Lisa Cardinal – Parker, Colorado … Over a year ago, a couple moms in my neighborhood and I, along with our then fourth-grade girls, began a monthly Do Good Feel Good Group, where, in addition to good conversation as moms and daughters, we do good things for others.

As friendships grew, I became aware that these moms were unchurched, and I believed God put us in each other’s lives for more than just the Do Good Feel Good Group. I began praying for them and for the opportunity to invite them to Newday Adventist Church in Parker, Colorado.

What does an opportunity to invite look like? Would it be obvious? Would they ask me to come to my church? Knowing that Easter is one of the easiest times in the year to make an invitation to church, I wondered if perhaps Easter might be the opportunity. So, I decided when our next group meeting came around, I would invite them to Newday.

Here’s how it happened: we were sharing back and forth about our plans for spring break, when I asked about their plans for Easter. It was the usual Easter egg hunt, Easter baskets, and coloring eggs. “What about you?” they asked. “What are your plans for Easter?”

There it was. The opportunity. Because I had planned to invite, the opportunity was obvious. “Our Easter celebration involves going to church,” I shared, and I invited them to come to Newday with us. Their answer was a quick, “Yes.” It turned out they wanted to find a church to attend for Easter.

According to research from a variety of sources:

  • Sixty-three percent of Americans say a personal invitation from a friend or neighbor would be effective in getting them to visit a church
  • Eight out of 10 people will say “yes” to a personal invite to church
  • Seven out of 10 unchurched people have never been invited
  • Only two percent of church members invite an unchurched person to church

These are remarkable statistics! Think about it. Seventy percent of unchurched people have never been invited to church, and 80% of those people would say yes to a personal invitation! What if you knew the answer to an invitation to your church is likely to be yes when you invite your friend from work or the gym or your neighbor or a parent at your kids’ school?

Here’s what I believe: when you plan to invite, the opportunity will become obvious.

—Lisa Cardinal is lead pastor at Newday Adventist Church. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez of Unsplash.