This was the hymn most often used for invitations at
Faith Baptist Church in Fredericksburg, VA. I can
remember sitting in the congregation and listening to
one of our pianists play through her improvisation of
it. No doubt that was running through my head when I
made this arrangement. This is not exactly like what
she played, but it is a very easy arrangement, handy
for invitations, offertories, or specials.
This sheet music is part of the collection of crosby3145 :
Does your church do a hymn
of invitation at the end of
the service? Mine does, but
maybe yours doesn’t, and
you’re wondering what an
invitation is? Well, it’s
real simple.
An invitation is a time at
the end of the service, after
the pastor’s preached his
message, for prayer,
reflection, and commitment.
Often, the pianist will play a
quiet hymn, or the songleader
will sing a hymn, or the
congregation will even sing as
people are given the
opportunity to respond to the
message. Faced with a moment
to reflect upon God, some
people realize they aren’t
saved and take this time to
ask Jesus to save them.
That’s what the bulk of
these hymns are about. But
for those who are saved, the
invitation is a time for them
to examine their hearts, to
ask God to help them remove
any sin from their lives, to
maybe commit to do something
for God, not because they have
to, but because they want
to—because we serve such an
awesome God. The soft music
playing in the background,
often with words known by
nearly all present—words
reminding us our time on earth
is temporary, our Lord waits
to hear from us—really
causes us to step back and
think about our lives, perhaps
applying the sermon then and
there as opposed to just
listening to it and forgetting
it as soon as we leave the
church. Sure, some people
might make decisions during
the invitation, then forget
them as soon as they
leave—but others remember
them, and act upon them, and
God is pleased with these
faithful servants.
All these hymns are standard
invitation melodies, and if
your church does do
invitations, you’ve probably
sung them yourself. These
arrangements are at an
appropriate length that they
can be used as offertories,
too. Central Baptist Church,
which I used to go to when I
lived in Rockville, Maryland,
often seemed to use “Jesus
Is Calling,” page 247 in
Great Hymns of the Faith.
When I moved to Virginia,
Faith Baptist Church in
Fredericksburg used “Softly
and Tenderly,” just over on
246, though occasionally
they’d use “Jesus Is
Calling” as well. Of
course, these churches used
other songs too, and many
churches I’ve been at since
rotate a lot—I’ve
definitely heard “Jesus, I
Come,” “Have You Any Room
for Jesus,” and “Almost
Persuaded” a whole lot.
These are ten famous
invitational hymns, and I hope
they may be a blessing to
you!
Note: See the It Is Well with
My Soul collection for Have
Thine Own Way, Lord!