by the Rev. Cn. Mark Eldredge
I’m a die-hard Jacksonville Jaguar football fan. Yes, there are a few of us out there. And yes, dealing with the disappointment of a losing season most years helps with my prayer life! I’ve watched enough football to know that no matter how good the quarterback or other individual players are, if a team can’t do the basics well, they won’t win. The team can have great uniforms, a great stadium, and wise coaches who call excellent plays, but if they don’t put into practice fundamentals like blocking, tackling, and protecting the ball, they won’t succeed. Every team knows they should do these basic things, but for some reason they often don’t. And they lose.
That is sadly true for local churches as well, especially as Anglicans. We can have beautiful liturgical worship, a great building, and true doctrine proclaimed with excellence, but if the local congregation doesn’t do basics well, it won’t be healthy and it won’t grow.
The AAC’s Anglican Revitalization Ministries can help a church successfully navigate all sorts of sophisticated church problems. But much of our work comes down to helping local church leaders remember the fundamentals of a healthy congregation and how to be really good at doing those “basics” well over time. Being consistent on the basics, which we call the VITALs of a healthy church will lead to a healthy growing congregation again. You can read all about these fundamental principles in our Revive Book which you can get here.
In this article, as we approach another Holy Week and Easter, I want to encourage you to put into practice a few of these basics in the next month: inviting people, welcoming people, praying with people for salvation, and following up with people.
1. Inviting People.
Jesus calls us to be “fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). One aspect of fishing for people is to invite them to church. Studies have repeatedly shown that personal invitation is the number one reason people visit and then join a church. Prayerfully identify one or two people that you already know who are unchurched whom you can invite to Easter Sunday worship. You can ask God to bring to mind who he’d have you invite. If you are able to influence the worship over the next few Sundays during the service, give people a quiet moment to ask the Lord to put on their minds who He would have them invite to Easter. If God puts a name or two on yours or someone’s mind, you and/or they will be more likely to act on it and extend the invitation.
Additionally, make up some simple invitation cards for Easter Sunday with the location, service time(s), website, etc. that church members can take and handout to people. It lowers the fear of inviting people when you can hand them something, and it gives the person who was invited the information they need to attend.
2. Welcoming People.
First impressions matter. When a first-time guest comes to your church on Easter, what will their first impressions be? Of the grounds and facility? Of the children’s space? Of the restrooms? Of the way they are welcomed? How easily can they follow the liturgy if they’ve never been to an Anglican church before? Will their impression be one that says, “This place is alive, welcoming, and a place I could belong!” or “This place is not thriving, and they didn’t care that I came or if I come back.” Between now and Easter, make the time to think through every aspect of the Sunday morning experience, from the parking lot to the time a visitor leaves with “fresh eyes.” What will they see that you now overlook? Have everything communicate to your visitors that your church is alive, you want them there and want them to come back!
3. Praying with People for Salvation.
This point is specifically for the one preaching on Easter. Assuming the sermon will proclaim Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin, it is important to finalize that good news message with a clear application of how to be saved. I was taught every sermon should end with a “Will you?” Among other responses people can have upon hearing of the resurrection of Jesus, certainly one of them is, “Will you repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and to receive Eternal Life.” Invite people to pray a prayer admitting their sin, believing that Jesus took their sin upon himself, and asking for forgiveness, committing to follow him as their Savior and Lord. What if there is even one guest on Easter who is unsaved and that’s the only Sunday they’ll ever be in church? It’s worth putting it out there! Go to www.churchrevive.org and click on schedule a call with me if you’d like to discuss specific Anglican ways to facilitate invitations from the pulpit.
4. Following up with People.
What is your church’s plan to follow up with those who visit on Easter Sunday? Do you have a means for them to give you their contact information? If you do and they provide it to you, what is your plan to contact them? What will you say when you do? What would be the next step you’d like them to take that would help them move toward joining your church? If they made a commitment to follow Jesus, do you have a plan to help them do that in your church?
Additionally, if your church is open to doing sermon series, which can be done easily using the lectionary readings, consider creating a series for the Easter Season that you can invite your Easter Sunday visitors to come back for!
In all the busyness of Lent, preparing for Holy Week and Easter, it can be easy to “fumble the ball” on these basic but essential details, which can make all the difference to your local church thriving in the post-Christian culture we find ourselves in.
