Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain. (Psalm 127:1)
As we launch into a new ministry year at Trinity Grace, it provides a great opportunity to pause and thank the Lord for his goodness to our new church plant over the past year. We have much to be thankful for in the way God is building this local expression of his Church in northwest San Antonio. We also have much to look forward to as God continues to work in our midst over the coming months and years.
As we continue the work of planting a new church for San Antonio, one of our prayers is that God will use us to reach those who are searching for truth, those who are spiritually starving, those who haven’t been to church in years. Our hope is that our friends and neighbors will experience the love of God in Christ for them. We want to be a new church that seeks to reach and renew San Antonio with the hope of the Gospel.
As we enter a new fall season, we’re beginning a new sermon series on the book of Acts, we’re launching Neighborhood Groups to build friendship and cultivate Gospel growth, we’re starting Bible studies so that we might dig into the Bible and know God better. As we enter into the fall season, it’s a perfect time to invite someone to be a part of what God is doing at Trinity Grace.
I know how daunting the prospect of inviting someone to church can be. It is especially hard when we consider the call of evangelism and outreach in large, theoretical ways. If we don’t make outreach practical, we may never get started. So, in an effort to make outreach and invitation practical - in hopes of making it doable for you - I would love to invite you this fall to consider the question: “Who is your one?”
If you were to spend 5 minutes thinking about the relationships in your life, who is the one person that comes to mind that would appreciate being invited to Trinity Grace? It’s likely that someone comes to mind fairly quickly. Maybe it’s a neighbor, a coworker, a friend from your child’s school, a family member. It may be that multiple people come to your mind. That’s great! Now, a good question to process as you consider inviting them to join you at church is: “What am I most excited about when I think of Trinity Grace? What do I appreciate most about this new church plant?”
Maybe for you it’s the beautiful, formative liturgy on Sunday mornings. Maybe it’s the rich songs we sing during worship. Maybe it’s the amazing children’s ministry opportunities we have on a Sunday morning. Maybe it’s the Gospel centered messages on Sunday mornings. Maybe it’s the warm community and friendships that are being built in our church. What attracted you to make Trinity Grace your home church? Excitement is contagious. As you think about how to introduce our new church to your friends, spend some time thinking about how you can communicate your excitement with an invitation.
You can pick up one of our small invitation cards on the welcome table and use it as a simple way to convey the details about when and where we meet.
This isn’t meant to be a “gimmick” or a “church growth” strategy. Outreach and invitation can be scary, but it’s what we’re called to as a new church for San Antonio. As we launch into a new ministry season at Trinity Grace, we want to make an intentional effort to be an outward facing church that seeks to love our neighbor. After all, we are the ones who have been loved so well by God himself. One simple, practical way you can love your neighbors through the fall season is to ask yourself: “Who is my one?”
We would love to welcome them into the life of Trinity Grace!