At my 50th birthday party I made a special effort to invite a mix of my non-Christian friends (neighbours, relatives, and kids’ school contacts) and my Christian friends (mainly from church or work).
There was some intermingling between the groups and I’m sure they asked each other the obvious question, “Where do you know Craig from?” Hopefully this started some good conversations. At the very least, my non-Christian friends got to see that my Christian friends are normal, friendly people.
At the movies
A few years ago, two Christian friends teamed up to go to the movies. They each invited a couple of non-Christian friends to go with them. They chose a movie that might generate some good conversation over dinner afterwards. The night was a great success, thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Two of the women who came that night have since become Christians. I don’t know exactly how this night helped these women along their spiritual journeys, but I’m sure it helped in some way.
Mixing and matching your Christian and non-Christian friends can be a powerful catalyst for the gospel.
Normal and natural
The challenge is to find an event that is normal and natural to invite people to. This is less of an issue for many single people who are keen to meet new people in almost any context. But some of my older friends with families would think it weird that I want them to meet my church friends. So inviting them to a special event like a birthday party or a New Year’s Eve party or a Grand Final party, where they might already be expecting to meet a mix of people, would be much more natural.
Action: Use your next birthday to organize a mixed group to go out for lunch or dinner. Diarize it now.
Match
Another tip is to match friends with similar interests. I know a group of Christian guys who go cycling together on Saturday mornings. They’ve invited other men to the group who aren’t Christian. Their interest in cycling binds them together and they have all become good friends. I’m told that good conversations about the ‘bigger questions’ of life are had while pedaling down the highways and relaxing afterward in the coffee shop.
Action: What interests do you have that you could invite a group of Christian and non-Christian friends to share in?
Pray: Thank God for the good things you enjoy doing with others. Ask God to give you the creativity and energy to mix and match your Christian and non-Christians friends.
