Psalm 91:1-6

Psalm 91:14-16

1Timothy 6:6-19

Shortly after I arrived here, Chuck Witt invited me to his Rotary Club.  I enjoyed this great group of people, a good meal, and hearing about the project they were working on.  Several people asked me where our church was and I told them.  I also thought to myself if Rotary doesn’t know where we are, then we have a real growth area to work on.  I also remember Chuck giving his “elevator speech.”  You know what that is right, the one minute motivational speech to get someone connected to your charity or business.  He recalled back in the day saying one of the selling points of his church is that we do not have a mortgage.  I am sure our church was celebrating this major financial accomplishment.

So I ask you what is your elevator speech for inviting someone to St. Andrew Church?   If you met them in the grocery store line, or the gym, what would you say to motivate them to come and visit our beautiful church?   This gets at the final of the three questions we have been pondering, why do people need Jesus?  Why people need Church? “Why people need this Church?”  So I put it to you, why do people need this church?

Wow!!!  Great job, you took a risk, shared your thoughts.  But like everything, we get better with practice.  How do we take what you all just said and help people see why they might want or need St. Andrew Church?  I think it comes down to the elevator speech. So even though we are not selling anything, the principles are the same. In the business world they have customers, but we are inviting our friends, neighbors and strangers to discover the value of St. Andrew Church.

Now I realize that church has very different value from a business, but business has realized the power of a good elevator speech.

A good elevator speech has three main points: The Jeffery James* Benefit, The Differentiator, and The Ask.

            The Benefit. That’s the reason the customer might want what you have to offer, why your neighbor might want to come to church.

   The Differentiator. That’s the reason the customer might want to buy from YOU, come to this church.

             The Ask. That’s where you ask for meeting the customer, if the customer shows interest, meeting someone here before worship

*(http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-to-give-a-flawless-elevator-pitch.html)

So let’s break this down.  The benefit is never the product that you’re selling, like this church. (I know we are not selling the church but stay with me.) You don’t just tell a person how wonderful this church is; you seek to find the benefit this church can offer them.  The benefit is always the effect (aka “impact”) that having faith, coming to church could have on that person’s life.  The benefit must be something specifically and directly relevant to the person.  That is what motivates them to come.  That might be why it is easier to invite when a person is seeking, or needing faith or a church home.  Many times in my ministry, I have been asked to do a funeral for someone I have never met, but through that life event, and sharing the love of God in the time of need, a family member has sought to participate in church.  They discovered or rediscover the value of being in community and comfort of Jesus walking with them in their grief.  They know the benefit of faith.

First we find the benefit, and then we offer the differentiator.  The differentiator is what makes our church different from every other church. If there’s no differentiator, you’re selling the larger church, answering, “Why do people need Church?”  You are not answering why do people need this church?  Without a differentiator there’s no particular reason to buy from you, to come to this church.   A couple differentiators – St. Andrew is a boutique church- small and caring and you are able to jump right in.  We give you the personal touch, and seek to help you strengthen your personal relationship with Jesus.   St. Andrew is a community, like Paul describes, of good, generous and ready to serve people. We live out our faith through mission. We are people who “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith and love” (11).  St. Andrew people “take hold of life that really is life” (19).    We worship together, strive to meet real needs of real people here and in El Salvador, we share our struggles in life lifting each other up in prayer.  We seek life that really is life, not life that is consumed by the love of money. We also love God, and live faithfully in the hope of salvation, abiding in the shadow of the Almighty (Ps.14, 1) So you would choose the one differentiator that might impact that specific person the most.  You certainly would not offer a long laundry list.

Remember, all of this is a brief and casual conversation, something you might have next to the water cooler.  Now you might have shared the benefit and differentiated St. Andrew but you get nervous on the ask.  You might say why don’t you come to church sometime.  That’s GREAT!!! You invited someone to church!!  But you might consider saying, “How about I meet you in front of the cross at 10:15 and we can sit together?   You have made it personal and specific, inviting them to join you.  John Gray told me, a couple asked him about the church he attends and his said he would meet them here.  So even though he had a hard night, he came to church to welcome this couple.   He made the ask, the invitation, and he followed through with a warm welcome.

So it might sound something like this:

Hey what are you doing this Sunday?

Oh I’m going to church in the morning.

Church, really?

Yeah St. Andrew is my church family and they help me get closer to God.   Julie, I know you like to garden, we have so much fun planting and adding to God’s natural beauty.

Hmmm, I do like to garden.  They help you get closer to God?

Yah, do you want to meet me there at 10:30 on Sunday and I can introduce you around?

I’d like that.

So maybe rather than the stairway to heaven, we will be taking the elevator.  And inviting a few people along to join us!  AMEN!