Back to Church Sunday Frequently Asked Questions
What is Back to Church Sunday?
Back to Church Sunday is now the largest single local-church invitational initiative in the world. It is based on the simplest and shortest step in evangelism - that we should invite someone we already know to something we love; invite our friend to our church. The initial focus was to invite ‘back’ those who used to attend, but we want to ensure that anyone who doesn’t currently attend can be guaranteed an especially warm welcome.There are so many different ways in which we can try to fulfill Jesus' commission to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts1:8). We recognize that people will respond differently to these various approaches. However we believe, and have experienced that offering friends personal invitations to join us at church can be an effective way to help people connect, or re-connect with God.
It is up to participating churches to decide how it will work best for them, but in general the BTCS process is:
- Churches begin to pray and plan their BTCS services/events
- Details of BTCS events are written/printed onto invitations
- Church members personally hand out invitations to friends/family/neighbors/colleagues etc.
- Church members keep hold of prayer cards and pray for the friends they have invited
- People coming back to church are offered an especially warm welcome when they arrive on the day
- People who have come to church are given a gift post card to take home as a reminder of the day - this can be overprinted with details of future events/services
What are the key principles of BTCS?
- Back to Church Sunday is all about the people who are not here.
- We aim to reach the people who are not here through the people who are.
- We believe success isn’t a percentage, a number, or a line on a graph. Success is one person inviting one person.
- We best support success when we act all together as One Big Church: invitation on the ground, invitation in the air – one message on one day.
- Our invitational resources are ethically produced so that we can make the most positive difference in the lives of our suppliers and minimize our environmental impact. We guard against waste and oversupply. Given this, we aim to secure the best value resources for our churches.
- We measure what happens each Back to Church Sunday through evaluations from participating churches and we are transparent about the results. We listen to feedback and learn from it.
- To be most effective the Back to Church Sunday team needs a focus. That began with and continues to be the network of participating Anglican dioceses in England. However we believe what we produce works well for other Christian churches and so we want to share our resources, experience and systems with them too.
When is BTCS?
Back to Church Sunday is always the last Sunday in September. This year(2011) it will take place on September 25th.Future Dates:
Back to Church Sunday 2012: 30th September
Back to Church Sunday 2013: 29th September
Back to Church Sunday 2014: 28th September
Back to Church Sunday 2015: 27th September
Can we use a different date?
We find Back to Church Sunday works best when we work together as one big church. Holding your BTCS event on the national date helps contribute to the sense of 'oneness' as we partner together across the country. Church members are encouraged knowing that thousands of other Christians are also inviting friends to church. People who have come back to church on BTCS have told us they found it easier to go knowing that people were doing the same around the country and they weren't the only one.Holding your event on the national date also means you can benefit most from national and local advertising in the build up to the day.
However, if the national date is not possible for you we suggest you hold your event as close to the national date as possible.
If you do hold your event on a different date you can still use our resource packs! The only resource in our packs which has the date printed on it is the poster. However this has been designed so that you can remove the date without negatively affecting the overall design.
How do I ask someone?
It can be hard to come up with the right words to ask a friend to church. We know we’d like to do it, but sometimes we just can’t think of the right way to say it. Here are some suggestions:- “Would you like to come to church with me next Sunday? I can drive you there and we can have lunch afterwards.”
- “How would you like to do something completely different next Sunday? My church is having a special day for visitors and friends. Would you like to go with me?"
- “I’d like to introduce you to some really important people in my life, people you may not already know.”
- “I’d like to show you another side of my life.”
- “My church is a place that cares.”
Here are some reasons why people go to church: Perhaps one of these will help you ask a friend to go with you:
- To encounter God;
- to think about some things beyond myself;
- to reflect on my week;
- to hear about the needs of others;
- to learn about Jesus;
- to feel good;
- to listen to good music;
- to do something for my spiritual life;
- to reflect on life;
- to be part of a church that is part of the fabric of my town;
- to be welcomed unconditionally;
- to be in a place where I am not judged;
- to be with a group of people who care about others.
The focus is on the personal invitation of one church member to one friend. Back to Church Sunday raises a high media profile as tens of thousands of Christians offer this invitation at the same time.
Some churches put on special events for Back to Church Sunday. Others chose to continue with their regular services. Either way, the most important part of the day is to offer a warm and honest welcome to people