Making an invitation
The journey of sharing God’s Word with a friend, family member or colleague starts with a simple question.
Sounds easy, right? At the same time, we know that it can feel daunting to invite someone to read the Bible with you for the first time. Here, we share our top tips for making an invitation.
Pray
It might sound obvious – but praying is the most important thing you can do before asking your friend to read the Bible with you!
Pray for God to provide you with opportunity
Pray for boldness as you make the invitation
Pray that God would soften your friend’s heart to accept the invitation
You can find a full guide to praying before your session here.
Making the invitation
Firstly, be intentional. When you meet with your friend, go with the intention of inviting them to read the Bible with you, rather than expecting it to come up in conversation at random! Of course, there are also times where a conversation about Jesus and the Bible might come up naturally – in which case, take it as an opportunity from God to make an invitation!
You'll know what works best for your friend, but it’s important to keep it friendly and conversational, to be true to yourself and to keep the invite simple.
There is no single way of inviting, but a good opening line could be: “The Bible is the best-selling book in history, and its message really changed my life. Have you ever wondered what it says?”
Explain that you have some helpful notes that help you look at the first 18 sentences of a part of the Bible called John’s Gospel (remember, they might not be familiar with Biblical terminology!), which is an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus.
Explain that you are really excited about these sentences and that you’d love to buy them a drink of their choice and chat about it. It should take about 30 minutes.
If they say “yes”
Amazing news! Pencil a date that’s convenient for both of you in the diary, and reassure them that they’re not signing up to a big commitment – they can see how the first session goes, and decide whether they want to carry on after that.
If they say “no”
You’ll probably feel disappointed if they decline the invitation – but don’t take it as a defeat. Continue to pray that God will work in your friend’s heart by His Spirit. Be encouraged – this conversation may have planted a seed which God will use to bear gospel fruit later in the future. Time and time again, we’ve found that people follow up on an invitation months – or even years – later!
Read about our founder and author Richard Borgonon’s top tips for your first session.
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