Why not just invite the dropout to church?
A great question! Do that! After several different people and attempts you may see that this doesn't typically work. Why not?
The strongholds in their mind will offer up thoughts like:
- Already been there/done that.
- Just a bunch of hypocrites—why bother?
- The church hurt me before—they won't get another chance.
- All I need is Jesus.
- Nature is my church.
- I have other priorities.
And so on.
Generally speaking, you are not going to get most dropouts back into church by asking them. It's the stronghold—the false belief system they have bought into - that is preventing them. This is one of the central elements of the Hunters strategy—to learn how to deal with strongholds as you begin to engage with the dropout.
Tip:
Consider two or three people in your sphere of influence who are dropout believers. Go ahead and invite them to church. If they say "No thanks," ask why. You may receive an eye-opening response. Begin to pray and ask God to reveal to you the real "why" behind the dropout. Then you can begin to pray for the root issue to be dealt with spiritually. For more depth on this, read Chapter 1 in Hunters of the Harvest. 
Louis Posthauer is the executive director of Hunters of the Harvest Ministry. He has been actively involved in the local church for 37-plus years and currently serves as a lay leader and teacher at Living Word Church of the Nazarene in Houston. For more information: huntersoftheharvest.org.
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