Inviting People To Church

With Easter coming up on April 8, now is an excellent time to begin to invite people to church.  Our mission at Christian Life is to Connect People to God.  Each of us is called to share our faith and what better way than to invite a friend, family member, or neighbor to the place where you connect with God.  Here are a few helps for inviting someone to church.

• Big days. Days like Christmas and Easter are perfect times to invite someone to church.  Also, watch for other days throughout the year that lend themselves to inviting someone.
• Special events. There maybe a breakfast, seminar, outing, etc. that peaks someone’s interest.
• Kids. We have an stellar children’s and youth ministry at Christian Life with a wide variety of regular and special activities.  
• Lunch. Don’t forget to take your guest out to eat after the service.
• Share a card.  Take a blue card from the lobby and let them know how they can connect with the church for a service, online, or on the radio.
• Check out our website.  Share our brand new website in order to let people know about our church.
• Just ask.  Research teaches us that most people will come to church if they are invited.  Just ask!
• Pray.  Pray about who you should invite and that God would make their hearts hungry for Him.
• Keep asking.  God honors perseverance.  

AND, remember the A, B, C’s of inviting people to church.
A - Always look for opportunities to invite others. 
B - Be ready to seize the opportunity when it arises. 
C - Communicate in such a way that says you care. 
D - Don’t be pushy; there will be future opportunities.

It's Good To Be Back (Part 2)

Last week I began to share some things I learned about attending church as a family while I was on sabbatical. Allow me to share a few more thoughts with you that will help you and your family make the most of your weekend church experience.

• When coming to church, focus on what God wants to do in and through you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Each weekend God is looking to do something supernatural in your life. Are you open to Holy Spirit’s work today? Prepare your heart and the hearts of your family to receive.

• Connect with the people around you at church. For me, it was difficult to come into a new church and not know anybody. A kind greeting or helpful directions made the experience more comfortable and enjoyable. Be friendly at church. Share God’s love with others.

• Enjoy the experience of worship. Make church a good experience for you and your family. Remember you are getting the opportunity to connect with God and His family.

• Talk about church on the way home in the car or at lunch. Speak positively about what God did during the service. Rehearse for one another what you received from worship, prayer, and/or the Word.

• Invite someone to church with you. Pick them up. Sit together. Take them to lunch. Share your faith with a friend.

• Remember, you have influence. Your attendance and church experience will impact your spouse, children, friends, etc. Make your influence on those around you positive as we seek to connect with God at Christian Life.

Sabbatical - Part 1

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

Isaiah 30:15 (NKJV)

Beginning on June 14 I will be leaving on a two month Sabbatical, a time of purposed rest, reflection, and growth. For the past several years I have been hearing and reading about the necessity of sabbaticals within pastoral ministry. I sometimes joke, it’s great to have a job that you only work one day a week, but to be honest, if served faithfully, the role of pastor can be one of the most demanding jobs in the world. It demands a wide variety of skills, it is physically, emotionally, and spiritually taxing, and it is both so regular (weekly services and meetings) and so variable (crisis management) all at the same time.

During a sabbatical the pastor is relieved of all of the routine and emergency duties so that there can be rest and refreshment with God. This is more than just an extended vacation. A sabbatical is specifically aimed at reinvigorating and renewing the mind and heart of the pastor through research, reading, purposeful travel, writing, etc. Along with connecting with God I will plan to connect with family as well as spend time studying in England at the University of Oxford Summer Programme in Theology.

We have an awesome staff and church family that will carry on the work of ministry while I’m gone. I have been planning this time away since last year and the summer months into the fall season have been planned with great services and events that will connect people to God, connect people to people, and connect people to their calling.

I will miss you while I’m gone. I have to admit, in a way I’m scared to be gone for so long. I love our church! I know that every time we gather together in His name He is there in a supernatural way. I can’t wait to come back and share with you what God taught me during my sabbatical.

Church

I will build my church…
Jesus - Matthew 16:18 (NIV)


Church was God’s idea. We connect with God at church. Jesus promised us that He would lead, build, and give victory to His church. Just read Matthew 16:17-19 to see the amazing things Jesus says about His church. When we gather together in His name Jesus said, “There I am in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) What a promise! Every week we can experience the very presence of God with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But unfortunately there are so many that miss out on the blessing, power, and presence of God because they do not regularly come to church. There is no substitute this world can offer. There is something supernatural that happens when we gather together with other believers and expect God to show up.

