Why do people visit a church for the first time?

 Why do people choose to visit a church for the first time? When you stop to think about it, they may have passed a dozen or more other churches on their way to your service. Why didn't they stop at those churches? There are dozens of possible reasons, but the primary reason is that someone they knew invited them to your service.

Studies consistently find that about 83 percent of the people who attend a church worship service for the first time do so because a friend or relative invited them. Less than 10 percent visit a church because they were invited by the pastor. A church grows when the congregation understands that they are the ones most responsible for inviting people to church.

The church I currently serve recently had a Big Event on Mother's Day. We printed up invitation cards for members to pass out to people they wanted to invite to the service. We posted a large banner in front of the church announcing the Mother's Day service. Every family attending that day received a copy of Lee Strobel's book The Case for Christ. I began a series of messages on family life that will end on Father's Day. Our attendance that day was nearly double our normal attendance, and almost all who were there that day could attend every Sunday if they chose to. Friends and family members of our congregation made up most of the increased attendance. But, the following Sunday our attendance was back to normal.

This points out in a very real way the importance of our church members regularly inviting people to church. So often, a pastor is called and expected to grow the church. If it doesn't happen, people complain, and the pastor may be let go for the lack of growth. Let me be as gracious as I can: It's not his or her job to grow the church! Ephesians 4 teaches us that the work of the pastor is to equip the saints (Christians) to do the work of ministry. Go back and read the second paragraph again. 83 percent of first-time visitors attend because they were invited by a family member or friend; less than 10 percent attend because the pastor invited them. The math is clear.

As a regional minister I was once invited to a church whose leadership was unhappy with the pastor over a lack of growth in the church. The pastor had been there about three years, and the church had not grown in that time. Knowing the history of the church, I was not surprised by that. As the leadership began complaining about the pastor I stopped one of them and asked how long he had been in that church. He answered he had attended there for over two decades. I then asked how many people had he led to the lord or brought to the church. He was reluctant to answer but finally admitted none. I pointed out they wanted to fire the pastor for not doing in three years what they had not done in over 20 years. The meeting ended soon after.

If churches want to grow as most claim they want to do, members of the congregation must begin inviting their unchurched friends and family to attend with them. This invitation must not wait for special days or occasions but must be done regularly and constantly. Please pray about who you can invite to church next Sunday.