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Invite those you know
Introduction:
*The 21st of this month is Back to Church Sunday which is designed to be a opportunity for us to have a special service dedicated to people who do not normally attend church,
*a time when those who have left the church can be encouraged to return and give it another try.
*This morning I want to address a question that many believers have
“How do we get people to come to church?”
*First thing I want you to know is that one of the most important things you can do to get people to come to church is invite them
*I saw a church sign once that said Where the pastor’s name would normally be listed, these words it said “Minister: Every Member.”
*It is important for us to understand that Jesus has assigned each and everyone of us the task of carrying out the Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
*When we come to understand that is our duty then we will begin to ask the question “What can I do?”
*Maybe some of you are asking that question right now.
*Maybe you feel the responsibility to help people come to know Christ, and know the wonderful fellowship that exists among the believers in the local church.
*However maybe when you ask, “What can I do?” thoughts enter your mind of well I'm just not qualified for any type of ministry work.
*I want to encourage you all that what I am challenging you all to do is not as difficult as we make it out to be.
*All it takes is for us to think of someone we know, and then to invite that person to church.
*It has been said that the number one reason people don’t go to church is because no one has invited them.
*It is very important that we invite people to church, and it’s a simple task.
*Which now leads to the question of who do we invite?
*Well We all know more people than we think we do!
*So my answer to the question of who should we invite is to just start Inviting Who We Know.
*we all know people, and these are individuals that we can focus our evangelism efforts on
*Here is some of those we can invite to church
I. Our Family
Acts 10:24, 44-48
24 And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
*In verse 24 We see here that Cornelius invited his “relatives” and “close friends” to come hear Peter speak
*Then in verse 44 We see that what they heard Peter speak was “the word".
*If we was to look back to verse 36 we would see that Peter spoke about Jesus.
*In verse 39 Peter said they killed Jesus by hanging Him on a tree, which was the cross,
*in verse 40 Peter declared, “God had raised him up on the third day . . .”
1 Corinthians 15:3-4,
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
*Basically put peter preached what is called the gospel message – That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
*Cornelius’ “relatives” and “friends” heard the gospel message preached, and we see here in verses 44-48 that it resulted in people being filled with the Holy Spirit.
*Which takes place when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
*We also see that they were baptized in the name of Jesus
*All of that happened because Cornelius invited them to come to church
*When researchers asked new converts, “What was the major influence in leading them to Christ and the Church?”, they responded like this:
*Church advertising two percent;
*the Pastor six percent;
*organized evangelism programs six percent;
*friends and relatives eighty-six percent.
*All of this proves that Our family members and friends are groups of people that we can influence & invite to church to hear the gospel preached; and when they hear the gospel message it can change their lives forever!
**Let’s take a brief look at our relatives.
*Our family is one of the most difficult groups of people to witness to;
*however, these are the ones we see most often in our lives.
*The thing is, we don’t necessarily have to witness to these people by ourselves.
*All we have to do is persuade them to come to church with us.
*That way they can hear the gospel message.
*Allow me to share another example from the Bible of what can happen when our family gathers to hear the gospel. Concerning Paul and Silas preaching to the family of the Philippian jailer,
Acts 16:31-33
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
*If we can get family members to come to church, and sit down and hear the preaching of the gospel they might just get saved
*If we don't invite them we won't ever know
*Inviting people to church and even sharing the gospel begins in the home and with our family members.
*A man by the name of Everett Gavel says, “The Christian home is . . . by far the most powerful evangelizing agency in the world . . . By their gracious influence; Christian homes win more converts than all the preachers put together. Give us enough of them, and the world would soon be a Christian world.”
*I want to encourage you all to Begin thinking about all the individuals you know in your own family who don’t attend church anywhere, and ask them to come with you on Back to church Sunday.
II. Friends
Mark 5:18-19
18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
*After this man was cleansed and made whole, who did Jesus send him to? He was told to go to his friends!
*For more than fifty years Billy Graham “has been helping believers share their faith through friendships . . .
*More than eighty percent who come to Christ at the Billy Graham crusades attended because a friend who knows Christ brought them.”
*The plan utilized is called Operation Andrew, and it is based on John 1:40-42, which says
John 1:40-42
40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
*The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ . . .
*Then Andrew took Simon to Jesus . . .
*Andrew invited a family member, his brother; to come and see Jesus and we all know the rest of the story of how great things was accomplished for the kingdom through peter
*All because an invitation was given
*In John 6:8 Andrew also invited a young boy to meet Jesus, whose five loaves and two small fish Jesus used to feed five thousand.
*I read online these words that I agree with very much
“Friendship evangelism is the most effective and the simplest way for every Christian to bring people to the Lord.
