As a new staff member here at Assembly Buildings, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Neil Harrison, I am married to Suzanne and we have 2 children, Henry (aged 5) and Maisie (aged 4). I am a member of Waringstown Presbyterian Church, and until January of this year, I was on staff there for 12 years. For the last 3 years of that time, my role was Community Pastor, where I was helping our church to connect better with the local community.
Stepping into a new role
In February I took up the position of Mission Development Officer for PCI. My primary remit rests in the Council for Congregational Life and Witness where I am tasked with envisioning, equipping and enabling congregations to think about community witness, evangelism and involvement in global mission. In addition, I have remits within the Council for Mission in Ireland and the Council for Global Mission that allow me the privilege of engaging with the full breadth of mission by PCI across the world.
In the last 2 months I have had some wonderfully encouraging conversations with ministers and leaders from a broad range of contexts, who are seeing kingdom growth in the lives of people, and I am incredibly encouraged by that! Without exception, the common denominator in these places is a strong investment in relationships and the building of community. God’s people taking seriously Jesus’ call to be salt and light in their everyday lives makes a difference in eternity.
The importance of invitation
I’ve been struck recently by the absolute importance of ‘invitation’ in enabling our friends who are not Christians to encounter Jesus. However, Michael Harvey (from the Back to Church Sunday movement) has carried out research in churches across the world and discovered that:
‘80-95% of Christians around the world will NEVER invite anyone to church.’
The primary reason why people will not invite is fear. Fear of the unknown, of awkwardness or of damaging a relationship are all real fears. Perhaps the greatest fear is that they will say no! Here, Harvey is especially liberating as he makes clear that success is not getting a ‘yes’, and nor is a ‘no’ a failure. Success is simply to make the invitation. The ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is God’s job!
The Talking Jesus research (2015) carried out in England highlighted two encouraging facts for me that I think are applicable to Northern Ireland:
- 67% of non-Christian adults in England say they know a practising Christian, and that person is most likely to be a friend or family member.
- When non-Christians are asked to describe the Christians they know, the response is overwhelmingly positive: Friendly (67%), caring (51%), fun (46%), generous (38%), compared to narrow-minded (13%), hypocritical (10%), and homophobic (7%).
Sometimes we are silenced by a fear that the world is against us. Be encouraged! Most non-Christians know an active Christian friend, and they like them! So wouldn’t it be great if lots of us took confidence from this and extended an invite this week knowing that the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is in God’s hands and that this simple invitation could have eternal results as people encounter the good news of Jesus Christ.
Neil Harrison is the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's Mission Development Officer, based in Assembly Buildings, Belfast. Married to Suzanne, the father of two previously worked as Community Pastor in Waringstown Presbyterian Church.
The Council for Congregational Life and Witness seeks to support the on-going life, mission and witness of congregations in their work with all age-groups. It also has the responsibility for encouraging and resourcing congregations to witness in their communities where they are placed. The Council provides training and resources in many areas including worship, discipleship and evangelism.