• You can't bring in, or recruit new members without attracting them. Sure, God grows the church, but He uses US to do it.

• We need to ask ourselves, "Why would someone want to become a part of our church?"

• Recruiting quality new members is crucial to fulfilling God's purpose for your church.

• Membership is part of the Great Commission. Current church members must reach out to and ask people to become a part of your church.

• Once a potential member is ready and willing to join your church, you need to make sure that the Induction ceremony is significant and meaningful. Many churches have insignificant and meaningless Induction ceremonies. Make yours memorable.

• We use the term "induction" because it is God who adds to the church, joining individuals to the Body of Christ. You can't "join" them to the church,  but you can "induct" them into the church as members.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT

• The future of your church depends on God's working among your people and your ability to make the church meaningful, relevant, and attractive to the next generation of members. You can't do this with boring services, traditionalism and a negative attitude against people who are different.

• The strategies adopted by your church to recruit new members will affect the continuity of the church and its ability to serve future generations. We have to make sure that we are people of prayer who invite the Presence of God into our services. People aren't hungry for more meetings, more songs or more information. They are hungry for hope, help and a sense of being in the presence of their Creator. And this probably won't happen if they come into a dry, unfriendly and emotionally sterile environment. If YOU aren't excited about serving the Lord of the Universe, you can't expect them to be very excited about Him, either.

• If your people sit in the services and wait for people to drop in uninvited, they will be like a fisherman who sits in his boat and waits for fish to hop up into it. Jesus says we have to cast the net out, so God can send the fish into it. No net casting, no fish. In other words, they need to know not only that your church exists, but the hundreds of people who pass by your building each week need to get the impression that it would be a good thing to get out of bed on a Sunday morning and get dressed to come and worship with you.

• As your members invite people to come in, it re-sells them on the benefits of their church, and helps them to be more zealous and excited about the Lord and His working in your church.

So, what steps can a new or existing Member take to reach out, recruit and induct new members?

• Identify. Be on the lookout for all potential candidates for membership. Family, friends, neighbors, co workers, employees of businesses your people patronize. Ask, "Who do you know who could benefit from being involved with our church and would bring a benefit to the church by becoming members?"

• Inform. You're preaching to a passing parade. People who knew about you a year ago might not even live in your town anymore. Hundreds more have moved into your area since last year. Through current members, advertising and outreach provide prospective members with information on the benefits of what the Gospel can do for them, the specific and unique benefits of being involved with your church, and what membership entails. Inform the potential member about church programs, projects and opportunities for service.  Provide information on church activities and events, as well as your church’s mission, international missions and programs.

• Invite. Invite personally, by telephone, use email, have a website, use advertising or other publicity, and find enough reasons for prospective members to come to church functions, events, activities, outreaches and services. As they show interest, and commitment to Christ, invite them to join the church.

Emphasize reasons for joining that highlight the candidates’ personal interests, not necessarily those of the person inviting. For example, the person doing the inviting may be excited about youth activities but the new member has no children. The midweek Bible study, adult ministries, community involvement opportunities, fellowship dinners  or other program item may be of more interest.

• Instruct candidates in the things of the Lord as well as how to get the most out of being involved with your church family. Give them a biblical understanding of what it means to be saved, to know Jesus Christ in a real and personal way. Help them to become active in the things of God, and to grow in Him. Love them, serve them and set the example for them in how great it is to have a life of walking with the Lord in fellowship with His people.

• Induct candidates into your church. The person who initially invited the new member should be a part of the Induction Ceremony. Before the induction ceremony, assign current church members to new members, to help them become part of the church. Develop a significant and meaningful induction ceremony to instill new members with a sense of pride and belonging. Welcome them into church family in a memorable way.

As a minimum, have an Orientation evening the night before, where church leaders will be in attendance, and a brief history of your church, an introduction of ministries and leaders is presented, as well as a recap on what it means to be a Believer and part of a church. Go over the expectations you have for them as a Member, as well as attendance requirements (at least 60%, or 31 Services per year), time commitments and financial expectations.

• Orient new members by introducing them to current members, inviting them to become involved in one or more of the Functional Ministry Groups, give them personal invitations to attend Men's and Women's Ministry meetings and other events of the church.

• Educate new members in the Word, about your church, and movement. Encourage them to buy and listen to the tapes, CD's and books that we have available to help them grow more quickly. Continue to provide opportunities to grow, information about the activities and administration of our church, the Body of Christ and what God is doing worldwide.

