At Alpha we are often in conversations with churches from a variety of expressions and backgrounds. A common challenge that we hear from church and Alpha leaders is “how do we get people to invite their friends and family to church and Alpha?”
A lot of Christians think that they won’t be warmly received when it comes to talking about faith, God, and church. So for many, it feels like inviting people to church and Alpha might hurt our relationships with the people in our lives.
This defeatist approach to evangelism and invitation does us, and the people we love, no good. The assumption that the people in our world are opposed to us sharing our faith makes us retreat, apologise and defend instead of being led by love.
Recent studies show a different story. Last year, a study by the Barna Research Institute in the US found that 90% of non-Christians who have had a digital discussion about Christianity with a friend or family member in the past year, reported that the conversation ‘went well’ and that 41% of non-Christians would be open to participating in a spiritual conversation about Christianity if the experience felt friendly.
The number one reason why people come along to church or Alpha is because they have been invited. In fact, 9 out of 10 people who try Alpha came along because they were invited!