7 Excuses Pastors Give for Not Inviting Guest Speakers

1. We don’t have the money. Inviting a guest speaker is not an expense, it is an investment. It should enhance your church, not subtract from your church.

2. We don’t have the time. The typical church meets two or three times each week. Every year, every church has 104-156 opportunities to invite a guest speaker, not including special events or conferences. It is true that churches receive an infinite supply of packets and calls from traveling ministers wanting to visit. No church can accommodate everyone, but you can choose someone to come. 

3. People don’t come to church when they know someone beside the pastor is speaking. This is a failure in promotion and advertising. The right guest speaker, promoted in the right way, should attract more people, not less. Use the visit of a guest minister as an excuse to call everyone who has not come to church for several weeks or months.

4. We had a guest speaker one time and he messed up our church. This is a risk, but one which can be minimized. The people in your church are amazingly resilient. If you have been preaching the real, they will immediately spot the counterfeit and reject it.   

5. I have to protect my flock.

6. I don’t know you. I don’t bring in anyone I don’t know. Get to know the guest speaker. Ask for some sample CDs. Visit their website. Ask for recommendations.

7. We want you to come, but right now, we don’t have a date. Pick up a calendar. On it you, will see 356 dates. Pick one. Even if it is next year or the year after.

8. I’ll pray about it. This is the Christian way of saying, “No way, Jose.” If you promise to pray, you had better do it.