Byron United Church in London, Ontario shares insights on strengthening its invitation into the way of Jesus
Byron United Church is a neighbourhood congregation in London, Ontario. Grounded in the United Church’s evangelical stream, it is a church where “Jesus is Lord.” Byron United is a community of people from many backgrounds and cultures, embracing a life of worship, growth, and service. It has a long tradition of welcoming newcomers, with a recent average of 20 new members joining each year!
Byron’s Good News for a Change evangelism event featured four worship times spread over a September weekend. Prayer was abundant. Music mixed contemporary Christian songs and older hymns, all led with joy and energy by its choir and praise team. United Church clergy from southwest Ontario and Nova Scotia shared invitational preaching.
For a glimpse at what was offered, check out the Good News for a Change worship services online:
Seeds for this were planted a few years ago. A couple wanted to see their church grow, and gave $30,000 to help this happen! A newly formed growth team developed a vision for Good News for a Change: they prayed that people would come to know and trust Jesus, either for the first time or through a renewal of their faith.
Members received advertising postcards to give to friends. Others were delivered to homes in the area, and large signs went up on major traffic thoroughfares. Advertisements ran in the city’s newspaper, a community magazine, and on social media.
The worship services were a great success, with crowds at some reaching over 100. I wonder what effects this weekend will continue to have on the Byron congregation. Hearing other members share their deeply treasured stories of faith and transformation is profound.
I asked Byron’s minister, Rev. Dr. Greg Brawn, what other congregations can learn from Byron’s experience. We’re a broadly diverse denomination. How Byron does things won’t be for everyone, but these key takeaways can teach us all something.
Express the gospel
Byron is clear about its understanding of the good news of Jesus. It’s inviting people into a relationship with the Living God. God’s love in Jesus Christ is our treasure, passed to us by gospel writers and the first apostles. Proclaim it!
How about you? What good news do you have to share? How are you offering the Jesus story to others? How can you tell it better?
Authenticity is vital
Good News for a Change fit Byron United’s identity and culture. Congregations do best when they strengthen who they really are, instead of trying to become something else.
Focus on who you are, the gifts and identity God has given you. Strengthen these. Rejoice in them!
Personal invitations matter
The church is strange to many of our neighbours. They are often wary of religious activities and spaces. Having someone they trust invite and offer to go with them can make things easier. It creates room for ongoing conversations about the most meaningful things in life, and in faith. To offer invitations, your members must be committed, confident, and properly equipped. Advertising can support personal invitations, but it never replaces them.
What excites your people about God? About your church? How can this inspire them to offer generous, respectful invitations to others?
Share stories
Throughout each service, people shared their experiences of Christ. Both lay members and guest clergy spoke, with some publicly sharing their stories for the first time. Everyone emphasized the extravagance of God’s grace and the abundance of God’s love. It really was good news!
God’s story is told through personal stories. We remember stories. They change us.
What opportunities do people in your congregation have to share their stories with each other? How can they celebrate what God has been doing in their lives? This alone can revitalize a church community.
Offer next steps
Byron followed up on Good News for a Change by offering the Alpha course. It is a proven way to welcome people into conversations about the basics of Christian faith. I also recommend a course called Being With, which like Alpha comes from a Church of England parish in London, England. Its theology is less charismatic-evangelical, and its approach is deeply focused on forming relationships.
Give people a chance to respond and discover more.
Try variety
A future event at Byron might not focus solely on worship services. Non-worship activities might be more accessible to people for whom the church is a strange and intimidating experience—perhaps offer breakfast or lunch events. Another time of year might work well too. June days are longer, and evening events more attractive.
Be creative! Offer hospitality in ways that fit your neighbourhoods.
Byron’s story reminds us that the heart of invitation is people sharing their experiences of the good news and how God has changed their lives. When we offer authentic invitations and celebrate the grace we’ve experienced, we will see God work in surprising ways.
Every congregation will do this in its own way. Lean into who you are, trust the Spirit’s leading, and keep proclaiming the good news. Jesus transforms others. He changes us, too!
Do you want to explore how your congregation can share its invitation with others? Get in touch with your regional council’s growth animator and have a conversation. Contact us at growth@united-church.ca.
—Greg Smith-Young serves as a Growth Animator alongside existing and newly forming communities of faith in southwest Ontario. In September, he spent a weekend with a congregation that wholeheartedly invites neighbours to experience the transforming love of Jesus.
The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.