Next week, we’ll celebrate Easter at NewSpring! With services happening from Friday to Sunday, there will be multiple opportunities for you to bring someone to church! (You can see what services are happening at every campus here).
This year, you can be a difference maker in someone’s life by simply inviting them to an Easter service! Inviting can sometimes feel awkward, but there are three things I keep in mind when going for the big ask :-).
1- Everyone will spend eternity somewhere Someone will thank you one day for not giving up on them.
Eternity IS reality! Every single person I see is someone who WILL spend eternity somewhere…and I need to embrace that fact with urgency! (See Romans 10:14 and Romans 10:17)
There is amazing peace when you know that someone you loved has been made new and is in the presence of Christ. (Hebrews 9:27, James 4:13-17)
2- I should not say “NO” for someone. Over the years, I’ve learned not to say "NO" for that someone that keeps popping into my head. You never know what is going on in their life and right now may be the BEST time to ask them.
All too often when I really do feel the Lord pressing into me to invite someone to church, whether it's a server in a restaurant or someone I have a relationship with for a while, I want to make an assumption and just say "no" for them in my mind. Seriously, I battle thoughts like...
“They would not be interested in coming to church.”
“They will think I’m crazy if I talk to them about this.”
“Maybe I should just pray that someone else will invite them."
However, what I've discovered is that SOOOOOOOO many people are just one more invite away from attending a service.
We all know that FOUND PEOPLE FIND PEOPLE! With that in mind...let's not say "no" for people when God is saying "yes" in regards to us inviting them to a service!!!
3- I am accountable for the ask, I am not responsible for the answer. The same power that brought Jesus back from the dead is living inside of me…and IN HIM I can do ANYTHING that He commands me to do! (Philippians 4:13!)
You never know what God is up to. If you have someone on your mind, a person that you cannot stop thinking about ANYTIME someone mentions inviting someone to church--then that I can promise that is the voice of God speaking to your heart! (The devil is NOT leading you to share Christ with them and/or invite them to church!) If God is calling you to it then He WILL LEAD YOU THROUGH IT!
The results in ministry are NOT up to you!
It is my prayer that none of us would allow an empty chair to be beside us during our Easter services.
It’s a partnership:
God has called our church to provide an environment where people can come and hear the message of Jesus Christ in a way they can understand. We stripped away rules and religion in favor of offering Jesus and Scripture in a way that actually relates to daily life. It's as simple as you and I being willing to continually invite people—caring enough about them and the work that God is doing here!
Spend time in prayer asking God who YOU need to invite to an Easter Service this year. I promise, it’s going to be the BEST ONE YET!!!