A Letter from Pastor Mark -May



Dear Friends,
I want to thank you for the way you responded to the request for you to extend invitations to your family, friends and neighbors to come to church on Easter Sunday.  I saw many of you coming to church at the Easter service of your choice, and many of you had guests with you.  Others told me that they had extended an invitation to one or more people, but those they invited had not been able to come.  I still want to thank you for extending the invitation.  Sometimes the answer is “no” or “not yet.” 
I also want to ask each of you to continue to pray for those whom you invited whether they came or not.  I believe is God is faithful and maybe sometime in the near future they will feel a need to connect with the church in some way and maybe that will be by attending worship.  Maybe those who did come will return.
Let me share something with you.  Several months ago we decided to approach our Easter    attendance differently this year.  In the past we have sent flyers advertising the Easter services to zip codes in the immediate vicinity of the church.  In the past we have advertised our services in some local newspapers.  On some past Easters we have put out yard signs on  Southport Road and Madison Avenue with our service times listed on the signs.  We did none of that this year.
Why did we pull back on all of this advertising?  We did that because we decided to put all of our eggs in one basket this year.  We decided to ask you to pray and invite others to Easter   services and then see how God would work through your efforts.  We were very confident that we would not be disappointed.  We were not.  Easter 2014 was one of the largest Easter celebrations that Southport United Methodist Church has ever seen.  The total attendance for our Easter services was just a few people less than a thousand. 

Why was this approach of personal invitation so successful?  The reason we saw such great  results is that well over 90% of people who go to church for the first time report that they go in response to a personal invitation.  Quite frankly, that is how most people start attending church.  Someone asks them to come and they respond.  Study after study shows that people are much more receptive to coming to church if someone they know invites them to come.
Churches that develop a culture of invitation become growing churches.  When people in a church invite others on a regular basis, you know that church will always be receiving new  people as guests.  Will everyone respond to an invitation?  No.  However, some will. 
I hope we will all think about this and continue to keep in mind those people you know who are unconnected to any church.  First, pray for them and then extend an invitation for them to come to church with you.  As we do this on a regular basis, we will be amazed of the impact that we will have on our community.
In Christ’s Abundant Love,
Pastor Mark


Popular posts from this blog

A Letter from Pastor Chris

Dear Friends,            I am excited about the many things that are happening at Southport UMC this month.   There are many things going on at Southport UMC as we continue in ministry to the Southside of Indianapolis, but I would like to highlight a few opportunities, as well as share some information about changes that are coming this month. First of all, because of storm damage we are getting a new roof. This work will begin after September 8 and will take around a week to complete (weather permitting). Secondly, we will begin signups for Journey Groups this month, and I encourage everyone to take this opportunity to grow in your faith through a small group. Finally, at the end of this month we have a great opportunity to share with our neighbors through the Community Fall Festival.   Over the last couple of months we have been learning in worship that we need to share our faith story, and we can only do this through building relationships. Community Fall Festival is an
Read more

ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

You may or may not know that in the past, Southport United Methodist Church has been able to offer a small scholarship to assist with college expenses.   The scholarship was made possible by some past members of SUMC:   Mary & Riley Lynch. We haven’t been able to offer the scholarship for a few years but are able to do so again. If you are interested or want more information, please contact Pastor Doug in the church office. Application deadline is July 15th, 2019.   A decision will be made at that time so there can be no applications accepted after that date.
Read more

SOUTHPORT UNITED METHODIST YOUTH GROUP

SCHEDULE ·   7/7/19-4 th of July Weekend-NO Meeting ·   7/14/19-‘Ice Cream Matters’-Picnic style supper, Ice Cream Treats at Dairy Queen-Bring Money for treats-Permission Slips REQUIRED, Frisbee Relay, Devotional ·   7/20/19-SERVICE PROJECT-Mayor’s Veteran Appreciation Picnic, Meet at SUMC at 9AM, Sign Up by 7/14/19-LIME GREEN T-SHIRT DAY, wear if you have-please, open to entire church and RHUMC Youth Group invited ·   7/21/19-‘WATER BLAST’-Grilled Skewers and Pie, Devotional and Water Birthday Party games ·   7/28/19- ‘LARNIN MATTERS’-Corn dogs and tater tots, Devotional and Relay Races ·   8/2/19-EVENT-Lock-In at SUMC, FAITH, FELLOWSHIP AND FUN—START TIME, TO BE DETERMINED-YOUTH WILL SERVE AT HOMECROFT EVENT, WILL MEET AT CHURCH FIRST,   Family Breakfast in the Underground at 9am on 8/3/19, Sign Up Due by 7/21/19, RHUMC Youth Group invited ·   8/4/19-Parent Meeting at 11AM in the Underground ·   8/4/19-‘Faith and Friends’-Casserole Night, Devotional and Board Game
Read more