In the small church I pastor, have found our members are motivated to reach out when church leaders create reasons for them to invite their family and friends to church. Although we do have some outgoing personalities who constantly invite others to attend our church, most of our folks like to have an "excuse" to invite someone who does not attend.

When we plan our annual church calendar, we build in events to make it easy for all of our members to invite their friends and family. Outreach events include special musical concerts, Christmas and Easter programs, Vacation Bible School, our fall church picnic, a July cookout, Christmas caroling on a horse-drawn wagon, family film nights, and special worship services.

Planning these special opportunities helps us in two ways. First, an outreach event focuses our attention on a specific date. Rather than constantly encouraging our members to invite others to church, specific events help us rally the troops for a burst of outreach. Second, ...