Hi church,

It was a pleasure to open God’s word with you on the weekend and encourage us all in being on mission with God as he is on mission in and through us. A couple of things to follow up as we ‘go fishing’ together.

Some research I read the other day surprised and encouraged me: apparently two thirds of Aussies are likely to attend a church service if invited by a friend or family member. And 3 in 10 are extremely likely to attend if personally invited (see below footnote for link to the research).

Easter is going to be a great time to invite someone, particularly with odds like that! We are planning to make the Easter services more oriented towards outsiders for that purpose. So who could you be praying for to invite?

In that same vein, in Term 2 we’re planning to run for 8 weeks an evangelistic series on Wednesday nights at the church for people to explore Christianity. We’ll be running part of the Alpha series, joining forces with some of the other churches of Albany for an advertising campaign in the lead up to it. Again, who do you know who you could invite along? Let’s be praying together.

We’d also love for some Growth Groups to be a part of these 8 weeks in Term 2 to help facilitate, cook and be a friendly presence on those evenings. Chat with your group if you want in, then let me know.

Warmly in Christ,

Damon  

PS What could you say to invite someone? Maybe something like, “Hey, our church at Easter is running a few services. It’s a great time of year to hear what Christians believe and why we think it’s good news, especially in crazy times. No pressure, but thought you might consider joining me…”

OR… “Easter is a big time of year for Christians like me. Have you ever wondered why that is? You’re welcome to join me at our church. It’s no pressure. You can just rock up and leave when you want. Let me know.”

As Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17 ESV).

Mark McCrindle and Sophie Renton (October 2021). Australia’s Changing Spiritual Climate. (PDF) Australia's Changing Spiritual Climate (researchgate.net) 

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