Grace Community Christian Church

 

Archived Things Above

If You Invite Them, They Will Come (1/1/04)

If you build it, they will come. That was the refrain that drove Kevin Costner in the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams. Turns out a similar refrain is true about the church: If you invite them, they will come.

Thom Rainer has written a book called, The Unchurched Next Door, in which he details the results of several hundred in-depth interviews with "un-churched" people. One of his most surprising findings was just how open unchurched people are to coming to a church service!

He writes, "82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if they are invited." An invitation can be something as simple & straightforward as, "Hey, would you like to go to church with me Sunday?" Or, it may be, "Would you like to meet me at the church & I'll show you around?" Nothing fancy. Just plain basic, basic, basic.

While this news is exciting & filled with potential, the downside, according to Rainer, is that only 21% of active churchgoers invite anyone to church in the course of a year. Factor in the church members who only have their name on a roll, & the number drops to 2%.

The significance for us is obvious: If we want to continue to grow & reach our community for Christ, you hold the key! Sure, I'll continue to do my best to provide programming & messages that connect with your guests when you bring them, but if you're not asking people to come, on a regular basis, it isn't going to matter what I or anyone else does.

Unchurched people's receptivity to spiritual discussions & answers is at an all time high. Materialism has left them empty. 9-11 has left them confused. Politics has left them cynical. They're curious about authentic, biblical Christianity, but no one's made the move toward them yet.

Rainer concludes: "When is the last time you invited an unchurched person to church? When is the last time you offered to meet someone & show him or her around the church? The answers you give could make the difference in the eternal destiny of an individual. Perhaps it is time we sounded the clarion call to invite the unchurched to church. It may be that simple, & it may be that profound."

If you invite them, eight out of ten of them will come!


Jim Dewar --