“Back to Church Sunday,” part of a national movement of churches across America, will be held at Cherryvale United Methodist Church in Staunton, Virginia at 9:15 am on Sunday, Sept. 21. Everyone is welcome to attend.
National Back to Church Sunday (www.backtochurch.com) is an initiative that is “Inviting America Back to Church.” It seeks to reach the “un-churched” and “de-churched”—people who have never attended church, or who once attended church but don’t any more—and invite them to return on a specialSunday. In 2013, a Gallup survey stated that 87% of people believe in God. Yet only 27% of those surveyed individuals attended church in the last 7 days. In addition, 82% of people who don’t attend church say they would attend if invited by a friend, yet only 2% of Christians ever invite someone to church.
For Back to Church Sunday, Cherryvale United Methodist Church will host a breakfast beginning at9:00 am during the Sunday School hour. There are Sunday School classes for nursery, children, youth and several different adult classes.
“I want us to share the good news of Jesus and ask visitors to come and experience the fellowship of a loving church family.” said Clayton Payne, Pastor of Cherryvale United Methodist Church.
Since its inception six years ago, National Back to Church Sunday participating churches have extended an estimated 8.5 million invitations to their churches. Over 30,000 churches representing 120 denominations are expected to invite over 3 million people to church this year.
There are nearly 100 million Americans, including teens and children, who are presently un-churched as people increasingly move away from attending church and practicing religion. Back to ChurchSunday is not just a day—it is a movement to empower church members to invite everyone to come to church. It is designed to help combat the decline of evangelism and church attendance by providing an easily implemented “invite-able” event that gives church members a reason to invite, and gives people a reason to try church again or for the first time.
Although it does not have to be the only day that church members are encouraged to invite their friends, family, and neighbors, 84% of churches who participated in Back to Church Sunday last year recognize that having a designated day to invite people plays an important role in motivating members to reach out with an invitation. Back to Church Sunday is a springboard to help churches become outreach-focused throughout the year.
Back to Church Sunday has an interactive Facebook page (www.facebook.com/backtochurch
Cherryvale is a United Methodist Church located at 709 Cherry Hill Drive in Staunton, Virginia. For more information, go to www.CherryvaleUMC.com or call 540-885-0098.
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