Hello Gloria Dei,
One week from this Sunday is Palm Sunday. Then, one week later, it is Easter. In between Palm Sunday and Easter comes Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. During this week we call Holy Week, there will be many, many visitors coming to worship at Gloria Dei.
Today I simply want to encourage you to think about your family, your friends, and your acquaintances who don’t have a church home. Holy Week is a great time to invite others to join you for worship. Easter and Holy Week are times when those who don’t regularly attend church services are open to go, especially when someone invites them.
I once took a course called “Just Walk Across the Room”. Its purpose was to get us comfortable with inviting those we know to come to church so that they, too, could have an encounter with the living God. The course taught us that we don’t have to travel across the world, or even across the country, to be invitational evangelists. We could simply walk across the street, or even across the room, and invite a friend.
In preparation for inviting others, ask yourself: “Why and how does my faith make a difference in my life?” Or “How has God been present with me in my joys but also in my sorrows?” As we talk with others about faith, it is good to know our own faith journey well enough to share it. You never know what people might ask or share when you get into conversations about faith.
Thank you all for being an invitational congregation. Gloria Dei continues to grow in faith and numbers, largely because you take your faith joyfully and seriously, and you’re not afraid to invite others into a relationship with Jesus. Thanks be to God.
P.S. For this weekend in worship, we have words from Jesus about his Second Coming. Please read Mark 13:24-37.
See you in worship,
Pastor Tim
