Last year, as a church, we prayed that everyone would invite two people to join them on Easter. Church attendance doubled. A record 1790 people came to Hoboken Grace that Sunday.

Studies show that people are more likely to attend church on Easter Sunday than any other date. But what if we not only invited people we know on Easter, what if we prayed that God would allow us to cross paths with people who need to be invited?

Think about your own story, the stories of the people in your dinner group, the stories of the people you’ve met at connection events, and the people whose stories you’ve read on this blog.

In some cases, someone did invite them to church. But more often, it seems, God used people indirectly. Maybe someone saw your post on social media, or you handed them a granola bar at the PATH. Maybe they read your blog post, or watched your video, or saw you smiling outside 301 Garden. Or maybe they walked in one day and you invited them to come back by the way you shook their hand, or played that song, or cared for their kids.

What if in addition to praying about the people we want to invite this Easter, each one of us also asked God to use us this season? Let’s pray that the words and smiles of our team members and dinner group friends would impact others.  That God would use us to reach not just the people we’re inviting, but everyone we encounter.

Like Jesus, we need to meet people where they are. And that means we need to pray for opportunities to reach people who need to be invited. If we asked God to use each one of us this season, the possibilities for impact are endless.

Easter service times are as follows:

Good Friday, March 30th: 5 p.m. (with Grace Kids), 6:30 p.m. (no Grace Kids)

Easter Saturday Service, March 31st: 5 p.m. (with Grace Kids)

Easter Sunday Service, April 1st: 8:30 a.m. (with Grace Kids), 10 a.m. (with Grace Kids), 11:30 a.m. (with Grace Kids), 1 p.m. (no Grace Kids)