“We should be so focused on celebrating and welcoming people home, that when people show up they thought we knew they were coming!”

CELEBRATING AND WELCOMING CULTURE LOOK LIKE:
- We’ve been waiting for you!
- We’ve been praying for you!
- I'm so happy you are finally home!
- Let me introduce you to my friends!
- Can I sit with you? You want to grab lunch?
- Here’s a my brother... he was lost.... now he is found.
- Here’s my sister..... she was lost..... now she is found.

We should welcome people so well that someone have to put a strategy in place to keep us from reaching our community.

TALK IT OVER

1. Share your B.C. (Before Christ) experience. What was it like to be a lost son or daughter without knowing Jesus? What feelings did you expect when you first starting coming to church? How if any did the welcoming or connections at a church make a difference in you decision to follow Jesus?

2. Share about your initial church experiences. What things made you feel welcome? What things turned you off to coming back? How important was that initial welcoming home experience in you picking a church and/or going to church? What are one or two actions you can take each Sunday to make other feel more welcome?

3. Read Luke 15:24, For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Make a list of God’s people in your life that need to be invited home. What are one or two action steps you can take these next few weeks to help these people find home? Stop and pray for these people. Let’s welcome every person next Sunday like a lost son or daughter and we knew they were coming!