Taking that first step and inviting someone to church is just that: a first step. That first step can be daunting, scary, and nerve-wracking. For some people, it takes all the courage they believe they have to invite someone to church or a church activity. However, we are called to keep moving forward – and to move forward, we need to take another step.

    

LifeWay Research recently found that nearly two-thirds of Protestant churchgoers say they’ve invited at least one person to visit their church in the past six months. That is exciting. Imagine what the Lord is doing in the church and in people’s lives because of those invites. Not just for the person being invited, but also for the person who did the inviting. But a recent Barna Study shows that only 27 percent of Christians are “eager conversationalists” who have had at least 10 spiritual conversations in the past year. This study includes the sharing of personal testimonies or better phrased as telling others about how Christ has changed your life.

 

When I think of taking that next step from inviting someone to church to a personal conversation about Jesus, my mind jumps to the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch which we find in Acts 8 36:40. The man was leaving Jerusalem after worship when Philip walked over to his chariot. When Philip gets there, he notices that the eunuch, who is in charge of all the queen’s treasure, was reading Isaiah. Philip asks him a simple question, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

 

The Ethiopian answers Philip by stating, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” He obviously wanted to know more, wanted to dig deeper, but mainly he wanted to understand. He continues by asking Philip who the passage is about and Philip goes the next step. Philip just doesn’t invite him back to church, or to a Bible study, or to a growth group, or to a fall festival, or…well, you get the idea.

 

Verse 35 tells us what Philip did instead: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.” 

That, my friends, is the next step for each of us. To be bold and confident like Philip. Those opportunities are out there and all around us. Unfortunately, we miss them because we don’t even ask the question, or worse, don’t even open our eyes.

 

Jimmy Scroggins, Pastor of Family Church in West Palm Beach, says that, “At some point, you have to have a direct gospel conversation, where you talk about repentance and faith, and you invite someone to repent of their sins and believe the story of Jesus. We don’t think the gospel has actually been shared until someone has that opportunity.”