An invitation at DUI school

A young man walked into his DUI, court mandated, class that Friday morning with a bruised face and stitches above his eye. Another night of drinking landed him in jail earlier that week. As he walked out of the small classroom, with hard plastic chairs, an older guy turned to him and said: “If you don't quit drinking you'll be dead in five years." The words hit the young man like a ton of bricks. He knew it was true but was at a loss for words at how to respond.

What he heard next wasn't what he imagined: "Do you want to go to church with me this weekend?" The young man almost froze. He wanted to say: "yes" but was so scared. He had heard this guy talk about church and was interested but also scared. After staring at this man he finally said what he was thinking: "yes, I'll go."

That Sunday Brett came to pick me up for church and began investing in my broken life. He taught me Scripture, bought me lunch and prayed for me. That invitation completely changed my life. My life was barreling down the freeway in a horrible direction. Over the next year Brett played a huge role in my early development as a young Christ follower. He taught me about reading God's word. Encouraged me to leave a life of sin and showed me grace like I've never seen before!

As Easter is approaching who might God place in your path to invite to church? You might be prompted by the Spirit to reach out to someone who is completely different from you. They may be a person at your work who you've started a relationship with and this is the perfect time to extend an invitation. God might nudge you to have a conversation that is out of your comfort zone. Now you don’t have to get a DUI to invite someone to church, but a simple invitation can change a life!