Invest & Invite

We unapologetically believe that everyone needs Jesus and everyone needs a church family.  The number one way that people meet Jesus and become part of a church family is through a personal invitation.  And most often, that personal invitation is accepted because the person has invested him- or herself in the other person.  God has placed people in your life - family, co-workers, neighbors, teammates, a hairdresser, a bank-teller, a waiter or waitress, a grocery-store clerk.  He has given you connections with them so that you can connect them to life in Jesus.  Here are some ways to be prepared to share the hope you have with others and to invite them to get to know Jesus with you.

• Keep 3-5 of "The Card" in your wallet, purse, car, backpack, etc., and look for opportunities to invite someone to worship.
• When someone accepts your offer to come to worship with you, offer to meet them for breakfast beforehand to get ready for worship or to take them out to lunch afterwards to talk with them about the experience.
• Pray for God to give you opportunities to invest your life in the life of another person so that you can know their story, share your faith story, and invite them to know Jesus.
• Take the time to learn your faith story.
• Invite someone to an event like VBS, Men's Retreat, Women's Retreat, Financial Peace University, or a concert at Peace as a stepping stone to inviting them to worship.

	Send an Evite Today! In a day and age of electronic media, you might find an electronic invitation, or “Evite” a helpful way to invite a friend to Peace! Here at Peace, we unapologetically believe everybody needs Jesus and everybody needs a church family to encourage them on this journey of faith. As you think of people in your life who could use an encouragement to grow in their faith walk, you may want to check out our latest tool to help us invest and invite.
	On Peace’s home page , you will find a drop down menu called Get Connected. The last link on this menu lets you Invite a Friend. This link takes you to our Evite page where you have the option of six different electronic postcards inviting folks to six different events at Peace.   You might invite a friend to join you for a sermon series or a Bible study, a retreat or a concert. Different people you know may be interested to different kinds of events.
	Once you have found an event you think would connect to a friend or neighbor, simply click the Evite image. You will then be asked to supply both your name and email and your friend’s name and email. This step insures that the person you are sending an Evite knows it’s from you! (How many emails do you delete in a day if you don’t recognize the sender?) After providing the basic information, you also have a chance to personalize the message. A “Hey Bob, I thought you might like this concert!” or a “Can we take you out to lunch afterwards?” might be just the touch your Evite needs. Once you have added a more personal note, just hit the Submit button and your electronic postcard will automatically be sent!
	Try sending yourself an Evite just to see how it works! You’ll find that the postcard you receive as an email is also a link to more information about that specific event and about Peace Lutheran Church. We want the person you invite to have all the information they need to show up and open up to what God may be doing in their lives. Are you looking for a way to make an invitation? Try sending an Evite today!

Our Core Discipleship Value of MISSION

Mission is one of our core discipleship values.  Click on the mission button above to explore more of this foundational aspect of our intentional discipleship.

Some Scripture Passages on Investing and Inviting

Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV)   ²Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ⁵Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

1 Peter 3:13-17 (NIV)   ¹³Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." ¹⁵But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. ¹⁷It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

John 3:16-18 (NIV)   ¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

John 10:16 (NIV)  ¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Jude 20-23 (NIV)   ²⁰But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. ²¹Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.  ²²Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the average church in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) brings into membership 1 adult by confirmation or less every year?  This is astounding!  At this rate, we will not exist in a couple more generations.  While we do not convict people of sin or of faith in Jesus (that's the Holy Spirit's job), we do have the responsibility of introducing people to Jesus, just as Andrew introduced his brother, Simon, to Jesus.

Did you know that if every person at Peace invested their life in the life of two people every year who did not have a church home or faith in Jesus, this church would be busting at the seams in just a few years?  Think about this.  We average about 750 people in worship.  If 50% of these people invested their lives in two other people in 2010, that would be 750 more people.  Now, let's say only 50% of the 750 responded positively to an invitation to worship - that's 375 new people who would come to worship one time in 2010.  Now, let's say only 50% of those people got connected and became fellow disciples - that's 187 new members.  It's not about the numbers.  Our goal is not to be a mega-church.  Our goal that we work at with all the energy Christ gives us is to introduce people to Jesus!  Their lives depend on it!

Did you know that it is not an option to be a witness for Jesus?  If you are a believer in what Jesus has done for you then you automatically qualify as a witness.  Don't worry, He promises to give you the words and the strength to do it!  Listen to this: 

• Philippians 4:13 (NIV)  I can do all things through Him [Christ] who gives me strength.
• 1 John 4:4b (NIV)  The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
• Luke 12:8, 11-12 (NIV)   ⁸"I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God... ¹¹When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, ¹²for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."