Does it really have an impact on personal evangelism?

Inviting someone to church is an excellent first step in evangelism according to Dr. Thom Rainer’s research from his book, The Unchurched Next Door.

“82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited.“

According to the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, the reseach they have conducted also proves that church invitations are worth the effort.

“80% of people who come to Christ were invited to church by someone they knew.”

If that’s not convincing enough, Philip Nation, Director of Ministry Development at LifeWay Research, provides overwhelming evidence.

“A study including more than 15,000 adults revealed that about two-thirds are willing to receive information about a local church from a family member and 56 percent from a friend or neighbor. The message is clear that the unchurched are open to conversations about church.”

Inviting a friend, family member, neighbour or coworker to church may take extra effort. It may cause some embarrassment or the potential risk of rejection. And yet, there’s a strong potential that they’ll tag along next Sunday.

When was the last time we invited someone to church?

When’s the last time you walked over to a coworker’s office or a neigbour’s house, and said, “I’m going to church this Sunday. Would you like to come with me?”

According to current stats, if we were to invite 10 people that question this month, 8 would seriously consider it or at least engage in a conversation about church. So, why is it so difficult?

What are you waiting for?

From the statistics we looked at, we’re doing pretty well if we’re able to invite someone to church. And yet, according to Scripture, we’re called to go further than just inviting someone to a gathering of Believers. At some point, someone’s going to ask us for more information about this guy named Jesus?

• Are you ready to tell them why He’s so important to us?
• Can you explain the Gospel to them?
• Are we prepared to share our story, of how Jesus saved you?

These are very typical conversations that follow an invitation to church, or spring from attending a church gathering. As Christians, we’re called and in fact, required to share the Gospel with the world around us. Unfortunately, most evangelical Christians struggle with evangelism.

Many Christians have no idea how to share the Gospel.

According to the Barna Group, who completed a study with those who identified themselves as evangelical Christians.

“When asked if they have a personal responsibility to share their faith with others, 73% of born again Christians said yes. When this conviction is put into practice, however, the numbers shift downward. Only half (52%) of born again Christians say they actually did share the Gospel at least once this past year to someone with different beliefs, in the hope that they might accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.”

This research is as clear as the first set of statistics, although leanign toward sobering instead of promising.

• If we really do care about the salvation of others, this information should have an impact.
• If we really want to see our friends, family, neighbours and coworkers place their trust in Jesus, then we need to be courageous.

We need to move from thoughts and feelings about sharing the Gospel, to action oriented inivtations and conversations. If the church is going to grow, we’ve got to embrace evangelism!

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

• Have you ever invited someone to church?
• If so, when was the last time?
• How did they respond?