Oftentimes as believers we can be excited about evangelism and missions on Sunday mornings, but by the time Monday morning arrives with opportunities to invite people to church, it feels a little weird, so we make excuses instead. Here are some of the most common excuses we use to justify missing an opportunity to extend an invitation:

1. “I’m afraid they will say no.”

No one really likes the idea of going out on a limb to invite someone someplace and then being promptly rejected. To avoid that awkward scenario, we skip over the invitation part altogether, which is far easier and much more comfortable.

2. “I don’t really know how to start that conversation.”

The concept of inviting someone to church might sound easy to some, but for many others the process is far from simple. Even those who have been Christians for a long time can struggle to bring up the topic in a culture where talking about politics or religion with coworkers or peers is usually avoided.

3. “I don’t know if I can answer the questions they will have.”

Many times we assume that simply by extending a church invitation to one of our friends, that we are opening up the floor for a debate about tough theological questions. While this might be the case sometimes, most of the time the main questions they will have will be about the church itself: where it is, what it is like, etc.

While the idea of speaking up and inviting our coworkers, neighbors, and friends to church can seem intimidating, we have to remember that introducing them to Jesus is worth the risk of a little awkwardness. What if the only reason they have never walked into a church building before is because no one ever invited them? What if we could be a part of another person’s story simply by extending that invitation? Even if they do have some tough questions about God and Christianity, it’s an even better reason to invite them. Your invitation doesn’t mean it’s your responsibility to answer every question they have, but by inviting them you are connecting them to a community where they could potentially find those answers.