Lunch on Us During Jesus the Guru

So if you had $3,500 to spend to help draw people into a relationship with Jesus, how would you spend it?

We were faced with that question a few months ago, and decided we’d use it to provide an incentive for you to have lunch and meaningful dialogue with a friend you invited to Connexus.   

The Opportunity
Starting Easter Sunday in Barrie and Sunday March 30th in Orillia, we launch Jesus the Guru, a series aimed at creating a dialogue about the popularity of Eastern spirituality and Jesus’ role in relationship to it. (If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, you’ve got to check it out!)

There’s no better way to facilitate dialogue than to get those of us who follow Jesus into a room with our friends that’s safe and relaxed enough to enjoy each other’s company.  Like going for lunch after church.

So we’ll help buy lunch for the first 50 families at each campus who bring a friend to Jesus the Guru.  The first 50 families who come with a friend can stop by the Host Team front desk and pick up a $35 gift card toward lunch that’s good at numerous restaurants (like Montanna’s, Kelsey’s etc).  Because eating out is expensive and not "easy" for a lot of families, we just thought we’d help facilitate a great experience. You don’t need to talk deep theology — just being there with your friends even to talk about what they thought about church can be a step in the right direction.

A Different Strategy
In the past, we would have been more likely to buy billboards, send out flyers or buy radio ads.  Here’s why we decided not to do that with the money we are allocating toward gift cards:

  • Our primary way of introducing people to Christ at Connexus is through personal relationship.  We all have friends who aren’t in a relationship with Jesus yet, and if we could get them to engage, growth of the Kingdom would become ‘viral’, with friends inviting friends. 
  • Flyers and billboards create awareness, but at best have a 1% or less response rate. If 100 families invited a 100 families, imagine what could happen in the Kingdom.  Plus that’s over three times the return over traditional investments.
  • An invitation is personal.  A flyer or billboard reaches someone who knows no one at Connexus.  An invitation means you walk with someone through their Sunday experience and can process it together.  The likelihood of someone returning goes way up because of that.  The likelihood of someone entering a growing relationship with Jesus goes way up.
  • It’s a lot closer to how the early church grew — relationally.
  • It’s an easier access point into community groups and the heart of ministry at Connexus, because the friend already has a person to dialogue with and friends you can introduce them to.

So, there it is.  A $35 gift card available to the first 50 families at each campus who bring a friend to Jesus the Guru.  We’re praying for you, and anxious to see what God does in terms of sharing His forgiveness, grace and love with our community through you.

What do you think?

– Carey

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Carey Nieuwhof

Written By

Carey Nieuwhof

Carey is the founding pastor of Connexus Church and has been serving in ministry since 1995. He is passionate about leading people into a relationship with Christ and helping people thrive in life and leadership.

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