Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Ten Reasons I Give an Invitation Each Sunday


You may have noticed that almost every Sunday I give an invitation, encouraging people to commit their lives to Jesus Christ. These invitations take on different forms (i.e., silent prayer, raising hands, repeat-after-me prayers, come forward, altar call, etc) - but it's almost always there. Even when I am talking to "the church" I still give an invitation. Why? Why do this every single Sunday?

Here's why
:

Adapted from Craig Groschel
  • This may be the first, or last, time a person may ever set foot in a church.

  • I believe the Holy Spirit prepares people, and draws them to our church, and their hearts are receptive to receive.

  • Even a lot of church-people don’t fully understand the gospel and need to get truly born-again.

  • Some people trust the church, (or its ordinances), for salvation rather than the Savior, Christ.

  • Seeing others getting saved gives believers another reason to worship and provides a motivation to witness.

  • New Christians can “light our church on fire.”

  • Angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents (Luke 15:10).

  • Hell is a real place and the consequences are too high to not offer an invitation.

  • I care deeply about people.

  • Entire families and workplace environments can be impacted when just one person meets Christ.

It's no wonder that God keeps sending people to PCC - He knows that a godly church filled with godly people are creating a warm enviroment (like an incubator) in which "new births" will occur.