Having a sleepover with a friend is one of life’s first adventures as you both try to stay up as late as you can and maybe do things you wouldn’t normally do in your own home.

When I was 8 years old, I spent the night with my friend Brett. But the experience doesn’t stay in my memory because of the sleeping-over. It was the next morning that I did something out of the ordinary.  

Brett and his family were good Baptists and so part of the sleepover meant that I would go to church and Sunday school with them. It was different than my United Methodist Sunday school. One of the biggest differences is what the teacher said at the end of the class: “If there is anyone here who would like to invite Jesus into their heart today, you can come up and talk to me after class.”  

It’s never too early to offer an altar call in a Baptist church and, for whatever reason, something compelled me to go up to that teacher after class. “I would like to invite Jesus into my heart.” I have no memory of the look on the teacher’s face. Did this happen often? But I do remember her taking me outside the class and as we sat down on the green carpeted steps, she led me in a prayer.  

As I grew up, I pooh-poohed that experience as not that meaningful. But the fact that it has stayed with me means something, I think, so I’m claiming it as my first come-to-Jesus moment.  

The more time I spend in my position, the more I learn about all kinds of resources to offer or suggest to churches, but I also find myself wanting to keep asking leaders—whether they’re clergy or lay—what is your Jesus story? Why are you a part of a church in the first place? Why did you say yes to Jesus?  

These are really big questions. Still, I would love to start collecting responses as a way for us as a conference to be reminded of why we are a part of the church in the first place.  

When it comes to evangelism and outreach, I confess that I spend time sharing a lot of “how” resources: how you can be in your community, how you should have a welcoming space, etc. But before a church gets into the “how,” I think it’s important to first answer the why and who questions. Why am I inviting someone in the first place?  

Once we spend time with the “why” question, a church can then ask, “Who specifically is God calling us to connect with?” After spending time with those questions, then we can start tackling the “how.”  

1 Peter 3:15 encourages us, “Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope” (CEV). What is your Jesus story? It might be a story like mine, something that has stuck with you over the years. It might be something that happened yesterday.  

I’d love to collect them so we can remind each other of why we are connected as United Methodists. Please share your story. This is not to save the church. It’s because sometime in our life, we had a come-to-Jesus moment and our lives have never been the same. And whether you’re 8 or 88, that story is the best resource for church renewal we have.