“How much does it cost to check my kids in on a weekend?”

“Where do I schedule an appointment to come to your services?”

“Who’s allowed to come to your church?”

I think I find myself assuming that people understand what church is like and how to engage in weekend experiences for themselves and for their family. I make the assumption that if they’re not here it’s because they’ve considered it with the right information and decided it wasn’t for them. My expectation, if I don’t challenge it, is that an invitation from me really doesn’t make a difference. Those assumptions are wrong.

The questions above were asked by real people who live unbelievably close to us and are far from God. The assumptions we make about their understanding are often way too high given their lack of experience with church. Many of the people we interact with are brilliant and insightful but they just don’t go to church and we think they know what we know about church. They just don’t.

Around Easter a lot of people are hoping to go to church but they need some help to know where it’s safe to go and what it means to participate in something for that day. More than that, they want to know if there are people they know that can help them understand how it all works and to invite them into a connection with God beyond that one day.

Here’s where we come in. We get to care about the people that are close to us but far from God enough to share an invitation to church.

As Easter approaches, are you willing to change your schedule and habits to invite a coworker, neighbor or family member to experience Easter in a new way? They may have left church a long time ago or never gone at all but you could be the reason they give God another chance this Easter.

You could be the spark in their life that God uses to change the rest of their life and eternity—with an invitation and willingness to answer any question they have. I’m praying God puts a hunger in you to do just that this spring.