Just this week we received priceless information from the 2021 Australian community survey conducted by the NCLS in November. The full dataset is yet to be released however some important information has been made available which identifies a huge opportunity for the Australian church this Christmas.
The survey of 1286 people found that 3 in 10 Australians are likely to go to a church service this Christmas if invited by a close friend or family. Another 15% are unsure whether or not they would accept the invitation
Wow! What an opportunity that presents for the millions of family and friends of Christians around Australia!
I wonder if church leaders are making invitation easy for our attenders? Are we encouraging our church brothers and sisters to personally invite people?.
BUT – Here’s the problem for many across this country….. 56% of Australians say they don’t have any close family and friends who attend church.. Surely that cannot be true? Sure… there will be a proportion of people for whom that unfortunately is the case, but … with approximately one in five Australians in church every week 56% must be an error! Are church attenders too quiet and our friends don’t realise our faith?
With two weeks until Christmas I want to encourage all Christians… Let’s not be silent about the best news the world has ever heard. Why don’t we make an effort to invite our friends, our family and our neighbours to Christmas services this year?
By the way…
If you’re worried that the average Australian will be offended at the name of Jesus, the survey also found:
Only 1 in 5 Australians don’t believe that Jesus Christ was a real person in history!
That’s right! HALF of Australians recognise that Jesus Christ was a real person in history and another 3 in 10 say they don’t know.
Take confidence… Our fellow Australians are more open to Jesus than we think. Why not ask them to join us at Christmas so they can understand that Jesus is not only a man in history but he is the Lord and Saviour of all who believe?