We live in a crucial moment in history that makes it more important than ever to be in church and yet satan has duped so many into believing that you can have be a part of the family of God but you don’t need the church. It is impossible to have vital, growing, and full relationship with God apart from His people.

We need each other. We are to encourage one another (1Thess. 4:18), comfort one another (2 Cor. 1:3, 4), and bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). You can’t do that independently from the church.

Christian Life Church’s mission is to first connect people with God. The second part of our mission is to connect people to people, which is what God meant for the church to do. Today let’s worship God together and take time to connect with the family of God.

Connecting With God

God’s great blessing was upon them all.
Acts 4:33b (NLT)


Our mission at Christian Life Church is to connect people to God. Our relationship with God is the most important relationship any one of us will ever have. It is the relationship that we were created for. It is the relationship that shapes our life’s destiny. It is the relationship that will determine our eternity. Therefore, connecting with God is of the utmost importance for us all.

I recently asked our leadership teams how they connected to God. I received a wide variety of answers as they shared their favorite ways to connect with God. One of the reoccurring ways was through attending church. Whether it was the worship, the Word, the prayer around the altar, or the fellowship, each one described how important this aspect was to their Christian life.

Our verse for this Bible Blog comes at the beginning of the Book of Acts. The Day of Pentecost had come. The new Christians were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. They gathered together sharing their lives in community. The apostles were teaching boldly about Jesus. It sounds like an amazing moment in early church history. It was a time of true unity and great power. And Acts 4:33b says, “God’s great blessing was upon them all.”

I know that we all desire God’s blessing in our lives. We love to feel Him close, His presence working in and all around us. There is no doubt that God’s blessing is in our life when we gather together with other believers as the church and experience Him.

As we seek to connect with God let’s remember Hebrews 10:24-25, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…”

second sunday 1

For the vision is yet for an appointed time…though it tarry, wait for it.
Habakkuk 2:3


second sunday
is coming!

www.clcwest.org


Over two years ago I shared with our church on a vision night about a new direction that God was calling our body. Through prayer, study, and wise council I believe God is calling our church family to plant a second campus of Christian Life Church. We would be one church, with one vision, in two locations.

The campus we are planting is in the far western suburbs. God has moved some of our church people out west from South Elgin up to Crystal Lake. Most of these families still make the long drive every week to our Mount Prospect campus. What we have at Christian Life is very special and there is a tremendous need for vibrant Spirit-filled churches in one of the fastest growing areas in our nation.

For the past two years, I have been meeting midweek with a small group of people. Along with Bible study we have been praying and planning for the future. Our elders and pastors council have been discussing the future of this new campus plant. The time is right (I’ll share more about that later) and God is calling us to begin weekend services this fall.

We will begin with one weekend service a month. The second Sunday of each month we will conduct our first services out west. The weekend schedule at the Mount Prospect will remain the same. The west services will be later in the day. Even though most people reading this will never attend the west campus, please pray that many people, in this growing community, will connect to God through CLC West. Read the Bible Blog the next several weeks and listen during the weekend services as we unfold the vision of the west campus.

Draw nigh to God

Then say to him, “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert.”
Exodus 7:16 (NIV)

Our kids came back from camp this week. They had a great time. It was good to have Luke back home and to hear about everything that happened at camp. The fun he had, the new friends he made, and how he met with God. The time spent at camp as a young person can be life changing. I remember my camp experiences with fondness. And there is no doubt that my spiritual experiences at camp have profoundly shaped my life.

As you can tell I think summer church camps are valuable. When I was a youth pastor I looked forward to bringing our teenagers each year to camp. Summer camp is that time you get away from the daily routine, peer pressure, and other distractions that can keep one from God. There is something about getting away and getting alone with God.

When Israel was delivered from Egypt God said the purpose was so that they could worship Him in the desert. They were in the desert for forty years and it was during that time they truly became God’s people. God provided fresh water to drink, manna to eat each day, while all that time their clothes and shoes never wore out. He provided for their every need. God revealed lists to live by so that they would become His holy people. It was in their isolated time in the wilderness that they learned to love God, hear His voice, and follow Him.
As the summer begins to fade away, have you, like our children and the children of Israel, taken the time to meet with God? It is essential that we make room for Him in our lives. James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” Take time to draw near this week. There is no substitute for time spent with God.