Healthy Churches have members who are inviting.

Let’s look at Romans 15: 7-9. It’s a passage that you may have heard of a lot, especially these words:

Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. ESV.

Since the New Testament original texts were written in Greek, the original Greek word that translates into “welcome,” also means “accept,” and “receive.” 

The word also implies the concept of hospitality, and which I discussed in my previous article, “hospitality is a marker for healthy Churches.”

But, to accept, receive, and welcome, you first need to have offered some invitation to people. In other words, we can’t show hospitality if we don’t start by inviting people to our Church. Inviting is to have people walk into our place of worship or whenever we have a Church activity.

[bctt tweet=”An inviting people or Church understand that Christ is the foundation for inviting others.” username=””]

 

The Foundation of Christian Invitation

 

Jesus Christ represents the foundation for Christian invitation for several reasons, but for the sake of our article, I will only talk about two.

 

Inviting means being and living among the people

 

Being among the people is what God did through Jesus Christ.

Read Isaiah 7: 14,

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. NIV.

Let’s look at the meaning of the term “Immanuel” for a moment.

“Immanuel” stands for “God is with us” or “God is among us.” The best way to understand all this means, and which can elaborate more on what it means to be inviting, let’s read John 1: 14,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ESV.

This Scripture speaks to what most people refer to as “incarnare,” a Latin word that stands for “incarnation,” in English.

[bctt tweet=”God became flesh with only one goal: to dwell among people.” username=””]

And, that’s exactly what Jesus did during all this thirty-three years of life here on earth. Read the four Gospels and you will find out more about how a normal human being he was.

Jesus was born like all of us. He probably celebrated his birthdays just as we do today. Even though he never sinned according to Scripture (Hebrews 4), he might have made a few mistakes most kids, teenagers, youth and young adults make.

As an inviting person, you have got to be where the people are. Whether it’s at the library or your local school. Whether it’s on social media or any online platform where people are.

Healthy Churches understand that they have to be present wherever there are people!

The power of being inviting resides in the following:

• • • Presence. Let them see you. Your community should know you’re there for your people.
    • Fellowship. Establish relationships with the people you meet. Know them by name and allow them to know you by name.
    • Authentic Christian witness. Never apologize about why you’re doing what you do. Don’t feel ashamed when it’s time to tell people about your faith.

 

Inviting Means Leading People to Salvation

 

I know the word “salvation” may have different connotations depending on where you stand in terms of your own reading of the Bible.

But, we should go back to our foundation, which also represents what “being inviting” means. Jesus Christ is our foundation, as I stated earlier.

Let’s take a look at Matthew 1: 21. You also read about the same story in Luke 1: 31, 2:21.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Both pieces of our foundation for Christian invitation point back to Christ as “Immanuel” and “Jesus.”

In Matthew 1, we see that the other name that was to be given to Christ is Jesus with the purpose to save people from their sins. This Scripture represents the universal understanding of Christian salvation.

Christ came to save us from sin!

[bctt tweet=”So, there is more to our Christian invitation. Healthy Churches invite people to their Church so that their guests eventually can experience personal salvation.” username=””]

 

Here’s what you could do about Christian Invitation

 

First, Be among the People

 

Identify the different ways you can be present in the community as a Church. One way to do it is to look at the different events in your community. Then, decide on one or two where you would choose to be there.

I encourage you to do it as a Church board or leadership team. You can also set a team of four to six people. Call this team as your visioning or dreaming team.

Or, you can call it a ministry team. That way, your Church board focuses only on administrative and business related needs of your Church.

Remember that the people on the team you set up, if you don’t have any yet, should not be the ones to do all the work. They help with the above and define what to do, which is going to be the work of everyone in your congregation.

Make it a Church-wide culture.

 

Second, Lead others to their Salvation

 

The ultimate reason why God wants us to be an inviting people is to draw people to God. Our primary role in this process is only to lift Jesus higher in the way we live wherever we’re located, as individuals and as a Church.

Paul says these words,

Although I am free from everyone’s expectations, I have made myself a servant to all of them to win more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the Law I became like a man under the Law, in order to win those under the Law (although I myself am not under the Law). To those who do not have the Law, I became like a man who does not have the Law in order to win those who do not have the Law. However, I am not free from God’s Law, but I’m subject to the Messiah’s law. To the weak I became weak in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some of them. I do all this for the sake of the gospel in order to have a share in its blessings. 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23. ISV.

The question is: “What are you willing to do in order to win more people for Christ?”

In other words, whatever you choose to do, ask yourself, as an individual follower of Jesus, or as a Church, how what you want to do is going to help you serve your community in a way they will feel invited into God’s presence through your Church.

It’s great you have so few empty pews, but how many of the people in those pews have experience their personal salvation?

[bctt tweet=”A personal experience of salvation propels us, not only to be hospitable, but to get out of our comfort zone and Churches to win others to Christ!” username=””]

 

I would like to hear from you

How would you describe “an inviting people” as a marker for healthy Churches? Please, leave your comment in the box below.