It’s hard to believe that January is already behind us, and we are now moving full steam ahead into February. Super Bowl Sunday is coming up this weekend, and millions of eyes will be watching what should be an entertaining quarterback battle between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. As we all know, every year Americans look forward to this special game, and this week I’ve been asking myself, “why?” Because the truth is millions of people will find themselves watching a game they don’t particularly care about. Most Super Bowl spectators are not football enthusiasts, nor do they usually have an emotional connection to either team playing on the field. Nonetheless, they still find themselves on a couch somewhere watching it year after year. I believe this isn’t an accident, but instead it’s due to the excitement and the fellowship that surrounds the big game.
Leading up to the Super Bowl, friends, co-workers, and classmates continuously talk about the game, thus creating a great desire for football outsiders to become insiders as well. Further, Super Bowl Sunday is always packaged as a fellowship event. Admittedly, this year will be different due to COVID complications, but normally people do not watch this game alone. The tradition has always been to throw Super Bowl parties and invite your neighbors and friends. Because of that, many football outsiders suddenly find themselves giving football a chance, simply because a friend invited them to be a part of their community.
I believe there are several lessons we could all learn from this big game. The first lesson being that we should view every Sunday at ABC as a Super Bowl Sunday. Every weekend is a big weekend, as God gives us another opportunity to worship and meet with Him in a community of faith. So just like the Super Bowl, we should all have great anticipation leading up to Sunday. My prayer is for that genuine excitement to build up in our hearts and rub off on those who are around us. I believe there are many outsiders of the church that would attend our “Super Bowl,” if they simply had an invitation from a friend. It’s interesting, there have been lots of studies on church growth over the years, and even though strategies do indeed change, the most effective catalyst for growth remains the same: the personal invitation. Outsiders become insiders when one insider makes room for them. And just like this weekend’s big game, I believe many would come to our big event if they were simply asked.
God has given our church an amazing fellowship as the body of Christ, and the good news is there is still room for others to experience it with us. Because of that, Paul gives us quite the charge when he writes, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). As Christians, we all have the privilege to serve as mouthpieces for our Lord Jesus Christ, and one of the most simple things we can communicate is that invitation. Last weekend, we learned that we’re all preaching sermons every day and that our words truly do matter. My prayer this week is that our words will be powerful tools to expand the Kingdom of God here in our city.
Consider who you can invite to worship this Sunday, either online or in-person. I’d even encourage you to do the same this Wednesday night. We had an amazing kick off to Midweek last week as we saw over 100 people join us for the meal, and many more join us for our Bible studies that took place afterwards. But there is still room for more in our fellowship, so may we all serve as faithful ambassadors to those around us. I look forward to seeing you at the “Super Bowl” this Sunday.
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