One of the core principles of Pathway Church is our invite culture. Our community is always on the lookout for friends, coworkers, neighbors, or acquaintances to invite to experience the warmth of our weekend services. This is the story of a local family positively impacted by a simple invitation.
Esperanza Lara attends the same elementary school as Lanie Waite. The two became fast friends, bonding over their shared status as newcomers to the school. Lanie’s family has attended Pathway for many years. She started inviting Esperanza to church activities and weekend services and soon the friends were attending student events and church services together.
Esperanza’s parents, Miguel and Brandi, both value faith but grew up in very different faith traditions. Over the years, Brandi and the children attended a church but it just never felt like the right fit for the whole family. That all changed when the Waite’s began inviting them and they attended Pathway for the first time during last year’s Day Camp finale weekend. Both Esperanza and her younger brother Angel had attended Day Camp that week.
It was their first-time attending church together as a family. About that first Sunday, Brandi says, “It had me in tears because I was actually in church with my family, worshiping and hearing the Word, and it felt amazing.” Coming from different cultural and faith backgrounds, finding a church atmosphere that felt good for the whole family, was a big deal.
Miguel appreciated the variety of options to experience the weekend. Whether it’s a live service, or even watching live online, there is a place for everyone to feel comfortable and hear the Word of God. This extends to the children’s ministries as well, where Brandi noted the family loves how active and engaging services for kids are, regardless of age.
Overall, they feel like finding a church to worship together as a family has strengthened their bond and opened a powerful new chapter for them. They’re grateful for the Waite family, who made it easy for them to accept the offer to attend Pathway Church and for the family- like atmosphere of the Café in the Westlink Campus, where they have been attending.
Attending a new church can feel like a daunting task because of all of the unknown elements involved. By extending an invitation and then walking through the first- time experience with someone, you can help them take that step and feel comfortable doing so. Who will you invite?