Talking about Jesus. How to start.
Last week I encouraged you to talk to a friend about Jesus and to invite them to church.
I explained that evangelism is a good and wonderful thing and that all of us have a role to play in it.
It’s easy enough to say but what does it mean in practice?
I’ve been thinking over how best to explore this and Bishop Robert Baron came to my rescue on Twitter!
In his diocese in the USA he has set out four ways in which we can all play a part in growing our church – and in doing so growing the Kingdom here on earth.
I’m going to explore two this week and two next week.
1 – Every family who comes to mass should invite another family. Imagine how many more people will come to know how amazing a Christian life can be through a simple invitation.
Bishop Philip North has a great way to do this, he suggests we say to people,
“I’m going to church on Sunday, it’s great – you should come. What time shall I pick you up?!”
2 – Pray for the return of the lost sheep.
There are many people who used to come to church but who have somehow lost their way.
It could be that something happened, that somebody upset them, that things just changed in their life and so they no longer come.
You know who these people are – so invite them back to church. Tell them about the amazing things we’re doing. Christmas is an ideal time to do this.
More next week!
Fr. Matthew
Downloads
Other news
Did you know you can support the parish by giving via Direct Debit? It’s super easy to set up and you can control it over the phone or via the website. It has a HUGE upside for the church as it means we automatically collect the Gift Aid on it (at no cost or fuss to you, the money comes direct from the Government). There are currently only 4 of us set up for Parish Giving but that brought in over £600 in additional Gift Aid last year, imagine if we were all doing this!
You can set it up by calling 0333 002 1271 and giving them our Parish Giving Code – 230 623 503
Envelopes are still also available – please do speak to David if you don’t have a giving envelope and would like to help fund our mission.