“… he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready'” (Luke 14:17).

Whether you’re a longtime member or recently started visiting North, you’ve probably noticed we close each service with a summary of the gospel and a call to respond. The Bible never commands us to stand for an invitation song or directs anyone to the front pew. At most services, no one comes forward anyway. So why do we keep offering the invitation? Where does it come from, are there other ways to do it, and how should baptized believers engage with this part of the service? Rather than defending the status quo, I hope to bring life and weight to an activity some treat as a stale afterthought.

The Invite

Let’s examine the invitation message and then consider our method of offering it.

The Message: What’s the purpose of the invitation? We must proclaim the gospel (Rom. 10:14; 1 Cor. 15:1-5) and call people to make a decision about Christ (Acts 2:22-39). There’s no more important message we can share, no more meaningful gift we can offer. We must allow the prophetic Word to pierce a guest’s heart (1 Cor. 14:23-25).

We repeat the message because it bears repeating.

I still offer the invitation for the same reason I still study with anyone who will sit with me: People usually don’t come to Christ, but they deserve the chance. Sometimes — at the end of a sermon about something completely different — people hear a simple summary of the gospel and how to obey it, and they respond! To invite means we allow others to choose (Rev. 22:17).

We repeat the message because it bears repeating — even those who know it best thirst for it. The Bible sure likes to repeat the invitation, from Isaiah’s offer of a feast without cost (Isa. 55:1-2) to Jesus’ call to rest (Matt. 11:28). Most of the sermons in Acts end with a charge to decide (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 13:38-41; 17:30-31) and Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount by challenging hearers to act (Matt. 7:21-27). The Bible ends with an invitation, as a few verses before closing, the Spirit and Bride say to come and drink the waters of life (Rev. 22:17).

We might think of the invitation as a one-and-done call to baptism, but it’s a continuous call to fellowship and love. One of our invitation songs says, “Let the Savior In,” drawing from Jesus’ words to the Laodicean church. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). We want to encourage brothers and sisters to speak up when they need support and restoration (Gal. 6:1-2) and to provide opportunities to confess to one another (James 5:16).

The Method: Like song leaders and musical notes, closing with an invitation song and a call to “come forward” are orderly ways to do what the Bible teaches. We need a way to identify those we can help draw near to Christ — this is one way to do it. “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient” (1 Cor. 10:23, KJV). An expedient is a solution that — while not required by Christ’s law — helps accomplish his aims. When an approach works well, it tends to stick. As it passes from generation to generation, we must watch we don’t make the expedient method into the mandated requirement.

We never want to bury or minimize Christ’s call.

There are other ways to offer an invitation. I remember one Wednesday night years ago, where instead of calling people to come forward, an evangelist told everyone to close their eyes and asked people to convey their interest by looking up at him. A friend told me this week about a church that offers the invitation by positioning the elders in the lobby and inviting folks to meet with a shepherd in the back. The point isn’t the method — though it’s worth exploring — but the message. We never want to bury or minimize Christ’s call.

The Inviter

As a young Christian, my first talk was an invitation. It’s easy to forget how daunting those five minutes in front of the church feel. But the challenge begins weeks earlier when you first see your name on the roster and realize you have to find something to say. You feel pressure to take the familiar and make it fresh. But what if, instead, you embrace what’s timeless and make it personal — speaking the old story through the fire of your experiences and concerns? It’s a 2,000-year-old book we keep re-reading and rediscovering.

The secret sauce is taking it seriously.

There’s no pressure to be polished, no need to be clever, and no expectation to say something new. There is, however, a responsibility to be faithful to the Lord in this task. The secret sauce is taking it seriously, praying for the Word to work in you first and the hearers second. You’re Christ’s ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20), the servant calling out, “Come, for everything is now ready” (Luke 14:17). Honor the sacred, life-changing task as you represent God and let people do what they will. Value substance over style. Ask yourself, “What NEEDS to be said? What might I regret leaving unsaid?”

The Invited

So what should you do with the invitation?

Engage: Make eye contact, lean forward, and listen intently (James 1:19-25). It’s not time to pack up and tune out. It’s the time in the service when someone tries to bring God’s Word home, challenging you to follow Christ today. The talk’s impact will come from your heart’s readiness to receive it rather than the speaker’s wit and wisdom (Mark 4).

Examine: One way to dishearten a speaker is to decide his talk is for someone else. The invitation is never just for them (whoever they are). It’s your chance to see yourself (2 Cor. 13:5; James 1:23), encounter Christ, and ponder how to draw closer to him right now (James 4:7-10). There’s a beautiful urgency to the invitation that can cut through the noise and reach you if you let it. Be courageous and honest.

Entreat: Pray that someone who needs to obey will walk forward. Ask God to search your heart and lead you (Ps. 139:23-24). Request clarity and conviction in each of us so that his mercy can change us all.

There’s a beautiful urgency to the invitation that can cut through the noise and reach you if you let it.

Expect: Get ready in hope and faith. Trust that God’s Word will work (Isa. 55:10-11). 

Embrace: Affirm your love for those who come (2 Cor. 2:5-8). Show them you care — both in the unnerving time up front and the weeks afterward. Reach out to ask how you can support them and pray for them. Celebrate their return, “for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:32).