Dear First Pres,
Recently I was on my way to one of the kids' events thinking and praying about making some Easter invitations. One of the joys of having our kids in various activities is that it provides opportunities to build relationships with other parents. Building relationships with new people is one of the things I'm always thinking about as a follower of Christ. By God's grace, in that process, we've been able to get to know some great folks who aren't connected with Christ or His Church - people we've genuinely grown to care about. So, on this particular day, I was determined that I would make an Easter invitation ... to someone.
Sure enough, when I got to the event there was one of our non-church friends. So, I sat down near her and we started chatting in between the cheers and groans of watching our kids compete. And before I had even summoned the courage to ask her about Easter Sunday, she asked me a question about our church. Isn't God good? Her question was more academic than personal, but it gave the perfect opportunity for me to invite her and her family to join us for worship on Easter Sunday. I told her that we have two nearly identical services, at 9:30 & 11:00, and that there is plenty of parking right across from the Sanctuary, and that I was confident our church community would welcome them really well. Her response? "Thank you. I'll think about that." And then, we were back to being cheering and groaning parents.
I prayed about it and thought about it before I got there, but God totally set it up for me. All I had to do was take the baby step through the open door. Now I'll follow up the next time I see her with an Easter Invite card from the Sanctuary entry.
I wonder if you're paying attention in these next few weeks, who the Lord will give you an opportunity to invite. Pray about it and keep your eyes open. God is at work to build His Church by drawing people to faith in Jesus. Maybe this Easter He will use you in the process.
Blessings,
Jeremy
P.S. Don't forget to read ahead for our Judges sermon series. This week's reading is Judges 6.
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