2.3 Bring A Friend

Come and see and sit with me. This is the phrase we have used here at Canvas for a long time to invite others to come and experience what God is doing through our church. Inviting someone to church is not just about asking them to attend a service. It's about intentionally extending an offer of companionship so they feel supported and bringing them into an environment where they can encounter the Spirit of God, sometimes for the very first time. Here's the thing. Every invitation will not always end in a yes, and sometimes the first one won't even be the one that brings them through the door. Persistence is key in this practice. Not to be annoying, but to show the care and compassion we have for Christ and our desire to share that with the people around us. In Scripture, Christ reminds us that we are to ask, seek, and knock. When it comes to inviting others to church, you may spend time in all three areas. It often starts with an ask, a simple conversation about what they believe about church and what their past experiences have been like. Then you may have to seek. This is where you open the conversation and explore their experiences, beliefs, and even some of the reservations they may have about church. Something important to remember here is that when people talk about their experiences with church, they may share feelings and they may share facts. It is very important that we respond to feelings with feelings and facts with facts. Many times we rush to give answers when the person is really inviting us to listen and seek deeper into what they feel. Then we begin to knock, and sometimes that means knocking more than once. It could be one invite, it could be two invites, it could be 25 invites. Our calling is not to pressure, but to keep loving, keep showing up, and keep extending the invitation. This is why we do what we do here when we fill up two vans full of people at treatment centers and bring them to church every single week. This is the same thing that I have seen happen. I can think of an instance where I invited somebody to church, they didn't show up, they said they were going to, they didn't, and then years later, I mean eight to ten years later, they hit me up on social media and said, hey dude, you invited me to church a long time ago and I have come this close to coming probably a couple dozen times but I never have and I would actually like to take you up on that invitation and come this weekend because I see what you're up to and you've been inviting me without inviting me ever since the first time you invited me just by doing what you're doing. They finally showed up, they brought their family, then they invited one of their friends, their friend came, their friend invited one of their co-workers, the co-worker came, the co-worker invited another co-worker, they came, they invited

one of their family members. I've lost track of where it's gone, but you get the point. It all started with a single invitation. So here's the challenge. Over the next week, do something really simple. Have a conversation with a few people in your life who are not currently attending church and just ask them what their story is. If they open up, great. If they don't, that's okay too. Just keep trying with different people, asking, seeking, knocking, and remember it's as easy as come and see and sit with me.