Is your church growing? Well, you may owe a debt of gratitude to me for that. That's right. I may be responsible for the growth of your church. How is that possible, you ask? Well, it's not something I eagerly admit but for the sake of an article I will confess once again to my 'duh' factor.

True...like many other churches in our community, our heart's desire is getting people into a good Bible believing and Bible teaching church. And also like many of our neighboring churches, our main focus is to grow the Kingdom of God. Now the most sensible thing to do to accomplish this purpose is to invite people to attend your church, right? Well, that's what I thought too. However, once again thoughts in my head sometimes escape from my mouth other than how I intended.

Here's what happened. I had gone grocery shopping and the nice man who sacked my groceries was kind enough to take them out to the car for me. As he was placing my groceries into the car I decided to ask if he attended church anywhere. He replied, "No, but I have been wanting to get back in church. I know I need to." So, I decided to invite him to visit our church. It might be a good fit for him.

Well, that's what I decided to do, however, that's not exactly what I did. Being in a small community we have grown quite close to some of the other Pastors and churches in the area. Many times our thoughts and prayers are offered up for some of them and I know they do the same for us. Anyway, I guess my mind must have been on one of those churches because when he asked which church I attended, I blurted out a church name but it wasn't ours! Can you believe it! But it didn't stop there. No, I couldn't just leave it alone. Somewhat taken aback and a bit flustered by what had just come from my mouth I quickly added, 'Oh no, I don't go there, I mean, I go to LOAH.' But then a quick second thought came as I realized that was actually an acronym we use for the church and would mean nothing to him so I continued with '...uh, I mean...I go to Light On A Hill Church in Grapeland.'

Now I'm not positive but he may have been backing away from me at this point. Certainly, he was thinking I must be some kind of a nut if I wasn't even sure what church I attended. At that moment in the conversation, I had a pretty good idea he wouldn't be visiting our church anytime soon. However, I stated the other church name so confidently at first that he might actually check them out. Okay, you can stop laughing now...surely I'm not the only Pastor's wife who invites people to other churches. Hmmm, on second thought, I probably am.

Honestly, it's not like I don't invite someone to church almost every day because I do. So, why on earth would I make such a mistake? Not sure. Maybe I'm scatterbrained (did I say maybe?) or maybe it was just an opportunity for me to remember that we are not alone in our quest to reach out to the un-churched. We have plenty of brothers and sisters in Christ who have a heart for bringing the lost to the knowledge of Jesus. And I have to admit, the church I named is certainly one such church.

I am reminded of Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV) 'There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.'

Now I'm not suggesting we all start inviting people to churches other than our own but I am tossing out the idea that maybe we shouldn't get too excited about which part of the body of Christ one might belong.

So...the next time you have a visitor, be sure to ask them how they found out about your church. No need to thank me. It's nothing. Really.