The Necessity of “Multiple” Personal Invitations

A couple of weeks ago at my gym I met three new men. Turns out they’re Christians looking to grow, so I invited them to our Man in the Mirror Bible Study. They indicated a strong interest, so I gave them the details.

They said, “We’ll see you there.” I’ve heard that before! So I never hold my breath!

Four days later I saw one of the men, Charlie, outside the gym, sitting in his truck, reading his Bible, waiting for his work-out buddies. We spoke and I said, “Hope to see you at the Bible study.”

The next thing he said was a real eye-opener. He said, “You know. I don’t think it was by accident we bumped into each other this morning. I think I need to come.” But what really surprised me was what he said next: “When did you say that you meet again?”

For years Man in the Mirror has stressed in our training the importance of personally inviting men. We have found that advertising is a non-starter. Almost no one will come to your function because they saw it in the bulletin, got a flyer in the mail, or heard about it on the radio. Men come when they are personally invited to come.

The personal invitation is everything to bringing visitors. Research has found that 80% to 90% of all people who visit church do so because they were personally invited.

But Art Groomes, discipleship and evangelism specialist for LifeWay, said, “Statistics indicate it can take up to 20 touches before someone becomes open to visiting Sunday School or a worship service.”

Between the research and experience, it seems clear that a personal invitation is not everything after all! Better to say “multiple” personal invitations.

To turn men out to our events and functions, we need to adjust this best practice to multiple personal invitations.

Yours for changed lives,

Patrick Morley, Ph.D.