But that changed this past Christmas! Why? For one simple reason—I received a personal invitation. I started spending some time with one of my fellow bell choir ringers who just moved to Kansas City and dove into the local handbell scene. She and I have been enjoying a growing friendship, and in the midst of that last fall, she talked excitedly about the upcoming Christmas concerts and asked if I was coming to watch. I attended a Christmas show, and, of course, it was fabulous. I also went to one of the spring shows, and it was equally entertaining. As I sat in the audience both times, I thought to myself, I can’t believe it took me this long to come listen to Rezound! and support my fellow ringers. I surely missed out! I’m sure I thought about it several times in the past, but for whatever reason, it just neve came to fruition. But there’s no question about why I recently changed course… It wasn’t a group text, group announcement or a group email. It was a one-on-one conversation. 

In Jesus’ earthly ministry, He did preach to a lot of crowds. Large groups of people gravitated toward Him! It seems like it would’ve been easy for Him to go the route of a celebrity. He could have just stepped out onto the teaching platform when it was time to preach and then slipped away to rest and rejuvenate. And ya know what? He still would have reached folks. The crowds would have heard His teachings and resonated with His message. Many of them still would have changed their ways, repented of their sins, gotten baptized and become dedicated followers. 

But the gospels also show us time after time when Jesus modeled one-on-one interactions with people. I could list so many of these! He stopped to talk to Zacchaeus, who was up in a tree, He had a lengthy dialogue with a Samaritan woman at a well, and He took the time to have more than one intimate conversation with Nicodemus. When Jesus healed people, He did it in an up close and personal way. He let the woman with the blood issue touch His cloak, and He spoke directly to dead bodies as He raised them back to life. 

Obviously Jesus is all-powerful. He could have reached Zacchaeus through a blanket statement made to a group of people as He passed by that tree, and He could have healed the bleeding woman through words meant to heal every sick person in the crowd that day. Jesus’ power and authority know no bounds. He is limitless! He can reach people in crowds and personal interactions alike with the same effectiveness. Even so, I just love that so many times, the gospels tell stories of Jesus being intimately relational. 

So if Jesus, the all-powerful Savior of the world, took time to personally invite people into His presence and into relationship with Him, don’t you think we should do the same? I’d received dozens of heartfelt invitations to Rezound! concerts over the years—heartfelt, but also invitations that were shared, generic and more on the impersonal side. When I received one invitation that was direct and personal, it was a game changer. 

How could you shift some of your invitations into life with Jesus from generic to individualized? Instead of just posting about an upcoming church event on your social media feed, personally invite someone through a text, phone call or in person conversation. Instead of just generally saying, You should come to church with me sometime, try something like this: This Sunday would be the perfect day for you to come visit my church. Can I pick you up and then take you to try my favorite coffee shop after the service? Instead of just telling someone you’re praying for them as they face a difficult situation, write a note or a text with an actual short prayer in it that you’re praying on their behalf. Then, follow up a few times to see how things are going. 

You get the idea. Now, am I saying you should stop posting invitations and Bible verses on your social media feed that are meant for a broader audience? Nope. And am I saying that a personal invitation has a 100% guaranteed success rate? Definitely not. I’m just pointing out that Jesus took the time and effort to invite and talk to people one on one. He showed us the value of getting up close and personal. So if I’m following His example as I navigate life as a disciple of Jesus, I should be doing the same. 

And I don’t think He would want me to view that as a chore. When I read the gospels, I don’t get the idea that Jesus was having one-on-one conversations while secretly checking the time and thinking about everything else He could’ve been getting done. I think He loved it! Preaching to a crowd is surely an incredible experience, but seeing the actual face of someone who’s asking questions, someone who’s experiencing healing or someone who just had a spiritual lightbulb turn on has got to be even more amazing and meaningful. Right? 

So that’s my challenge for you today! Find a way to be more personal with the people around you. Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance, and then follow the Spirit’s lead. Always be on the lookout for unexpected opportunities to arise! Intimate interactions can definitely be planned and scheduled, but all of Jesus’ intimate interactions weren’t penciled in on His agenda in advance. He was flexible and willing to pause for eye-to-eye dialogue whenever opportunities presented themselves. Are you? Who knows, maybe your personal conversation or invitation is just what somebody needs to take the next step in his or her walk with Jesus.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. -2 Corinthians 5:20a