Oh, if I just get my friend to visit my church, they’ll want to follow Christ. If you ever catch yourself having this thought, it’s important to pause and examine it. Why do you think that is?
Is it because you think your pastor is an incredible communicator who can share share the gospel so much better than you? In 1 Corinthians 2, the apostle Paul writes about how he purposefully preached a simple, non-flashy sermon.
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
All he did was preach Christ crucified, shared from his weakness, didn’t have all these pre-worked out arguments for debate, and showed the power of God. And he says that that’s actually better for them because their faith was placed on Jesus and not this incredible speaker. Sounds like you don’t need to drag someone to a fancy preacher for them to meet Jesus.
Do you want to take them to church because you think If they just met this wonderful community, felt accepted by these loving and grace-filled people, they would want to join. You’re part of that church. They’ve met you. They can experience those things by knowing you.
Discipleship and evangelism aren’t the responsibilities of only pastors. We ALL are called to share and to help others grow. Inviting someone to church doesn’t count.