More and more I’m seeing at the end of the day all we’ve got is our relationship with God and with people. Not the idea of a relationship, but the reality of a relationship. Ups and downs, pain and tears, weirdness and wonder, triumph and high fives. The full package. There’s no escaping it.
We’re launching a church and all that (if you haven’t heard), and the single best way to get people to come with you and eventually meet Jesus is to personally invite them.
But I know most of us are skittish on jeopardizing our relationships
over a church invitation. Most of us are scared to open the
conversation. I’ve been collecting random thoughts on how to overcome
these hurdles. I hope they help:
- Pray for people. If you’re scared out of your pants to invite someone to church, tell God about it. Then ask God to be with you when you chat with them. Pray that God would move in their heart. It’s amazing how God actually cares more about people than we do, but we forget that. So pray for them (and yourself).
- Try talking about church, not God. We all feel awkward going up to someone and saying "so…what’s the state of your heart when it comes to Jesus?" I do, and I’m a pastor. So unless you really feel you need to say that, don’t. Instead, ask someone what they think about church. Then tell them about your church and what it’s like, and you’ll have more than 3 minutes of stuff to talk about. Last week, I had a 25 minute conversation with a 22 year old who hates church and whose body piercings had piercings. Every third word was "dude"…but he and I engaged in a great conversation at length. I was out of our community, but I believe if he would have lived in our neighbourhood, he would have come. You just never know. I’ve had a half dozen very surprising conversations with local people who either will be there or might be there December 2nd and 9th. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know what might have happened…
- Admit you’re an idiot and don’t have all the answers. First of all, they already know you’re an idiot and don’t have your life fully together. Second, admitting you don’t have the answers takes pressure off both of you. After all, very few people get ‘informationed’ into heaven. Most of us get loved there. A real dialogue with real people based on love goes a long way. Be real.
- Talk to them about the kind of church Connexus will be. We are really gearing Sundays to be (at the highest level we know how to) an environment you can bring your friends to. A service where people can hear Green Day and Steve Fee music within minutes of each other and messages that engage real life can be a pretty powerful environment for God to meet people in. Kids ministry kids actually like is another bonus. And telling people they don’t need to have to carry a 32 pound bible or wear three piece suits or bad sun dresses is still a relief to many (remember, they haven’t been to church in 10 years…if at all…and they stay away due to stereotypes). The fact that they might actually fit in will still surprise people.
- Pray some more. Remember…God loves you more than you love yourself and He loves them more than anyone every will. He’s just using you as a channel.
I hope you’re investing in people and inviting them now.
You yourself can get a sample of a Connexus service because this weekend we’re open at both campuses at Connexus.
You can go to Barrie or Orillia at 8:30 or 10:00. It’s our soft launch in both cities — a real service done imperfectly (that’s
kind of what you get every week anyway, isn’t it?). But we’re actually
open. Which is amazing!
As we gear up for the December 2nd grand opening in Barrie and the
December 9th, it’s a chance to invite everyone.
Who are you praying for? When are you going to chat with them? What fears keep you up at night? Anyone say yes already that shocked you?
