We have a slogan at Celebration Seventh-day Adventist Church — "Loving God, Loving People...Simply Our Way of Life."

For realtor, Dawn Thomas, this means that every day is filled with GOD encounters in the most simple and ordinary moments. As she does each day, Dawn helps people find potential places to live. She invites them to look over all sorts of houses, apartments, and estates. But Dawn sensed that helping Ms. Sandra find a house would only partially meet her need.

"So I invited her to my church," recalls Dawn, "my spiritual home."

In her travels and lifetime, Ms. Sandra had found religion in a variety of places including the Church of England, but as she joined Dawn to experience Celebration Seventh-day Adventist Church, she shared, "This was a place where the warmth of relationships was apparent . . . Dawn kept inviting me, and I kept on returning."

What started as a simple invitation became a realization of family. . . a discovery of home. Ms. Sandra began attending a LifeLines Bible Study, discovering more about her Seventh-day Adventist family.

“The Bible studies echoed what I have found in this lovely church family,” commented Ms. Sandra, “The Seventh-day Adventist life values make it clear that life can be lived to the full. Where past religion had at times made things complicated, this was simple and relevant.”

Easter weekend, Ms. Sandra publicly professed her faith in Jesus Christ and shared with family and friends that she had found her spiritual home. Standing by her side was Dawn Thomas, at one time simply her realtor, but now her sister. . . The result of a simple invitation.

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May I challenge you to simply invite people to join you? Over this month I am asking God to bring to your mind people you can invite to:
a) lunch or dinner
b) to the small group you attend
c) to church on Saturday morning
d) any combination of the above
I’m trusting God to be faithful to be with you all along the exciting adventure. Invite someone today.

-Allan

A. Allan Martin, PhD, was the coach/pastor for the Celebration Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church plant in the heart of the Central Florida tourism district at the time this article was submitted.