The Invitation Should Never Expire

by Michael Scheele and Christine Temko-Scheele

On September 20, 2026, congregations across the country will observe National Back to Church Sunday. It’s a worthwhile reminder to reach out to people who have stopped attending church or have never attended at all.

But bringing people back to church shouldn’t be something we emphasize on one specially designated Sunday.

Every Sunday should be Back to Church Sunday.

Every week, there are people in our communities who are considering whether to try church for the first time. Others still believe in God but have gradually drifted away. Some have allowed competing priorities to take over. Others are carrying painful memories of conflict, hypocrisy, or mistreatment within a church.

A national event may give us an extra reason to extend an invitation, but our responsibility doesn’t begin or end with a date on the calendar.

Sharing the gospel, loving our neighbors, and inviting people into Christian fellowship should be part of our ordinary lives.

Listen to What Comes After “But”

There are probably dozens of reasons people drift away from church.

Sometimes competing priorities gradually take over. Youth sports and other activities may be scheduled on Sunday mornings. Some people work long hours and begin viewing Sunday as their only opportunity to rest. Others step away because of conflict within the church or hypocrisy they witnessed from people who claimed to follow Christ.

Learning why someone stopped attending usually isn’t difficult. When invited, many people respond with a familiar sentence:

“I used to go to church, but...”

What comes after that word matters.

It’s tempting to begin preparing a response before the person has even finished speaking. We may want to defend the church, correct an assumption, or immediately persuade them to return.

A better response begins with listening.

Their reason might seem small to us, but it was important enough to keep them away. If we want someone to trust us, we should first demonstrate that we care about what happened to them.

They may not need an answer immediately. They may simply need to know that someone is willing to hear the entire story without interrupting, judging, or becoming defensive.

Help Them Return, Don’t Sell Them

When someone is considering coming back to church, our role isn’t to deliver a sales pitch. It’s to have a conversation, get to know them, and help where we can.

That help may be simple.

We can offer them a ride, meet them at the entrance, save them a seat, or explain what the service will be like. Parents may appreciate knowing where to take their children and what to expect from the children’s ministry. Someone who feels anxious may be more comfortable meeting us beforehand and entering the building together.

Sometimes the barrier isn’t spiritual resistance. It’s the discomfort of walking alone into an unfamiliar building where everyone else seems to know what to do.

A thoughtful Christian can remove some of that uncertainty.

We shouldn’t promise that everything will be perfect. No church is perfect because no church is made up of perfect people. We’re all sinners, and we all need God.

What we can promise is that they won’t have to walk in alone.

The Decision Must Be Theirs

As passionate as we may be about sharing God’s love and His salvation with the world, we can’t force faith on anyone. The decision has to be their own.

We share. We invite. We allow the Holy Spirit to work. We don’t give up, but we also don’t apply pressure.

There is a difference between continuing to care for someone and repeatedly cornering them about church. We can check in occasionally, continue the conversation, and let them know that the invitation remains open.

More importantly, we can continue showing God’s love in verbal and tangible ways.

That may mean helping when they have a practical need, remembering something important happening in their life, praying for them, or simply being a faithful friend.

If our kindness disappears when someone declines our invitation, it may appear that the invitation was more about filling a seat than loving a person. Genuine Christian friendship doesn’t depend upon receiving the answer we want.

Someone may decline five invitations and accept the sixth. Another person may not be ready for several years. We don’t know what God is doing within someone’s heart.

Our responsibility is to remain faithful.

Every Visitor Is Different

Churches often want a standard process for welcoming visitors, but people aren’t standard.

Some visitors want to enter quietly, sit near the back, and observe without much interaction. Others may interpret that same experience as cold or unwelcoming. A greeting that comforts one person may overwhelm another.

This is where we need to pay attention to body language and facial expressions.

Begin simply. Introduce yourself. Ask an easy question such as, “How are you?” A helpful next question might be, “What brings you in today?”

Then pay attention to the response.

Does the person lean into the conversation or pull away? Do they offer more information, or do they give a short answer and look for an opportunity to move on?

