Holy Week (Wednesday) – Extend the Invitation

Previously we looked at possible ways to positively impact a visitor to church before the service begins. Both of the previous posts assume that there will be visitors to our churches on Easter. But will they actually be there? What are our churches, you and I going to do to increase the probability of visitors being present?

A caveat: Every church is in a different context. A workable idea for one church may be a waste of time for another church. Our church is located in a rural area (not in any town). We are 3.5 miles from new subdivision upon new subdivision. There is no “local” newspaper (the paper serving Tacoma is the most widely read) or radio station.

Advertise--Buy the biggest and best ad your church can afford! The ad needs to be in color. It needs to catch the eye of the reader. We have purchased a fairly large, full color ad to run in all of the surrounding papers on two different days during Holy Week. Will it draw anyone to the church? Only God knows. But this I do know… if we don’t advertise we most certainly will to reach the thousands who are moving into the area.

Personal Invitation--Ask someone to worship! This is always the best way. It is also the scariest! Many are hesitant to invite their friends to church. Some are shy about their faith. Others are worried that their friends will have a negative impression of the church based on music, the pastor, the message, etc. We need to invite people to church. We need to encourage our regular attenders to invite people to church. Invite… invite… invite…

These are just two things that we can do this week as we approach Easter. I am confident that those of you out there will have even better ideas.

What is your church doing this year? What are other possibilities you might consider trying? Please post your ideas and comments.