Gr. 6-12 - Gracepoint Community Church

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WHO WILL YOU INVITE
INTO YOUR HOME?
As I write this, the balmy mid-May weather has given
way to unwelcome showers. However,
I know that warm weather and warm evenings are up
ahead!
That means barbecues and the glorious opportunity
to hang out with family, friends and neighbours.
It‘s a great time to be invitational
by throwing more red meat on the grill and fostering
friendships! It’s a great time to cultivate connections
by practising hospitality. It’s a great time to extend
your friendship circle and sphere of influence by
inviting people over!
WHO WILL YOU INVITE TO JOIN
YOU AT THE KINDLINGS?
The last Monday of each month we host the
Kindlings at Belle’s on 32 nd avenue in South Surrey.
It’s an evening of great food and drink
and lively conversation as thoughtful talk radio
comes to supper! We open the doors at
6:15 for dinner service; at 7pm
we record a show, in which I moderate and facilitate
conversation amongst a panel,
which addresses a different topic each month. Then,
if you choose, you can raise questions or address
comments to the panel.
It’s a chance to ignite a conversation or a chance to
eavesdrop on hospitable, imaginative ideas that
matter. Our podcasts (www.thekindlings.ca) are
heard and downloaded across the planet.
But right here in Surrey the Kindlings event is a “third
place.” It’s a great venue and forum for
pre-Christians and Christians to meet. It can only be
a third place if not-yet-Christians are welcomed by
hospitable Christ followers. For the Kindlings to be
third place community, you need to be invitational!
Who will you invite for supper? Who will you invite
into the conversations?
WHO WILL YOU INVITE
TO ALPHA?
ALPHA is tailor-made for people to explore the claims of
Jesus in an unpressured way over a meal.
It’s a place for people on a spiritual quest to explore and
kick the tires.
It’s a course where no question is too simple and no
question is too hostile! As we look to run our ALPHA
courses in the fall, why not think and pray about who you
can invite? We don’t want ALPHA to be a night out for the
already convinced. Let’s pray and invite our pre-Christian
friends, family, and neighbours. Let’s see the impact of a
simple invitation!
WHO WILL YOU INVITE TO EXPERIENCE
WONDERFAIRE?
Wonderfaire is a great place for kids to have a blast
and discover God’s love and God’s purpose. It is a
wonderful opportunity to make an eternal difference
in young lives. Encourage your kids to bring their friends.
Be invitational and let your neighbours know that
Wonderfaire is on the horizon.
WHO WILL YOU INVITE TO JOIN YOU AT
GRACEPOINT ON A SUNDAY?
You might think people are hostile to religious institutions
and don’t like the church. You may
believe an invitation to a co-worker or friend
would be instantly rejected. The wild truth is that
people are more open and receptive than you think!
Seven years ago, Thom Rainer, in his book, The Unchurched
Next Door, made an astonishing claim.
He asserted that 82 percent of the unchurched are at least
“somewhat likely” to attend church if they are invited. That
is wild! More than eight out of ten of the unchurched said
they would come to church if they were invited. We know
our spiritual landscape is changing, but we can
still find encouragement in recent findings... A survey from
Lifeway Research discovered that 63% of people are
somewhat or very willing to receive information about
a church from a family member and 56% are somewhat or
very willing to receive information from a friend or
neighbour.
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LET’S GET INVITAIONAL!