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Dear non-church people By
Justin Kollmeyer Dear non-church people, On behalf of all the churches here in our community, I want to invite you to come and be with any of us for a worship service this Sunday. You decide which church might suit you best. Perhaps it's one that is close to where you live. Perhaps it's one where you know someone who worships there. Perhaps it's a church that has a name with which you are familiar. Perhaps it's one that you've heard has some good programs that will fit you and your family. Whichever one you choose, please know that the pastor and people of that church will welcome you with open arms. I know that sometimes you feel that you won't be welcomed or that you yourself might be embarrassed to go back into a church when you haven't been in so long. But you need to know that God isn't mad at you. He doesn't hold your past against you. We who are already in churches are sinners just like you are. You will be welcomed. I promise you! People who have gone back to church after having been away for a long time and people who finally go to church after never having gone report two things when asked about their sudden attendance. First of all, these people say that it is not "just an accident or a coincidence" that they went to a worship service. They say that they went to church for a particular reason or because it was a particular time in their lives. When asked, they reply, "We just got married." "We just had a baby." "Our kids are finally old enough for Sunday School now." "Our kids' friends from school invited them, so we all came." "My dad just died." "My mom was just diagnosed with cancer." "We're having real problems in our marriage." "I just got divorced." "We knew we needed something spiritual in our lives." "We have friends who seem so happy and they say it's because God is in their lives, and we want that same happiness." Or hundreds of other specific issues of life. The second thing these people report is that whatever their life situation, when they connect with God through a church their lives are given the wonderful gift of being suddenly more happy, more tolerable, more meaningful, more purposeful, and more enriched. If you haven't been to church in awhile or ever, there's probably something in your life that makes this time right now an important and distinctive time in your life. And whatever that "something" is, your life will be made better and more meaningful and more tolerable and more joyful by encountering God and connecting your life to His. And so again, on behalf of all the churches here in our community, I want to invite you to come and be with any of us for a worship service this Sunday. You'll be welcomed with open arms! And you'll be glad you came! I'll look for the ones of you who might come to our church. Please let me know you're here because I invited you. See you Sunday!
Kollmeyer is Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Hwy. 314 between Lowe's and The Pavilion in Fayetteville. He invites anyone who may want to come to church or back to church to any one of the Sunday Services, 8:15, 9:30 (Contemporary), or 11:00 (Pipe Organ). For more information log-on at www.popdove.com or call 770-461-3403.
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