If they lean in, they may be inviting us to continue. If they pull back, they may not be ready for deeper interaction. We can remain friendly, polite, and available without crowding them.

Welcoming someone well doesn’t always mean learning their entire life story before the service begins. Sometimes it means giving them enough room to take the next step at their own pace.

This awareness shouldn’t be reserved for a special outreach event. Every unfamiliar face represents a person who made a decision to walk through the church doors that morning.

We should treat that decision as meaningful every Sunday.

When Church Hurt Is Part of the Story

If someone tells us they were hurt by a church, our first response should be empathy.

Listen before responding. If we have a similar experience, we may share it to help the person know they aren’t alone, but we shouldn’t try to top their story or redirect the conversation toward ourselves.

There isn’t one answer that fits every situation.

Sometimes it may be appropriate to explain that no church is perfect because there are no perfect people. At other times, a serious wrong may have occurred and shouldn’t be minimized as ordinary human imperfection.

Depending upon the story, we may be able to invite the person to see how our church handles a particular matter differently. That shouldn’t be an empty claim. The difference must be demonstrated through honesty, accountability, compassion, and conduct.

People who have been hurt may need time before they can trust a congregation again. We can’t demand that they heal according to our preferred schedule.

We can listen, pray, remain available, and allow our consistent actions to support our words.

Let Children Teach Us

Adults can make welcoming people unnecessarily complicated. Children often understand it naturally.

Put two five-year-olds together for five minutes, and presto, they’re best friends.

They don’t begin by comparing careers, neighborhoods, family structures, or social standing. One asks the other to play, and the relationship begins.

Perhaps children should be teaching us how to welcome people.

Families can encourage their children to notice someone who is standing alone, invite a visiting child to sit with them, or include someone new in an activity. Adults can do the same thing.

We don’t need a program, a committee, or a scripted conversation to say, “Come sit with us.”

Sometimes belonging begins with one person making room.

Keep the Invitation Open

Inviting someone to a special Sunday service is good. Continuing to care about that person every other day of the year is better.

If they attend, check in without immediately asking for a commitment. Ask how they felt. Listen to what they liked, what made them uncomfortable, and what questions they may have.

If they don’t attend, don’t treat the invitation as a failure. Continue being their friend. Keep praying. Keep demonstrating God’s love. Let them know, without pressure, that the door remains open.

The goal isn’t to win an argument or convince someone to attend one event. The goal is to faithfully point people toward Christ and walk alongside them for as long as God gives us the opportunity.

That takes more than postcards, banners, or a national campaign. It takes Christians who are willing to notice the people around them throughout the year.

Every Sunday Is an Opportunity

Church outreach can’t depend entirely upon programs.

There is probably someone in your life right now who might attend church if they knew someone genuinely wanted them there. It may be a neighbor, coworker, relative, friend, or parent you regularly see at a child’s activity.

You don’t need to wait for a designated Sunday.

Invite them this week.

If they aren’t ready, keep loving them. If they have questions, listen. If they’ve been hurt, respond with compassion. If they decide to attend, offer to walk in with them.

Then look around when you arrive at church.

Is someone sitting alone?

Does a visitor appear uncertain about where to go?

Is there a family trying to understand where their children belong?

Is someone lingering near the entrance as though they’re deciding whether to stay?

Back to Church Sunday may appear on the calendar once a year, but those opportunities appear every week.

Walking in Wisdom and Grace

Colossians 4:5-6 gives us the right foundation:

“Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

Scripture tells us to redeem the time. It doesn’t tell us to wait for a national event before noticing the people around us.

It also tells us to know how we ought to answer every person. That requires more than repeating the same invitation in the same way. Wisdom requires us to listen. Grace shapes our tone. Love helps us recognize when to speak, when to remain quiet, when to invite, and when to give someone room.

Someone in your life may already be thinking about returning to church. Listen carefully enough, and you may hear it in the words that follow, “I used to go, but...”

Let them finish the sentence.

Learn their story. Show them God’s love. Offer to walk beside them, and make sure they know the invitation remains open.

Not merely on Back to Church Sunday.

Every Sunday.