Go ahead, invite someone!

Dear Horizons Community:

Just wanted to touch base with you before Sunday. Even though we can always invite our friends to worship with us (most of us do it some of the time and some of us do it most of the time), the truth is that we all tend to put it off. We think about, but don’t always follow through.

So invite-a-friend Sunday, September 10 is just a way of getting us off our procrastinating buttresses and getting us into inviting.

Inviting is modeled often in scripture.

Andrew invited Peter to see Jesus; Philip invited Nathanael (John 1:40-50). The Samaritan woman invited a whole town full of people (John 1:29) and many of them believed (John 1:39). Four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus, where he found both forgiveness and healing (Mark 2).

You are already making an impact on several people in your social network, even if you don’t know it. God has sent you into their world. Bringing them to a service at Horizons is one more way you can continue the conversation.

This morning I received an email from someone who attends Horizons and had recently brought a friend. This friend had attended Sunday school as a child but had since then lost all contact with the church. The friend found Horizons less intimidating and easier to connect with than imagined. God used the invitation to help this friend get started seeking Christ again.

So, I’m asking you to ask God who you might invite this week. Somebody at work. A long-time friend. A neighbor. A relative. Someone you know through an organization or one of your kids’ activities.

This Sunday’s message in the series “Living Truth” will be “Learning Contentment.” The main idea is that contentment isn’t about how much we have or don’t have. Contentment is more about knowing what it is we really need and discovering that Christ is there for us.

And BTW- I promise that during the services on September 10, we won’t mention that it’s “invite-a-friend Sunday,” so the people you do invite won’t think we don’t want them the other 51 Sundays of the year, if you catch my drift. Anyway, see you Sunday.

Steve Todd