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Invitations arrive in our mailboxes and often bring good news. Wedding invitations bring a sense of excitement, especially if it is a niece or nephew. Birthday invitations might evoke great memories of an enduring friendship. And invitations to a high school or college graduation from a young person you’ve watched grow and reach such a milestone offer a sense of pride in the graduate.
But the invitation at Easter, delivered through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the greatest invitation ever extended. God’s invitation is to forgiveness of sin, a new life, and eternal hope. The empty tomb is not just proof that Jesus is alive; it is an open door for every person to come and experience salvation.
The message of Easter is simple: Come.
Come and see. Come and believe. Come and be changed.
In recent weeks, our church has leaned into that truth through a 40-day emphasis we called “INVITE.” The goal has been simple: Encourage every member — from students to senior adults — to take personal responsibility for reaching people who are close to them but far from God.
Each week, we’ve challenged people to take one step:
- Invite someone to church.
- Invite someone to let you pray for them.
- Invite someone to hear how Jesus saved you.
- Invite someone to your home or to a meal.
- Invite someone to read the Bible with you.
We’ve rediscovered that God often uses simple invitations to accomplish extraordinary things.
Recently, a high school student in our church named Joseph stood before the congregation to share his testimony. Not long ago, he was far from God. But a friend at school invited him to church. He came. He heard the gospel. He was saved and baptized.
Joseph said something I will never forget: “What I needed was an open door, an invitation.”
That’s it.
Many people are not opposed to the gospel; they are simply waiting for someone to care enough to ask. Behind the busyness and distractions of life are people carrying burdens, questions, and quiet desperation. Often, the first step toward life change is not a sermon — it is an invitation.
In John 4, a broken woman met Jesus at a well. Afterward, she ran back to her town with a simple message: “Come and see.” And many believed.
Dan Spencer – Photo credit: BP
That same pattern is still unfolding today. A student invites a friend. A coworker offers to pray. A neighbor extends an invitation. These moments may seem small, but in God’s hands they become eternal. One invitation can open a door. One conversation can plant a seed. One act of obedience can change a life.
And Easter is the perfect moment.
Even those who don’t normally attend church are often open during this season. The story of the resurrection still carries weight.
The question is not whether people might come — it is whether we will invite them.
In Luke 14, Jesus told of a great banquet. When the original guests made excuses, the master sent his servant into the streets and highways, saying, “Compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” That is not just a story. That is our mission. We are the servants who have been sent. There is still room at the table.
As Tennessee Baptists, we can make an impact together. Through our cooperative work, we are reaching communities across our state and around the world. But that mission also moves forward one life at a time — one conversation, one invitation.
This Easter, we have an opportunity. An opportunity to see the people around us. To pray for someone by name. To extend a simple invitation that could lead to eternal change.
Because Easter is not just something we celebrate. It is something we share.
And life change may be only one invitation away. B&R
