Influential Influence

We challenge the people of our church to live lives of influence right where God has put them. We each have circles of influence that God has given us. We have our families, our friends, our classmates, our coworkers, our teammates, our neighbors, etc. We all have lots of people that we have the opportunity to influence.

There are also many people who have the opportunity to influence us. We must choose to live our lives in such a way that we are influenced by the right people and the right things. I made a choice to go to a conference in Alpharetta, GA last week. It was at Northpoint Community Church pastured by Andy Stanley.

I was great influenced by what I heard and saw. Andy is a great pastor and leader. He is humble and teaches from his heart. His vision and passion is one I really relate to. His vision for Northpoint is so much like what my heart for Fellowship to become.

One of the things that really hit me was his teaching about how they reach new people. The church never advertises. Its advertisement is its people. If you have been around Fellowship for a while you might know that I relate to that concept. I want to see our church reach more people through the lives of the individuals that make up the church.

I was influenced by him during those few days. One thing that influenced me was their way of teaching people to be an influence. I loved it. It is simple and it is straightforward. So here it is… Invest and Invite.

I think I will use that as my new definition of influence.

Invest in the lives of others. Influence them for Jesus by investing in their life. Investment requires just that – an investment. Investments take time, resources, money, and concern. Go and invest in someone today that needs to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

Invite them.

#1. Invite them to Jesus. Invite them to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.
#2. Invite them to church this Sunday.

The numbers are just to let you know there are 2 invites, you can use whatever order the Spirit leads you to, but why not start with just asking them to come church this Sunday. It is a simple step towards Christ.

So to influence people we invest and invite. I have been influenced and I am trying to influence. Just today I invited someone I have been investing in for two years. They have not come yet, but they will. When they get there they will find a church that is excited and fired up and being changed.

So, Fellowshippers, I challenge you to invest and invite this week. May 24 and 31 are going to be Sunday you really, really, really don’t want to miss and that you really, really, really want to bring someone who need Jesus to.