The Andrew Project

     This past Sunday, I outlined a clear and reasonable way for us to reach out to our friends and neighbors and to increase church attendance. I call it the Andrew Project, because it is based on the life and ministry of St. Andrew.

    If you aren’t familiar with the life of Andrew, he was the brother of Simon Peter. But he is mentioned a few times in the Gospels for some of the things he did in his own right. For example, he is best known as the disciple who brought people to Jesus. It was Andrew, in fact, who brought his brother to meet Jesus, and it was Andrew who brought the little boy whose lunch fed 5,000 people. It’s what he was known for.

    That doesn’t seem too hard to me. I think that is something we could all do, something we should do, in fact—bring people to Jesus. That’s where I got the idea for the Andrew Project. I want to encourage every person in our church to think of one individual or family that they could invite and bring to church. Andrew brought people to Jesus, and when we bring people to church, we bring them to a place where they can meet Jesus.

    On Sunday, I used an acronym to help us remember to invite others, and how to do it. It was the word, “BRING.” Each letter helps remind us what we need to do to bring others to Christ.

    The first letter stands for “Believe.” That is the first step in bringing others to Christ. Andrew believed, and went and found his brother. When we believe, it gives us the motivation to find others and bring them to Christ.

    The second letter stands for “Relationship.” I suppose we could just ask random people we know or meet to come to church, but I doubt we would have very much success. Besides, that would be far too intimidating for most of us. What we can do is invite someone we know, someone with whom we have a previous relationship. That makes a lot more sense. I can tell my friend or someone I know at work how much I enjoy my church, and invite them to come with me some time. That’s not too scary.

    The third letter stands for “Invite,” because that’s what we are going to do. We invite someone we know, take that extra step and just ask them. You never know until you ask. But sometimes they may need a little help. That’s why the fourth letter stands for “nurture,” which also means “encourage.” We may have to keep on encouraging them until they actually come.

    Finally, the “G” in BRING reminds us of our “goal” which is to “glorify God” (that’s a lot of G’s). The Bible says there is great rejoicing in heaven for every sinner who repents. When someone accepts our invitation, and doesn’t just come to church, but actually comes to God, that is awesome. That is the goal toward which we work.

      So, over the next few months, think of somebody you know who isn’t going to church regularly. Maybe it’s a friend or a co-worker, or even a family member. Encourage them, nurture them, invite them, and BRING them to church to meet Jesus.