How can your church community better embody the call in Matthew 22:9? The King’s Call in Plain View “Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.” (Matthew 22:9) Jesus speaks a clear, literal directive: get up, seek people where they are, and extend the royal invitation to His feast. Every local church is meant to live this mandate daily. Recognizing the Crossroads Around Us • Major streets, parks, and transit hubs where people naturally pass • Online “crossroads” – local Facebook groups, neighborhood apps, community forums • Cultural crossroads – festivals, farmer’s markets, sporting events, college campuses • Personal crossroads – the break room, family gatherings, kids’ activities • Crisis crossroads – hospitals, shelters, recovery centers, prisons Practical Ways to Go • Walk-up outreach: small teams offering conversation, prayer, and gospel tracts at busy corners • Home-based hospitality: weekly open-table meals that encourage members to bring unchurched friends • Service projects in public view: litter cleanups, free car washes, supply drives, always coupled with verbal gospel witness (Mark 16:15) • Community classes: ESL, budgeting, parenting – each session ending with a short, gracious presentation of Christ • Digital evangelism: livestream services, short testimony videos, one-on-one chats through social media • Neighborhood prayer-walking, leaving door hangers that invite to worship and share John 3:16 Creating a Culture of Gospel Welcome • Greeters trained to recognize first-time guests and escort them personally • Clear signage, simple printed guides, friendly follow-up calls within 24 hours • Fellowship meals no later than the second Sunday a guest attends • Expectation that every member actively befriends newcomers (Romans 15:7) • Testimonies during worship highlighting recent salvations and baptisms Nurturing the New Guests • Immediate offer of a one-to-one discipleship partner (Matthew 28:19-20) • New-believer class covering assurance of salvation, daily Bible reading, prayer, and church life • Small-group placement within the first month • Encouraging public baptism as soon as the convert understands its meaning (Acts 2:41) Keeping the Invitation Pure • Always present the full gospel: sin, substitutionary atonement, resurrection, and repentance (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) • Resist watering down truth for broader appeal (Galatians 1:6-9) • Teach members to answer objections with Scripture (1 Peter 3:15) • Maintain church discipline so the witness remains credible (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) Depending on Divine Power • Regular corporate fasting for open doors (Colossians 4:3) • Mid-week prayer gatherings centered on names of the lost • Celebrating every answered prayer publicly to fuel faith • Trust that “the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” (Revelation 22:17) – He draws as we obey By stepping out to the literal crossroads, extending Christ’s gracious invitation, and faithfully shepherding those who respond, the congregation lives Matthew 22:9 every day—turning strangers into guests, and guests into lifelong disciples at the King’s table. |
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