On September 19th, New Guilford will join thousands of other churches in inviting neighbors, friends, family members, and others to join us at church. We are actually registered on the website as a participating church. This is an organized movement that has been in existence for twelve years. It seems especially relevant for these times. While there are many reasons people have left the church, a personal invitation back might just be what they need.
The theme for this year is Hope is Here. There are four different topics of hope that will be addressed on Sunday mornings, starting September 19. This will ‘hopefully’ be an incentive for our friends to keep coming back. Here are a few reasons why we are participating:
· It’s part of fulfilling the Great Commission. The goal isn’t just to get people to church, but to have them either enter into a relationship with Christ or nurture the relationship they have.
· New faces bring excitement. Having new people in the church helps to build momentum. Another exciting thing about new people is that it seems they are more likely to invite others.
· It’s a start of a new habit. Thom Rainer makes this point in Scrappy Church. This isn’t a once and done thing. The goal is once we begin to invite people it will become a part of who we are. Wouldn’t that be great if we would be known as the church that does the pursuing?
· It fits well with REFOCUS 2021. Part of our strategy will be to increase our outreach, that doesn’t necessarily mean doing outreach events. Inviting people to a Sunday morning service is just as much a part of outreach as a Trunk or Treat. If you are reading the Scrappy Church book, you will see that a special Sunday like Back to Church Sunday is recommended.
Over the next couple of weeks more information and resources will be made available to make it easier for you to invite people. I encourage you to start making a list of people God is leading you to invite and pray for them. You can also share your list with me or bring it to our Tuesday evening prayer times.
Let’s make September 19 a special day, one that we can look back on and see as a turning point in the life of New Guilford. You never know, it could very well be a turning point in the life of a friend or neighbor as well.
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