12 MARKS

A habit of invitation

Recent research in the UK indicated that around one third of young adults would seriously consider attending a local church if a friend invited them. In one region of the UK, from across the general population, around half of those who would not identify as practicing Christians, described themselves as open to joining a local congregation. Couple that with the fact that those who have recently become committed followers of Jesus, cite the influence and invitation of a friend as by far the most frequent factor in beginning and continuing that journey, and the conclusion is somewhat obvious - we need to be a community of invitation - we need to help each other develop the habit of inviting people who don't come, to come along, and inviting people who do come along, to think seriously about the message of Jesus and their own personal response to that.

We love it when someone new arrives at our church, it's a delight and privilege to be part of another person's discipleship journey, but perhaps we are less good at celebrating the fact that someone has been invited. We may even be reluctant to offer that invitation for fear of the disappointment if they say "no". Disciple Forming Communities are all about developing a culture that cultivates the habits and instincts of faith sharing - so what does a culture of invitation look like?

Perhaps the first question we need to ask is "What are we inviting people to?" If people are going to invite friends, neighbours and colleagues, they need to be confident that what they experience will be warm, welcoming, relevant and engaging. They need to know that they won't have to apologise for what went on or what was said; that their guest will be made to feel at home without being overwhelmed and pressured - that this is a place anyone is comfortable inviting anyone else to. As leaders, we need to take responsibility for creating the right environment, for organising things in a way that anticipates and engages visitors.

Second, we need to facilitate invitation. That means producing good information and attractive online or physical publications. We need to remind people that they might be the only point of contact between a worshipping community and some of their acquaintances - creating space in our services for people to consider who they might invite, how they might invite them and to pray together for those opportunities to emerge.

We need to normalise invitation - organising things in such a way that we expect people to invite friends, allowing them to give time and attention to the people they have brought along - letting that take precedent over any expectations or responsibilities we might otherwise place upon them. We need to challenge behaviours like engaging them in an "in house" conversation while their visitor is left ignored and excluded. We need to see our church routines as something that we offer willingly to others, not guard and preserve for our own benefit. Local shops exist and are defined by the needs of their customers - we might need to re-think our habits and routines in terms of how they serve the needs of those who come.

We need to make our message central. Any church will tell you that they exist to worship and proclaim the message of Jesus, but stand back, take a long hard look at things and ask if that is really the most obvious thing you stand for. When people arrive, do their hear about the love of Jesus or a catalogue of events, committees and in house notices. Look at the leaflets on the tables, the posters and pictures on the walls, the contents of your website - what stands out - the loving and saving message of the cross, or a pre-occupation with human routines, structures and affairs. Remember that a culture of invitation is not just about asking people to turn up and the things we organise, but helping those who do turn up to understand and recognise that they are included in God's invitation to become followers of Jesus not just attenders at the church's programmes.

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