Non-Christians, Would you be offended if I came and knocked on your door in this manner?

Question

First, assume you moved into an area and received a large postcard from a Church inviting you to church.

Then sometime, later what you think if a person from that Church came to your door and handed you a free mug, information about the community and the church and simply welcomed you to the community and invited you to church. Then if you did not want to make conversation I would politely leave.

Do you think this is intrusive? Do you find this offensive? Please give me your comments.

This is something I actually plan on doing in my area only to those that we have sent those postcards to and I just wanted to see what the R&S community would think.

***UPDATE***
I would not preach to anyone. I would engage in conversation if I felt the person was interested or conversational in nature. Otherwise I would PROMPTLY and POLITELY leave.

***UPDATE 2***
Thanks for your honest comments. No thumbs down for me for anyone here! I am hoping to get even more honest responses! Thanks a lot!

***UPDATE 3***
I meant no thumbs down FROM me for anyone here.

Answer 1

Welcoming me to the community and inviting me to a church alone would not offend me, in fact- I would find it to be a nice gesture. HOWEVER- preaching to me at my doorstep would piss me off immensely.


Think outside the bun...

Answer 2

welcoming committees are not new. so they are no big deal. we recently moved, and received two baskets from the area with a few messages from churches, and local businesses. i may never use those businesses because of no need, but i still use those free t shirts when i mow the lawn.

FREE IS GOOD!, no matter who gave it to you.

You can't direct this towards Christians, and Non-Christians, because you will not know what they believe before you know on their door. (unless they have posted a sign in the yard) Some people, believers or not, do not want the intrusion. especially while moving, it's a very stressful time. so if you do this, give them some time to settle in.

and finally, going door to door witnessing is totally different than just dropping by and welcoming, maybe inviting them to stop by IF they are receptive, then getting out of their way. Since they are new to the area, invite them to ask questions about the community, schools, restaurants, and areas of interest. that may be of help to them.

Answer 3

This is very common in the south, several churches within four miles of us have done this on an annual basis and frequently canvas our neighborhood. None of them remain polite and welcoming and politely take no for an answer. They ALWAYS then ask one of the following:

(1) Have you asked Jesus to be your personal savior?

(2) If you died today, do you know where you would go?

Upon my revealing that I am a Christian and already a member of the Episcopal Church USA, you would think they would leave politely. Nope. They then start in with questions about my theological beliefs. God forbid they discover I don't believe in the rapture or that most people are going to burn in hell forever or that the Bible is infallible. They will stand on my porch and condemn me or my wife until we literally shut the door in their faces, which we have had to do on several occasions.

Note that the primary offender here is the Evangelical Two Rivers Baptist, which hosted Bill Frist & James' Dobson's political rally for intervening in the Schiavo case and who actually put up signs along the front of the massive megachurch road front that tell people to vote for Republicans.

Grrrr.

Answer 4

Yes, I'd think it was highly intrusive, especially given the fact that you already knew that you'd sent a postcard, and knew that I didn't respond.

I don't want your coffee mug sitting around in my house, giving people the impression that I believe what your church teaches. I have no interest in your church; if I wanted information, I'd ask for it, as I'm not an infant, mentally challenged, or socially incapable of functioning.

I don't need people coming uninvited to my home, especially as I live alone. It's unlikely I'd answer the door at all (I'm not a person who feels I have ANY obligation to answer the door if I don't know the person standing there); if I did, it would simply be to request that you leave immediately.

In particular, I'd probably be pissed because it should be immediately apparent to anyone that I'm Jewish, given the fact that there is a mezuzah on my door. If you don't know what that is, then you should educate yourself.

Answer 5

Go easy on the invitation and make sure the info you give shows all other churches in the area. You want them to know God, not just fill your own churches' pews.
Since I am already Christian, I'd have you in for coffee or something, then most likely visit your church.
P.S. Remember breath mints. You want your visit to be memorable, but NOT for a wrong reason!!!

Answer 6

I'm a Christian, and I certainly find it annoying when Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses make unannounced visits. But, that's mostly because they're kind of preachy. I think if you are polite and invite them to church, that's a pretty nice gesture. It will at the very least help develop a sense of community.

This isn't offensive in the least bit. I'm not offended when Girl Scouts try to sell me cookies at my door. So, anyone who would be offended by your mere presence and friendly invitation has some sort of mental disorder.

Answer 7

That wouldn't bother me if it was kept friendly. There is nothing wrong with a community invitation. But if anyone tries to start a dialogue on religion I get mad real quick! Many people, including myself, don't believe it is ethical to go around spreading your religion like wildfire. Everyone should be able to grow spiritually how ever they want, and not have other people's religion forced on them. However, a simple welcoming invitation to church is very different, and I don't see anything wrong with it, as long as it is ONLY an invitation

Answer 8

Well, if I wanted to know about a movie I would look it up on line, if I wanted to go out to dinner it would not be because a certain restaurant knocked on my door without me calling them first. Long gone are the days of door to door salesmen but even then they were offering a product not asking you to attend a service, I think is rude and pushy. If you would like to invite someone to church send them a post card if they do not show up then take the hint....

Answer 9

1) I would throw the postcard away because I am an atheist. But some people might like that if they were Christian people looking for a new church. You might just want to write a nice, handwritten note saying, "Hi, I am ______. I just wanted to welcome you to the community. We'd love for you to attend services @ _________. If you have questions please don't hesitate to call me at 555-5555. Thanks! And then just leave it up to them.

In all honesty, I think it would be nice if you stopped there. We don't like getting into these awkward moments with you people. You have no way of knowing if your target audience is a Christian or not. And I can honestly say I have never met one of you that just politely left. We don't want to get into a spiritual discussion with you, we want to unpack. We don't want to tell you what our faith is, it's none of your business. And if it isn't Christian we could be in for ostracization from parts of the community. And yes, it has happened.

Answer 10

I wouldn't be offended. I would wonder why you showed up and if you lived in my neighborhood. If you didn't then it may strike me a little different. The mug would be a little weird to me. Sorry my thoughts aren't running together here. I guess the biggest thing is I wouldn't be offended as long as you weren't preaching to me or telling me I was going to hell for not believing as you do.

Answer 11

I'm a believer, so let me add a couple of thoughts.

New to the area is a good idea. . .

You can invite them to church, OR you can ask them what their prayer needs are. Ask can you carry their names to church Sunday, to offer them up in prayer.

Ask this -- and do it -- no matter how the rest of the conversation goes.

-- as an aside . . . I can't believe how hostile people are at the idea of someone knocking on their door. What sort of world are we living in, that we have so much anger for people who simply knock on our doors?? --


Godspeed.