Ready to Receive an Invitation // M-Note 3.14.2026

A few weeks ago I was talking to a woman who had started coming to The Gathering in the past year. She was sharing with me the way that our church has helped her to believe in God after a long stretch of being unsure of her faith or the purpose of church. I told her how much it meant to me that she shared her experience. We started The Gathering to help people who weren’t finding church relevant or meaningful connect to God in a new way. This is why we exist! Before our conversation ended, I asked her one more question, “How did you find The Gathering?”

She smiled and replied, “Well, every year a friend reaches out and invites me to your big Easter service, and last year I was finally ready to say yes.”

I loved the way she phrased that. “I was finally ready to say yes.” Sometimes we invite a friend once and never do it again. But just because someone doesn’t say yes doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested. It may just mean they aren’t ready yet. We are here every Sunday and sometimes it takes people months or years to be “ready” to try church.

Sometimes it is life transitions that make us ready. Sometimes it is loss, or sudden change in our life. Others find themselves ready when tragedy strikes, or they receive unexpected news. Certain people find themselves ready when life is overwhelming, stressful, or unmanageable in some way. For some people, it is just an internal shift that causes them to grow curious about God or faith. Our lives change and shift. That means that sometimes people refuse invitations because they are not at a place in life where they feel like they need it. But it also means those same people might find themselves “ready” when something changes in their life.

That is one of the reasons that invitation is important. We never want to bother or badger people, but times like Easter offer us an opportunity to check back in with someone, and offer the invitation again.

This Easter, The Gathering will once again have two big Easter worship services at The Factory in Chesterfield at 9 and 10:45am. We will also have one worship service at our Metro East Site (Dogwood Social in O’Fallon, IL) at 10am. We will have a dedicated kids ministry, incredible music, an inspiring message, and a few fun surprises. Most of all, Easter is a morning of hope, and we all need that right now.

So this week, I’d love your help. Think of a few people in your life that may be ready for an invitation. Reach out to them now and invite them to join you on Easter morning. You can find events for each service to share here as well as other information about Easter here. Just like the woman I talked to a few weeks ago, you may find that now is the time a friend might be ready for something new in their life.

Peace,

Matt

P.S. Easter services are only possible with the help of amazing volunteers. I hope you'll consider serving. We need people to help set up on Saturday morning and at the services on Sunday, mainly on the hospitality team or in kids ministry. You can sign up at either The Factory or Metro East. If you have any questions, you can contact Samantha Smith.