Today I will address another student question: My friends invited me to their church and I went, but then I invited them to ours and they never come. How do I respond, and what do I do?
Well, I’m no expert on this but my first response would be to pray for them. To pray for them and to love them is the best thing you can do. Don’t take it personally and don’t get offended. If you’re comfortable enough with them, you can gently ask them why they didn’t want to come. If that doesn’t seem like a good idea to you, you can ask them again a few weeks later if they want to attend a service with you. I find it’s better to invite people to a daily or Saturday Vespers than to Divine Liturgy – it’s shorter, they don’t have to wake up on a Sunday morning, etc. I’d recommend not starting by inviting them to Pascha, for example.
Image from Rosemania on Flickr
Another idea you could try is giving them some literature on the service or some hymns to listen to so they know what to expect. Coming in a little more prepared might make them feel better about entering the church. Ask them if they have any questions and do what you can to make them feel comfortable and welcome. Be patient, kind, and loving.