Scattering Seeds of Invitation to Christmas Worship

Christmas will be upon us sooner than I care to imagine. With it, as with Easter, comes one of the two best opportunities to invite friends, family and co-workers to join you for worship. Survey after survey shows that most southerners who do not have a church home will react favorably to an invitation to church at these times of year. Even in this post-Christendom age many are culturally conditioned toward Christmas and Easter worship.

 

First: The Basics

Albany State singers at St. Paul's Albany

Have you updated your answering machine to include the Christmas schedule? Is your website up to date with the Christmas services clearly listed on the home page to be seen by any first time visitors at your site? How about the Facebook page with a post pinned to the top giving Christmas service times? You can use one of two Christmas videos I created with some friends for a free eye-catching post with worship times. 

Click here for the videos.  Are there photos there to give them a feel for Christmas at your church? Have you used every free and low cost means to get out your service times for Christmas, such as a targeted Facebook ad, a notice on community bulletin boards, and a notice in nearby community association newsletters? A small (real estate size) sign or larger banner visible to cars passing by can also let those who drive by your church know what time your services will be.

 

Then: The Secret to Getting More Visitors

The single best way to get newcomers to church is a personal invitation from a trusted friend ( See the 1-minute video at right). The secret is, of course, no secret. We know this. So support one another with some tools. This is a great time of year to make sure that you have flyers about your Christmas liturgies and any other special events, such as Lessons and Carols. Encourage everyone in your congregation to give them to friends, family and co-workers with an invitation to join your church family for Christmas. The one caveat is this: even if the person reacts favorably, and even says they will come, they might well not darken the church doors this Feast of the Nativity. Most of us then decide that the seed has been scattered on soil not yet disposed toward growth and then never make another invitation. This is where we can easily fail in scattering seed.

 

Low Key Persistence

It may well take a Christmas invitation, followed by an Easter invitation, followed by yet another Christmas invitation before your friends actually show up for church. Never underestimate the inertia that must be overcome to make the move from not attending church to worshiping faithfully. Keep the invitations persistent and low key, always making sure folks know they are welcome, without ever making someone feel bad for not showing up. That is how such seeds are consistently scattered.

 

Then the Preacher Brings the Gospel Home

Christmas altar at St. Michael's and All Angels' Savannah

Clergy know that these occasions bring newcomers and will be working hard on their homilies to give real meat on which a non-churchgoer can chew (Right? We are doing that aren't we?). Evangelism is not just a matter of getting folks through the doors for the liturgy, but certainly that is a key part and one in which any Episcopalian can help with a no pressure invitation, "Why don't you join us for Christmas Eve? The candlelight service is always breathtaking." How hard could that be? It's easier than you might think.

 

-The Rev. Canon Frank Logue, Canon to the Ordinary

 

PS: It is a great time to use the high level assessment from Invite Welcome Connect