December is a time of invitations. We get invited to one party and then another. We get invited to lunch or dinner at one or another friend’s home. We get invited to concerts, plays, and ballet performances of the Nutcracker. We do our fair share of inviting others to the same in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day. The big question is, how often do we think about inviting people to join in our celebrating the birth of Christ at our Christmas Eve worship? Or how often do we think about inviting people to worship during Advent as we prepare for that celebration? Jesus once told his disciples he would make them fish for people. But if we don’t invite people to join us for worship or other ministry events or projects and expect people will simply show up that would be like going fishing and hoping the fish jump in the boat! December is an excellent month to invite people who don’t have a church home to worship and various other events focused on Christmas. Here are some examples and opening lines you might try to invite them to join you.
Dec 15: Children’s Christmas Pageant: “Our Sunday school children are providing a unique re-telling of the Nativity story and experiencing the wonder of Jesus’ birth amidst all the hustle and bustle of life. With our children being such good friends I think they might enjoy seeing them in the congregation. Why don’t you come as our guests that day and join us? We’d love to have you join us for the 9:30 worship and after we can go out for brunch.”
Dec 22: Lessons & Carols Worship: “Say, our church is holding a really great musical worship on December 22. It’s a Lessons and Carols worship at the 9:30 service featuring all the choirs and guest instrumentalists. It’s really a great way to get into the mood for Christmas and easy to follow along as well. Want to join us?”
Christmas Eve: “What are you doing Christmas Eve this year? Our church has a beautiful candle-light worship each year and we find it sets the tone for our celebration of Christmas the next day. We go to the (insert your worship preference here) because (insert your reason). We’d love to have you be our guest. Want to come? We have a service to fit everyone’s needs: 3:00, 5:00 & 9:00 PM. They’re all great.”
REMEMBER: New members start out as first-time guests. First time guests start out as friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members who were first INVITED by someone they know and trust to join them for worship or a ministry event. Don’t forget to invite someone who doesn’t have a church home to join you this Advent as we prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas.
