We invite lots of people to do many things. In 2025, both of my daughters were married, and they sent many invitations to friends and family members inviting them to join their special day.
Invitations are sent for baby showers, groundbreaking ceremonies, anniversaries, birthday parties and more. Sometimes folks spontaneously invite neighbors to join them for snacks at their home. An invitation is made and a response is given. It happens all the time.
But when it comes to inviting people to be saved, it seems that there is a shift in our thinking and we begin to overanalyze that practice. We don’t want people to feel manipulated into responding to Christ. We wonder if they have enough information to know what to do to be saved. We don’t want them to repeat a prayer or walk an aisle at the end of a church service or raise their hand and experience a false conversion. These are among the many reasons faithful preachers and witnesses for Christ are reluctant to invite people to be saved.
The problem with this choice is that it is unbiblical. Jesus gave invitations and so should we. Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” In Matthew 4:19, Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And in Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Here are four thoughts that could be useful as we think through the practice of inviting others to follow Jesus:
1. Invitations follow information: It could go like this: Hey, ‘I am having some friends over Saturday night for snacks, and I would love for you to come – would you be interested?’ In this scenario, the person shared some information about a gathering of friends and extended an invitation to others. In a church service, or in personal evangelism for that matter, we first share information – the gospel – and then extend an invitation to respond to the gospel. Invitations come after information, and honestly without inviting people to respond, we have only shared information.
2. Invitations are natural: Can you imagine describing an upcoming wedding to a close friend or family member and then ending the conversation without giving them an invitation to attend? Or imagine a planned birthday party where one goes into great detail about the cake, the gifts, the festivities, but never says, “And we would love it if you could come.” That would seem odd, and the person who hears the description would be left thinking that what you have described sounded like fun, but they are not sure if they are invited to attend.
3. Invitations should be clear: In most normal invitations we tell people what we want them to do. For instance, we may say, “Come to our house at 6:30 this Saturday. We will be in the backyard. Bring your camping chairs and we will take care of the rest.” The instructions are clear. When Jesus invited people to respond to Him, He told them exactly what to do: “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). We need to be clear about our invitation. Whether the invitation comes at the end of a sermon or at the end of a gospel presentation, there should be no doubt what we are asking people to do.
4. Invitations can be learned: There are two simple questions we can ask after preaching an evangelistic sermon or after sharing a gospel presentation.
First, we can ask, “Does what you have heard today make sense to you?” This question gets at the clarity of the gospel.
The second is, “Is there any reason you wouldn’t be willing to repent and believe the gospel right now?” This is the one where we find out if there are objections to coming to Christ or if the person is ready to receive Christ.
There is one more thing that needs to be said: invitations can be discouraging. If you sent out invitations each week and never received an RSVP, or all the respondents’ offered excuses for not attending your event, then you might become discouraged. This is where our work with gospel invitations is different. It is our job to invite people to receive Christ – it is God’s job to open hearts that lost people will receive Christ. So, keep giving gospel invitations and keep trusting God for the results.
When you give a gospel invitation, you are obeying Revelation 22:17 where the reader is admonished, “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
Dr. Todd Gray 