1. People are Most Willing to Come to Church On Easter Sunday
According to a poll by LifeWay research the three highest attended church services happen on Easter, Christmas, and Mother's Day. Easter being the highest.
Pew Research says that Americans google "Church" around Easter more than any other time of the year.
2. People Like Personal
67% of Americans say a personal invitation from a family member would be very or somewhat effective in getting them to visit a church.
63% of Americans say a personal invitation from a friend or neighbor would be very or somewhat effective in getting them to visit a church.
As we've noted before, these numbers tend to increase around Easter when many are looking for a church. According to Thom Rainer 8 out of 10 people will say "yes" to a personal invite to church.
3. People Get Left Out
According to Thom Rainer (In his book "The Unchurched Next Door") 7 out of 10 unchurched have never been invited to church. It seems to me that there are quite a number of people who would come to church if only they were invited. A small gesture could put someone on a whole new trajectory.
So far we've talked about why you should invite people to church from the perspective of culture but let's take a few moments to examine why a church invite matters from the perspective of God's kingdom.
4. The Defining Moment
Easter is the most important moment of Christianity. Everything hinges on whether or not Christ bodily rose from the grave. If Jesus' body were ever discovered it would be proof that Jesus existed BUT it would also be proof that his claims and the claims of his followers were completely false. All of Christianity depends on Easter being true.
Inviting someone to be a part of this significant day is an invitation to remember that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
5. The Primary Means of Grace
The Church is recognized by most theologians as being "The Primary Means of Grace." In other words - God uses the Church more than any other "means" to do His work. God's grace is primarily given to others through The Body of Christ.
Now you're right to think that the church is not "a building" nor is it "one hour on a Sunday morning." But the fact of the matter is - the Body of Christ (the Church) manifests herself as local congregations who worship together on Sunday morning. AND it's here where we celebrate Baptism, Communion, public reading of scripture, the teachings of the apostles, and more (most of which, you can't get anywhere else). Yes - Sunday morning church service (despite how overly commercialized some may appear to be) are a powerful means of grace in which the Holy Spirit is given an abundance of opportunities to work in the hearts and lives of men and women.
Convinced? Here's how to do it: