“That’s what friends are for, right?” People say it all the time… but why are friendships so important?
– A friend is someone who laughs with you…
– A friend helps you through the hard times…
– A friend tells you when you’re acting silly… and may encourage you to stay that way
– A friend cares… about today and tomorrow.
Friend Sunday – May 1, 2016 – is an annual back-to-church event to give you the tools and encouragement you need to invite a friend, neighbor, or co-worker to visit church.
Sure, it might feel awkward to talk about spiritual things, but your friendship makes all the difference. Did you know that the friendship factor is one of the most important reasons people come to church? A survey of more than 50,000 people over the last 10 years revealed that between 75 and 90 percent of people say they began attending church because someone invited them. This might be a great opportunity to take that step and ask a friend to visit and hear about Jesus.
In a recent Gallup survey 82% of people who don’t attend church say they would attend if invited by a friend, yet only 2% of Christians ever invite someone to church.
I challenge you to do these three things:
- Think of three friends who don’t go to church.
- Spend one minute a day – each day this week – praying for those friends by name.
- Pray that God will give you the opportunity to invite these three people to church.