So, at our church, we are a week away from what we call the Big Push. It is a time when we launch a ton of advertising and make the ask of our congregation to invite as many people as they can. The purpose is to have our entire church super focused on evangelism and outreach...the ultimate purpose being lost people coming to church and hearing the gospel, perhaps for the first time.

Anyways...every time the Big Push comes around, I tend to look at it first through the "ministry" lens. I think of how I can make KidVentures a cool place, and put cool invitations in the hands of our kids so that inviting their friends is fun and easy. I start thinking of a cool topic or theme for our series during those three weeks and what needs to be done in our space so that it is an inviting and safe place for families.

The one thing that I always put on the back burner is my own personal outreach and evangelism. Asking God to give me a mission field...or at least to open my eyes to the one I may already have. Taking leaps of faith to invite people to church. Even someone I may have only talked to once or twice before.

It's so much easier for me to focus on my job and forget that God wants ME to invite my friends, too! Not that what I do with the kids isn't valuable to the Kingdom, because it is! But, there are so many others out there who have no clue about the life God offers. Even my neighbors, who can be irritating, rude, and often loud & obnoxious...God sent His Son for them, too! And He has a plan for their lives. And they have no idea.

So, tonight our KidVentures volunteers came to my house and we wrapped candy bars for the kids to give to their friends and invite them to church......and it has me thinking.......

Who should I give my "candy bars" to? Maybe it means a walk around the neighborhood with Daisy, and instead of ignoring the people I pass by, I ask their name and tell them mine. And maybe they'll ask where I work, and I can tell them about the church that I love...and the cool series coming up that they might really enjoy. Or maybe it means asking my sister, once again, to just try CedarCreek once...no strings attached. I don't know exactly how it will look, but I want to really be serious about this Big Push. And not just because my boss will probably ask who I'm going to invite....but because I believe in a God who desires to redeem everyone....a God who offers a life of freedom and joy.