Recently, the stories in church have been about invitations to attend a wedding and the invited guests chose not to attend with lots of excuses. Did you ever wonder why people don't come to church?
Some useful facts:
82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited.
Only 2% of church members invite an unchurched person to church.
A study of Americans revealed that 63% are willing to receive information about a local church from a family ember and 56% are willing to receive it from a friend.
How to invite a person to church:
Most people come to church because of a personal invitation and 70% say email would be useless in getting them to visit.
7 out of 10 unchurch people have never been invited to church in their whole lives.
What to say:
It can be hard talking with family and friends about coming back to the faith, especially when they have not been part of the church for a long time. Often the more time goes by, the easier it is to "let it slide."
Don't give up. Perisistence is really important so just keep trying. For example, Holy family has a new 2015 Church Calendar that shows pictures at an ice creme social, babies being baptized and people voluntering at the North java Yard sale and Spaghetti Dinner. This shows people that you really enjoy coming to church.
You want share why you come to your church. To pray and lean about the ways of jesus, to keep in touch with neighbors and bring comfort and warm coats to people in need.
Simply say, "Would you like to join me fopr Mass this weekend? We could have a cup of coffee after Mass. Mass is under an hour and Fr. Matt always starts with a joke and keeps its interesting. We just keep it simple. But this experience recharges me like nothing else.
The number one reason people decide to attend church is that they believe that the people of their church really make a difference in the community.
Let me add after I wrote this reflection in the parish bulletin last Sunday, there is no doubt in my mind, that the people of Holy Family make a difference in bringing Christ into the homes of their families and friends.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they discover a faith community that will warm their hearts and bring them peace of mind and soul. You are always welcomed to come and pray and worship with us at Holy Family in North Java. see you soon! Fr. Matt