*I believe If we were to take a survey in most congregations we would find that seventy-five to ninety percent of the people would say a friend or relative led them to Christ.”
*I want to encourage you all to begin thinking about the friends you know who don’t attend church anywhere, and ask them to come with you on Our back to church Sunday
III. Our Neighbors
Luke 15:8-10
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
*This parable compares the salvation and redemption of a lost soul, to a woman finding a valuable lost coin.
*After this woman found her coin, she was so glad that she called together her “friends and neighbors” to celebrate with her;
*This tells us that we should be so excited about winning people to Christ that we should tell our friends and neighbors when someone we know receives Jesus.
*Well I would like to add to that that We should also be inviting our friends and neighbors to know Jesus for themselves.
*Since we have already discussed inviting friends to church,
*I want to focus on inviting our neighbors.
*A sad recent statistic says that “seventy-two percent of Americans don’t know their next-door neighbors.”
*“The typical person knows on average less than three people on their own street or their own residence complex well enough to have a meaningful conversation about personal hopes, fears, or needs . . .
* sadly America is a society that has largely lost the meaning of neighborhood.
*Always staying inside our own homes has become the typical lifestyle.
*I also want to point out that our neighbors are not just the people who live in the homes next to us.
Luke 10:29-37
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Illustration:
I want to share a story that will hopefully inspire us to become acquainted with our neighbors:
“Catherine Booth was the ‘mother’ of the Salvation Army . . . One night, [Campbell] Morgan shared in a meeting with Mrs. Booth . . . After the meeting, Morgan and Mrs. Booth went to be entertained at a fine home; and the lady of the manor said, ‘My dear Mrs. Booth, that meeting was dreadful!’ ‘What do you mean, dearie?’ asked Mrs. Booth. ‘Oh, when you were speaking, I was looking at those people opposite to me. Their faces were so terrible, many of them. I don’t think I shall sleep tonight!’ ‘Why, dearie, don’t you know them?’ Mrs. Booth asked; and the hostess replied, ‘Certainly not!’ ‘Well, that is interesting,’ Mrs. Booth said. ‘I did not bring them with me from London; they are your neighbors’.
*"Hopefully if we were to see one of our neighbors sitting in church beside us we wouldn’t be caught off guard because we didn’t know them!
Galatians 5:14,
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
James 2:8
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
*How well do you do with that?
*I want to encourage you to begin thinking about the neighbors you already know who don’t attend church anywhere.
*Maybe you also need to consider the neighbors you don’t know, and begin building a relationship with them, so you can invite them to church on Back to church sunday.
IV. Our Fellow Coworkers
Acts 18:1-3, 18a, 24-26
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; 2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. 3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
*We see from those verses that Paul began working with two individuals named Aquila and Priscilla who were “of the same trade” as he was which was tent making.
*During this time Paul had the opportunity to share his faith with them.
*Later, when Paul departed they both followed him
*Which means that he had even more time to teach them about Christ.
*When we look at verses 24-26 we can see evidence of their newfound faith in Jesus and their spiritual understanding as they counseled a new believer in the ways of God.
*Paul had a great influence on these two people, and the way he did it was by working the same occupation, or job, with them. And simply inviting them to Christ.
*That Scripture shows us how we should be witnessing to our coworkers as well as friends, family, and neighbors.
*“Consider this thought with me Jesus had one hundred thirty-two public appearances in the New Testament, one hundred twenty-two of them were in the workplace.
Of the fifty-two parables Jesus told, forty-five had a workplace context.
*How many of you have contact with people on the job?
*Some people are retired
*others are self-employed
*many of you still work a public job in which you speak with coworkers each and every day?
*On the job is often where you meet the most people on a daily basis.
*I want you to begin thinking about the coworkers you know who don’t attend church anywhere, and ask them to come with you to church on Back to church Sunday.
V. Time of Reflection
*As we have seen this morning, getting people in church is as simple as inviting the people we know.
*If each one of us was to invite only one person to church, and they actually came, how many would that be?
*We have (number of people) in attendance today. If each of us could actually get one individual to come with us on back to church Sunday then we would have (do the math) in attendance on that day
*that is how a church grows!
*we need to get people in church to hear the gospel message, so that they will have a chance to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Conclusion:
*I also have one other invitation I want to give this morning
*allow me to share the gospel message in a nut shell Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures”
Romans 10:9-10
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
*So with that I want to give an invitation to come to this altar and let Jesus help you with whatever needs you might have
*Jesus can help no matter what the need is but don't take my word for it come and see for yourself
*And then invite others to come and see as well
