Just Ask: The Power of an Invitation

Despite tectonic shifts over the centuries, one of the best ways to grow a church remains the same — the simple act of extending an invitation. According to Thom Rainer’s book, The Unchurched Next Door, 82 percent of unchurched people are at least somewhat likely to attend if asked.

• However, a recent survey by Lifeway found that a growing number of Christians are not extending any invitations to the unchurched (33 percent now vs. 29 percent in 2017).

How can we equip our people to extend an invitation? Here are a few ideas.

Helping People Make the Ask

1. Create a Culture of Invitation

• Churches default to an “insider” focus unless leaders intentionally counteract this gravitational pull.
• Shifting a church’s culture requires consistent messaging and modeling from leaders. Also, because what is rewarded is repeated, shifting culture also requires celebrating big and small wins along the way.

2. Excellence Is Home Base

• People naturally talk about what is important, impactful, and helpful to them. Without asking, prodding, or reminding, your people will naturally invite others to church if it has had a positive impact on their lives.
• Because of this dynamic, it is absolutely critical that every ministry we offer is designed to have maximal impact… and that it is done with excellence.

3. Train People to Make the Ask

• Demystifying the process of making “the ask” can be a fun and fruitful exercise. In one church, we created a humorous video that showed how not to make an invitation, for example.
• A more serious approach might involve offering a weekend workshop about how to have spiritual conversations with neighbors, including a time of role-playing practice.

4. Equip People to Make the Ask

• If you make invitation cards available, your members will feel like half of their job is already done! These cards should convey the culture of your church via photos and include location and service time information. A QR code is an easy way to help people find your website, where they can watch a service and learn more about your ministries.
• You may want to consider promoting the use of these cards during the holiday season or during a sermon series that is particularly relevant to those curious about the faith.

5. Tap the Power of Social Media

• While some people find physical invitation cards helpful, a growing number might be more willing to extend a digital invitation today. Social media has made this easier than ever.
• Facebook, for example, makes it easy to share posts and invite people to events, so make sure your posts are worth sharing! Then, train your people to be digital missionaries by sharing the content you create with a personal touch.

6. Don’t Forget the Power of Prayer

• Remind your congregants to regularly pray for their friends, neighbors, and coworkers. When our people cultivate real relationships and pray for them, they begin to develop an intuition for when an invitation would be most welcome and most effective.
• Often these open doors come when people encounter a fork in the road in their lives — a job change, a divorce, a loss. What an honor it is to be positioned to be able to bring the hope of Christ in these situations!

People are more open to spiritual conversations than we think they might be. You never know what may come of a simple invitation. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. All you have to do is ask!