Over the years, numerous studies has shown that our unchurched friends and
neighbors are open to attending our churches simply if they were personally
invited. So why aren’t our church members making it their conscious goal to
invite people they have a relationship with to attend a church service with
them. Chuck Lawless, Professor of
Evangelism and Missions at Southeastern Seminary, has listed these 10 reasons
(in no particular order of importance) his team
of church consultants have heard in their interactions with church members:
1.
“I just don’t think about it.” – Many church members have
contact with the unchurched every week, if not every day. They go to school
with them, work with them, live beside them – and sometimes live with
them. What church folks don’t do, though, is see the unchurched as “sheep
without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36), as spiritual beings in need of redemption and
a church family.
2.
“I’m afraid I’ll be rejected.” – Nobody likes to be turned
down, especially after taking the risk to invite somebody to church. It’s just
easier to avoid that possibility by not inviting anyone at all (interestingly,
church members could tell us times when others said “no,” but few could tell us
of times when they were rudely or unkindly rejected).
3.
“The music isn’t that good.” – Some may argue the worship
wars are over, but the battles seem to be ongoing. Our teams continue to hear
refrains like, “it’s too loud,” “it’s too boring,” “we sing it over and
over again,” and “nobody knows the songs.” Church members who themselves don’t
enjoy the music don’t readily invite others to join them.
4.
“The preaching isn’t strong.” – This response was seemingly
the most painful one to admit. Church members who love their pastors do not
want to hurt them, but they spoke honestly to our consulting teams. When the
preaching is poor, invitations to the unchurched decrease.
5.
“We’ve got too many church problems
right now.” – Church
members don’t always know all the issues facing a congregation, but they
frequently recognize when something “just isn’t right.” They see the attendance
decreasing, or they hear of internal conflict. Simply stated, they do not
invite their friends onto a battleground.
6.
“Our church is already too crowded.” – This issue is particularly an
American one, as Americans protect our personal space. We don’t like being
cramped, even in church. Moreover, we don’t want to have to search for a
parking space before entering that already crowded building. One way to avoid
more crowding is to stop inviting anyone.
7.
“Nobody ever challenged me to invite
anyone.” – This
reason is related to the first one on this list. Some church members never
think about inviting others because no one has challenged them to do so. This
response is especially tragic if many unchurched would respond affirmatively to
an invitation.
8.
“I don’t know how to start the
conversation.” –
Simply inviting somebody to church would seem easy, but that’s not the case for
many church members. In a culture where discussing religion or politics is
almost forbidden, even long-term Christians struggle with initiating an
invitation to church.
9.
“It’s the Spirit’s job—not mine—to bring
people to church.”
– To be fair, we have heard this response primarily from congregations seeking
to avoid any “man-centered” approach to evangelism. In their zeal to keep their
focus on God, they walk cautiously when considering their role in evangelism –
including simply inviting others to church.
10. “It’s
too far for people to come.”
– We live in a mobile culture that promotes church attendance sometimes quite
far from where we live. Our teams have learned, however, that church members
who drive a long distance are less willing to invite others to drive that same
distance.
As you look over these reasons
(and I’m sure there are others you could add) you could put them into one of
several categories:
A.
Ones
a church member can control
B.
Ones
a church (staff) can control
C.
Ones
you can’t control
How
would you categorize these, particularly the ones you can control or help your
church members to control?
When
will you begin to make the changes necessary in those two areas?
THINGS YOU MIGHT
BE INTERESTED IN ….
FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
DIRECTORS: National Sunday School Director Seminar, October 25, FBC/Vidalia - http://www.lifeway.com/Event/Leadership-Training-National-Sunday-School-Director-Seminar-2014-Vidalia
FOR MINISTERS OF
EDUCATION: Minister of Education Roundtable at FBC/Woodstock, October 22 &
23 – Allan Taylor
is calling Ministers of Education to come together to discuss how to disciple
people with intentionality; call Angela at 678-494-2861, for details and registration
FOR
BIBLE STUDY RESOURCES: Download the new LifeWay catalog - http://www.lifeway.com/n/publisher/lifeway-christian-resources
FOR BIBLE
STUDY: 2015 January Bible Study: Deuteronomy, A Challenge to a
New Generation - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/January-Bible-Study?intcmp=jbs-erdr-314
FOR KIDS MINISTRY: Worship for Life: Kids, a large group,
media-driven, interactive worship experience for kids. - http://www.lifeway.com/Keyword/worship+for+life
FOR KIDS MINISTRY: ZIP for Kids, a tool for after school project or
community ministry - http://www.zipforkids.com/
FOR KIDS MINISTRY: Kids and Baptism - http://www.lifeway.com/kidsministry/2014/07/01/swimming-at-church-kids-and-baptism/?emid=lcurtis-LWK-newsletter-20140730
FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: LifeWay Girls Conference, Nashville, TN,
February 20-21, 2015 - http://www.lifeway.com/Event/Student-Event-LifeWay-Girls-Conference-Nashville-TN
FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: Becoming a Young Man of God by Ken Rawsom - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/becoming-a-young-man-of-god-an-8-week-curriculum-for-middle-school-guys-P005148051
FOR WOMEN’S MINISTRY: A Beautiful Mess by Sherry Surratt &
Tracey Eyster - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/A-Beautiful-Mess?emid=BL-BeautifulMess-20140724
FOR WOMEN’S MINISTRY: The Family of Jesus by Karen Kingsbury - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/the-family-of-jesus-bible-study-leader-kit-P005679770
FOR WOMEN’S MINISTRY: Sermon on the Mount by Jen Wilkin - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/the-sermon-on-the-mount-leader-kit-p005644877
FOR WOMEN’S MINISTRY: Children of the Day by Beth Moore - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/Children-of-the-Day?emid=PD-Product-BSI-ChildrenoftheDayhero-20140424
FOR SENIOR ADULTS: Fall Celebration at Ridgecrest, NC, October
14-17 – http://www.lifeway.com/n/Adults/Senior-Adults?type=events&intcmp=SRAdultsSpec-MTX-Text-Events-20140417
FOR
DISCIPLESHIP/SMALL GROUPS: Digital
Short Term studies you can download - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Special-Emphasis/Digital-Leader-Kits?emid=BL-Product-BSI-DigitalBundles-20140605
FOR
DISCIPLESHIP/PARENTING: Ready to Launch by J.D. & Veronica Greear - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/ready-to-launch-leader-kit-p005644089
FOR DISCIPLESHIP:
Overwhelmed by
Perry Noble - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/overwhelmed-bible-study-kit-P005644093