• Involve new members in current church projects and activities. Invite them to sit in on planning sessions, and ask for their opinions. Traditionally, in most organizations the decisions are made by longstanding members and leaders. A more effective method of decision making and planning is to select a few long term members, a few who have been part of the church for 3 to 5 years and then some of the new attendees, even if they are not members. These new members or attendees will have fresh insights and questions about issues that perhaps had been dealt with 4 or 5 years ago, but now have become issues again.

• Activate new members as quickly as possible in serving and planning. Get as much input from them as possible. Assign new members to committees or projects based on their interests and giftings. Develop and carry out a mentoring program to involve new members. People are less likely to drop out if they are functioning, involved and are interacting with other people in the church.

You say regularly that potential members are out there, if you know how to spot them. What are some traits we should be looking for in potential members?

• People with a need, a want, a dream or a desire to make a difference in their own lives and/or the lives of others. People who have spiritual inclinations but may not be part of a local church. People who are part of a church that is a long drive for them, say 45 minutes or more. Invite them to Sunday evening services and Wednesday night Bible study.

• People who want a change and are ready to change for the better.

• People of good character, positive outlook, spiritually minded and with a good business or personal reputation.

• People in a position of responsibility, with a managerial or executive position, because they  tend to be more observant and inclined towards personal growth, teach-ability and making changes.

• People who have a place of business or residence in the locality of the church or the surrounding fifteen to twenty minute drive area.

• People who are basically of happy temperament, who can get along with people or are willing to – Note: You are NOT intentionally recruiting people who have proven track records of hopping from church to church and finding fault with every church and ministry they come into contact with. People who hate people are welcome, but we are "fishing," not "crabbing." Crabs feed on dead flesh.

What are some specific potential sources for new members?

• You can easily develop public service announcements that provide information about your church and your activities for use in the local media. These usually are published or announced for free.

• Hold an entire church meeting to discuss ideas for recruiting new members. Maybe on a Sunday night, Wednesday evening or Saturday

• Hold a church open house or Meet and Greet; invite a large group of potential candidates for membership to the church for an overview of the church. Here's what you need: Internally, set it up like a reception. Have snack trays, light refreshments throughout the building. Make sure ALL rooms have been cleaned and made presentable. Have about 6 or 8 friendly and presentable members on hand to  talk and give information about the church.

• Invite people that the church itself does business with, such as your banker, printer, office supply people. Have members invite people they do business with as well as co workers and neighbors. You can have this on a Thursday evening or other week night, say from 5:30 p.m. to nine. Here's why: You'll catch people on their way home from work who won't want to come back out once they've gotten home. Many people have  other meetings, such as non-profits that they serve on, and other organizations. So, a 5:30 reception with food gives them a chance to get a bite to eat while killing the time between work and their next meeting.

• Announce the Meet and Greet Reception in the paper for free, Penny Saver, local radio and then print our some invitations to personally give to your contacts. Once they get to the church for the Meet and Greet, have a Welcome pack for them with current church info and maybe a piece of chocolate, some breath mints, a ballpoint pen.

• Be sure to recruit groups of potential members from diverse demographic categories (e.g., age, gender, race).

• Encourage each member to bring a friend to a meeting at least once a year.

What else can individual Members do to help in recruitment? Please don't fell me to have them go "door to door" like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons do. Our people won't do that.

• Fair enough, but they CAN work with the Pastors to develop and implement a Membership Recruitment Plan

• They can use the demographics, socio-graphics of the community as part of the outreach/recruitment plan. These are readily available on the Internet. (www.city-data.com)

• Identify potential candidates for membership, who would be a fit and a benefit to your church. Many will already be saved but not attending a local church, or are looking for a new church home. We know that not every Christian will fit in, but there will be hundreds who will.

• Never assume that recruitment is primarily reaching people who have no spiritual foundation or knowledge. Recognize the large numbers of people in any community who are right with the Lord but are not actively plugged into a local church. There are also people who have been active in a church in the past, and for some reason they are currently unchurched.

• It's the responsibility and the privilege of Members to demonstrate their commitment to the church and the Lord who called them to it, by inviting, following up on people they have talked to and committing to recruiting and developing at least one new member during the year.

