is an invitation?
Invitation in the Bible: God’s invitation is a start with monumental consequences
How might we empower our invitation?
What would it look like to invite people into our faith?
(1) First, let's explore three questions: Who has invited you? What did that look like? And What has that meant for you?
1) Who invited me: For me, I grew up in the church, so it didn’t start as an invitation, but that is what it became. My dad and some of the parishioners were a fairly consistent presence inviting me back. Then in Highschool, I had a lot of friends invite me to their churches, camps and youth groups.
2) What did it look like: For my dad it was a consistent conversation, we would talk about what was happening at the church, the lesson, growth, and conversations at the kitchen table. Others in the church would call me, invite me, or ask for my help.
3) What has it meant: Everything. It is hard to encapsulate everything, of course, it has led me here and helped to equip me, but throughout my life, it also gave me community, safety, a family, purpose, and my passion for music, theatre, and storytelling. There is more, but I want to hear from you.
End: Story: Mitchell - Musical Theatre
(2) Why can inviting be so scary?
As we look at what scares us, notice that a lot of these are more about how this might hurt us and not as much about them. Our fears can often be selfish. If we truly believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, what could an invitation mean for them?
What is an invitation? Simple, low-pressure offer, but possibly powerful
A hand, a first step, a drawing close
A closer relationship as you invite someone into an aspect of who you are - it is revealing
(3) An Invitation as a start with monumental consequences - Can you think of any invitation in the Bible?
Abraham being called out of his land
Samuel being called by name
King David was picked by God
All examples where they responded to the invitation of God by following him
The Kingdom of God is close at hand
Offering a hand
Come and Follow Me
Tax collectors, prostitutes, fishermen, Paul
I will make you fishers of men
How will they know if no one tells them
(4) Empowering Invitation
How do we invite? What does it look like? Compare it to how we invite someone to our home, for a game, to dinner, or whatever else.
Personal, presence, in relationship
Passionate. Excited. Praising it.
Necessity and importance
What are we inviting them to? How do we describe it? Does it speak to their interests and openness? Is there some other thing we can do that would be easier to invite someone to?
I have acting friends, so inviting them to help with a public reading of Mark seemed like a natural fit
Or inviting friends over for a bible study at our house has also worked
What else would empower you to invite someone?
Flyers?
You could help poster and put up ads as well
Sharing on Social Media (wall or personal messages) when you see something you are interested in
How can we remove barriers? How are we willing to accompany them?
Maybe they need a pickup.
Take time to invite / answer questions
Follow up - partner, meet before and after
Mary - choir and morning drives
Things for you to think about:
Who could you invite? Who do you want to invite?
What stands in your way? How could we make it easier for you to invite? What would you be comfortable inviting them to? What could we as a parish do?
(5) The last thing I want to talk about is not an invitation into this community, but it is an invitation to talk about faith
What scares you about sharing your faith?
You don’t have to know everything. In fact, you don’t have to know much. All you need to know is Jesus, what he has meant to you and how that has changed your life.
In fact, the amazing thing is that sometimes not knowing is a great opportunity to invite someone on the journey with you. As an example, most of my sermons are me inviting you into my journey with Christ and how a passage is speaking to or challenging it.
The other thing we get afraid of is awkwardness.
One of the strange things for me is that I often want to have these discussions, but I don’t feel like it is the right time. So one day I decided, I am going to invite them into the conversation. It was a strange revelation and yet so simple. People could say no and that was okay, but more often people said yes. I remember having a few friends joining me at different bible studies, letting me talk through an idea with them, or giving me the opportunity to share my faith with them in their living room.
Are there any other ways you have or can invite others into your faith journey without forcing it on them?
Ask if you can pray for them - even as they are present
Bring up a question or idea you have been pondering
What does Scripture/Faith say about this present situation and use it to speak into the moment
Ask them about their faith, listen and then share your own
Offer the hope of Christ when you see someone in need
Invitation can feel scary, but the worst thing someone can say is no. I’ve actually been surprised at the yeses I have gotten and I imagine you would be surprised too.
So I want to leave you with these things for you to think about:
Who could you invite? Who do you want to invite?
What stands in your way? How could we make it easier for you to invite? What would you be comfortable inviting them to? What could we as a parish do to help?
Then as you think about these questions, please feel free to reach out to me. If you think of something you and a few others can do, please let me know and I would be happy to empower you in any way I can.
