A Note From Chris - April 7, 2022

If I told you that just a short conversation or pushing through some slight awkwardness with a friend would change their life forever for the good, would you do it? Of course you would! And that is exactly the situation as we approach Easter.

Don’t hear me wrong…there is nothing particularly special about Easter Sunday vs. other weekends at Cornerstone. We aim to have an incredible experience together as a family every weekend. But statistically, and for reasons I’m sure we know, people are more open to an invite to church at Easter than any other time. The most recent stats say that when polled, 82% of unchurched folks would say YES if a friend or neighbor invited them to church. That seems like an incredible stat, but I’ve been meeting your Ones recently and hearing stories very similar to that stat. A simple invite is usually all it takes to get them to come.

Even further, statisticians say that 70-82% of people who currently follow Jesus and attend church were brought or invited to church by someone else. Yes, that counts their parents. But just think about that. If someone is going to hear the life-changing message of Jesus, the plan is for God to use you. If people are going to be engaged in the body of Christ, His church, God’s plan is the same – use you.

So who is it for you? Who do you need to invite? When will you invite them? Do you give them an invite card from Cornerstone? What will you say? Let me ease the pressure by telling you it does not have to be stressful. It simply needs to be genuine. Just genuinely invite them to come with you and consider your church and the message God has for them.

I can assure you that our teams are preparing for an incredible Easter, from Good Friday service on April 15, to four services at Shiloh, and two at O’Fallon on Easter Sunday. All of our greeters, ushers, band members, breakfast servers, children’s workers, Next Steps volunteers, safety team members, elders, and every other service area will be prepared and ready to love you and your Ones on Easter. While an invite to church is typically just a first step for folks, it is an important step, and especially at Easter. Let’s pray together for an incredible weekend.

As part of our 100 Days of Prayer, we are continually praying that God will bring people to Christ who have yet to make a decision for him. If you or someone you know is interested in being baptized on Easter Sunday, please click here.
 
This weekend, we finish up our Famous Last Words series talking about Jesus’ words surrounding forgiveness. It is one of the more challenging and convicting messages I’ve prepared in recent memory. I hope you’ll join me in wrestling Luke 23 this Sunday.

See you then!

Yours & His,
Chris VandeLinde