• Work with the Pastor and Leadership to plan meaningful induction ceremonies, including an Orientation Dinner or reception prior to Membership Sunday, and a Welcome Reception immediately following the service.

• We are commanded to "compel them to come in." Jesus came all the way from Heaven to earth so that not one human being anywhere would have to go to hell. No one should be left out.

• It  provides prospective members an opportunity to meet other Christians/Members and perhaps renew some old acquaintances. It is highly likely that a new attendee will know at least one existing member.

• It allows them to experience a church service, activity or program and and learn how the Lord operates in His people. One of the best ways to rekindle your fire is to invite someone else to come to the church and for them to get involved.

• It exposes the prospective member to the lives and interests of other church members, which may differ from their inviter’s interests. For example, the inviter may be a techie type, and the invitee may be interested in fast cars or motorcycles. By inviting the new person to various services, meetings and functions, contact can be made with other members with similar interests and hobbies.

• Start with a piece of literature with a general introduction to YOUR church - not necessarily to your denomination. Why? Because even though YOU are very aware of your denominational affiliation, most prospective members really don't care. They care about their own hopes, cares, needs and wants, and will judge your church on whether or not those needs can be met by their attending our LOCAL church. Denominational literature should be on hand, but not necessarily a part of our Get to Know Us package.

•  Also be sure to include info about service times and contact information, including the website address. If you don't have a website yet, GET ONE! Most Internet Service Providers provide free web space for their subscribers. At the very LEAST, use one of these, and have a web presence.

Be sure to get online and have your church listed in the many free Internet church directories.

• General church information, including the mission and purpose of your church.

• For those who are seriously interested in becoming members, provide literature explaining tithing, offerings, and other expected contributions to church financially and in time and skills.

• Expected time commitments for members – meetings and attendance requirements

• A church history and profile, which may contain the subjects listed above

• Church involvement and interaction with your denomination or association and world missions

• Emphasize your church’s broad-based community representation and participation. (Note: A local church SHOULD look like the community! Each church needs to represent the Kingdom of God in its diversity as much as possible. You need to aim at having the full spectrum of people whom God is saving in your church). Even as Wal-Mart, Target, McDonalds and Taco Bell have found a way to provide goods and services to the community at large, so MUST the church which is commanded to bring ALL people groups to the Father through Jesus Christ!

So, we publicize, reach out, invite and recruit. What are some of the benefits our church can expect, in addition to sheer numerical growth?

• Well, numerical growth is a great place to start! Never put down a ministry or church because of its "numerical growth! From numerical growth (which is really Kingdom growth, people growth) you can expect new ideas, different experiences, more contacts in the community, as you reach not just an individual, but that individual's circle of friends and associates.

• You can expect more "human resources" for the church, in terms of support, abilities, giftings, talents, inspired ideas, experience and information.

• Of course, with numerical growth, you'll experience financial growth. Your church will have more finances, and potential funding for projects, helping the needy and expanding the Kingdom.

• Highlight an outstanding new member on Sunday or at another meeting. Tell a bit about the person, how he or she got involved in the church, who invited that person, or did they read an ad, or find you on the web, etc. 

• Emphasize the achievement of membership goals from the pulpit. Make it a point to regularly have it talked about as part of the message on Sunday mornings.

• Emphasize worthwhile church projects that require assistance.

• Emphasize the increased ability to meet financial goals as your church gains new members.

How can we generate enthusiasm in our church for recruiting new members? They seem to comprehend the need, but don't have much zeal for it.

• Hold a church forum to discuss potential sources of new members. Have everyone, from say, 16 years old and up to come and then break them into a few groups of five or six, and let them come up with every idea they can. Then, go through and come up with the most practicable from the situation you're in right now.

• Make it a point of honor to bring in a new person, and to sponsor them into membership. Recognize the sponsor in the church bulletin or from the pulpit.

• Bring in members from new demographic groups (e.g., different age group, from different towns, from different regions prior to living in your community, people of different ethnicity)

• Invite a potential member to a meeting, dinner, concert, event or special project.

• ALWAYS talk positively about your church, your Pastor and its members!

• Invite a prospective member to participate in a church community project.

• Have on hand and distribute promotional items with the church name and contact information on them. These could be anything from tracts and leaflets to ballpoint pens, key chains, or calendars.

• Talk about the church, your members, your Pastors, your plans, activities and accomplishments in glowing terms. Always. This is called "edification," which means to strengthen, build up, make superior.