You can help someone who might only think about attending a church service, to actually come. Personally invite people. — neighbours, coworkers, friends, people who use your building during the week, new families in the community, people who attended a previous church event, people on your church roll that you have not reached out to, or someone who may be feeling alone this season.
Consider also contacting families who have loved ones living in seniors’ residences or care homes. Easter can be a meaningful opportunity to bring them to worship and share the joy of the season together.
Holy Week and Easter, next to Christmas, are among the worship services people are most likely to attend when they receive a personal invitation.
Pray for openness to invite others and take action to invite! Invite! Invite! Be creative, planning, how to reach those beyond your doors. How might you offer a warm and genuine invitation to the people around your church whom you may not yet know?
Some communities prepare simple invitation postcards describing what happens in their community of faith and deliver them in the church neighbourhood. Deliver treats or outreach bags to shut-ins. Hand deliver Easter letters to reconnect and invite people. As the weather warms, you might place a table outside your building, invite people walking by to stop for conversation, or offer a small outdoor beverage station as a way to greet neighbours and extend an invitation.
You may already have a printable poster, a social media message, and announcements prepared for bulletins or PowerPoint slides. Canva offers free premium access for non-profits and provides easy-to-use templates.
Personal invitation still matters most. Consider what actions you and your congregation can take to strengthen your invitation.
Also be ready for the visitors who arrive. Review your bulletin and slides to ensure that what happens in worship is clear. Sharing them with someone unfamiliar with church life can help reveal how much church language is not widely understood. Words such as prelude, call to worship, offertory, communion, passing of the peace, benediction, and postlude may need explanation or simpler wording so guests can easily follow along.
A simple invitation can open the door to belonging, growth and new possibilities.
Please contact me, Sharon Ballantyne, growth animator, at 506 306 0500 or by email at sballantyne@united-church.ca. You are also invited to a virtual 30-minute drop in conversation each Wednesday morning, beginning at 9:45 a.m. Atlantic (10:15 a.m. Newfoundland and Labrador). Contact Sharon for the Zoom link.
