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The community that is now my church wondered where I was when I wasn’t there because they cared about me. I felt honored to be a part of this place. As a full community member, I wanted to invite other people into that experience too.

How can we invite others into our church experience? What makes our invitation effective? I believe these are key elements:

1. Invite people to join you.

2. Invite people to be themselves and to talk about themselves.
When we invite people to join us, we do not invite them to change who they are. Rather, we invite them to join us so that we may together encounter God. Invite them to talk about themselves so you can find out who they really are. We join each other in community life so that we can be enriched by the diversity of our experiences of God.

3. Recognize and name gifts and challenges.
When we invite people to be a part of our community, we do so knowing that the diversity of God’s creation is present in every person. We should recognize their unique gifts and help lift them up in service to the world. We should also pay attention to the challenges people face. Recognize that life happens all the time, and that when we invite people to be a part of our community, we are connected as people of God.

4. Listen with respect.
Embrace people as they are, and listen to what they have to say. The invitation isn’t about the church. It’s about encountering God in the life and ministry of a community.

What if no one invited me?
The people of that particular church welcomed me warmly. Would it be easy to find the same experience elsewhere? What if nobody had spoken to me that first Sunday or made me feel welcome throughout the following week? How could I offer my abilities without being asked? Sometimes, if invitations don’t come, I know that my own passions and boldness can empower me to do something I feel is important in a community. In this way, I model for the community how we are partners in this relationship. It can be scary, but I recognize that a community can grow when it is challenged.

I have once again moved to another city. Before I moved, my old church held a sending service. Afterward, we shared some banana bread at a potluck. They keep me on their e-mail list and they check in with me now and then. One of my first priorities in my new city was to look for a church. I found a community of people who cared for each other, for their neighborhood, and for God’s world. My new church sent me an
E-vite to participate in a blessing service for Earth Day, and we were invited to bring our pets. It’s clearly a place that cares about all of God’s creation, a place for all people (and pets). I accepted the invitation.

Kristen Glass is the director for young adult ministry, ELCA.

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Faith Reflections by Elizabeth Conway

Visit the study page for ideas for discussion and further reflection.

We are called to go and extend the invitation. We need to tell the people around us what God has done in our lives. I know this is not easy, but God has given us the tools we need. One of these is the Scriptures; another is our faith. Yet another is our own life experience.

I recall my earliest attempt to spread God's word. I was out on the playground at school, and I went up to a classmate with a flower and said, “Jesus loves you.” I don't recall what she said, but I do know that I didn't do anything like that again for years. I was sure that no one would listen to me, because I was too young. I could have taken comfort in the words of Paul:

Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

So go and show other believers what this is all about. Don't be afraid to invite a friend to church. Proclaim God’s invitation to the world. It is the best blessing you could possibly ever offer someone.

How do we answer Jesus' invitation to come and follow in our own lives? What can we young Christian women do?

Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
John 12:26

We answer Jesus' invitation with service.

We may serve in our church as a lector, an acolyte, or a greeter. We might donate to a charitable organization with our time or our money. We might serve meals in a soup kitchen or a help build a house with Habitat for Humanity. The possibilities are endless. So get up each morning with one question: How can I serve God today as a way of inviting others to know Jesus?

Elizabeth Conway is a master of arts student at Wartburg Theological Seminary, studying to become a deaconess.