Outreach & Getting People to Actually Join

Attracting & Recruiting New Members

Article Two: Outreach & Getting People to Actually Join

Ok, we recognize the importance of getting people to come to our church. But, as long as they attend, and are supportive, why is it important to get people to officially join?

When a person joins your church, or is inducted into your church, he or she becomes an official Member, with the rights, privileges, responsibilities and commitments of Membership. This SHOULD guarantee him or her privileges such as more open access to the Pastor and staff, free counsel when needed, and inclusion in other "members only" privileges.

Many people don't feel the obligation to commit to service or financial support at any meaningful level until they have officially become members. It's hard to expect a non member to tithe or get deeply committed. Your Christian Education teachers, Worship Team Members, Youth Workers, Nursery Workers need to come from your Membership.

Bringing people into membership through a meaningful and significant Induction Ceremony inspires loyalty to the church. If you don't invite people to become members of your church, we can be sure that another church will!

The Induction Ceremony provides a distinct beginning of being an active part of a lively and committed group of Believers. Some churches don't make a big deal out of joining, or becoming official members. And, in these same churches are long term attendees who would tithe, participate and strengthen the work of the church, if they were only asked to become members! Many times, we have not because we ask not. So, ASK, be prepared to list the tangible as well as intangible benefits of membership and EXPECT people to want to become official members on your next Membership Sunday, which you are PROMOTING regularly.

I can sense that providing the new member with a meaningful Induction Ceremony is a way of demonstrating our acceptance, respect and commitment to the new member. What are some ingredients for a significant Induction Ceremony?

First, let me reiterate. A meaningful and touching induction ceremony gives the new member a sense of acceptance, respect, and belonging. It also reaffirms the commitment and sense of belonging of existing members who witness and participate in the ceremony.

A moving and meaningful Induction Ceremony can inspire others who are attending but have not joined, to be inspired to become official members of the church.

Many churches make the Induction ceremony something of little or no significance, making no impact on the new members, their families or existing members. And these churches aren't churches that are growing as a rule.

It is the role and responsibility of every existing member to be involved with the outreaching to and recruiting of new members.

The Pastor and other Church Leadership need to continually model and talk about the joy of being part of a church such as this, and how badly people are looking for the type of fellowship your church has to offer.

Membership induction is the link between Recruitment and Retention. Recruitment is like the fish swimming into the net. If we don't pull the net onboard, we have not caught the fish. Once on board, Retention is about keeping what we catch.

What else can we do to make sure the Induction Ceremony is moving and meaningful?

From the pulpit, have the Pastor emphasize the benefits, advantages and responsibilities of becoming a Member. Have various department heads make sure they bring up the benefits of membership, when they meet with their people.

Underscore the importance of the event by ensuring adequate time to introduce and welcome the new member properly. Don't rush through it between the announcements and the offering.

Invite the new member’s family to attend the Induction ceremony. Design and print a nice looking invitation, signed by one of the church leaders and the Pastor.

Induct new members as a group, rather than just in ones or twos, if at all possible.

Ensure that the person who initially invited the new member initially is present.

Present the new Member with a lapel pin, membership card, framed certificate of membership, New Testament and other appropriate material that has a clear value. Make sure that all these items are special Members Only items!

Take several group and individual pictures of the Induction Ceremony as well as pictures of the new members. Digital pictures are best. Have someone put the picture through PhotoShop or other photo editing program, to crop it, convert it to grayscale, adjust brightness/darkness and contrast. Save it at 300 dpi resolution in .jpg format. Email a copy of this picture to your local paper for insertion in the Community section. Make sure everyone's name is listed and and spelled correctly.

You mention "benefits" of Membership a lot. What are some more of the benefits of membership in our church?

Your church’s broad representation of the community allows members to widen their circle of friends, resources and contacts. Find out who you have in your church already. You can start by trades, professions, occupations, branches of the service that are represented in your church. How many retirees? How about by age groups? Singles, marrieds, families, grandparents, etc? How about cultural diversity? Do you have Whites, Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, etc? Once you know who is represented in your church, you can also recognize who in your community is under represented. Then, make it a matter of prayer, adaptation and invitation to make your church look like the community. Then, this broad representation becomes a benefit. How? Because there are fewer and fewer neighborhoods that are strictly one color or one culture. People need to be able to invite their next door neighbor to come and worship God together.

The church provides a an extended family to turn to for support and prayer in times of crisis. With such a transient population, many people don't have any family members close by. Others have family members who are geographically close, but are emotionally and spiritually distant. Belonging to your church provides a caring and supportive extended family.

The church enables members to have a positive impact on their community and other communities through outreaches, events and service activities. An individual member is limited in his or her circles of influence. Through outreaches, events, conferences and service activities, each member has a chance to meet other community leaders and to make an impact on the community.

Then, there's the spiritual fellowship and association with other positive, wholesome and spiritually minded people who provide support, counsel and friendship. Everyone needs more of that!

How would we describe the responsibilities of membership in our church?

Church membership has responsibilities, because it has benefits. Responsibilities are areas that you expect a new member to aspire to and to grow in. A new member may take months or years to become fully mature in carrying out all the responsibilities of membership. But, following is a short list new member can work towards:

Regularly attend and participate in weekly church meetings. Participate in the worship, prayer and growth opportunities that are offered. Get there early and stay late, meeting your fellow members and new friends.

Live a Godly life, with the Lord’s help, as a testimony to the power of God. As you do, you'll notice and those around you will notice the blessing of God in your life.

Reach out to others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tell your friends, co workers, neighbors and family how the Lord is working in your life, and using your church to do it.

Pay tithes and offerings promptly. This acknowledges the Lord as the source of your finances and is a key to releasing financial blessing in your life.

Participate in service activities and opportunities. As soon as possible, begin to be involved in serving, through ushering, greeting, assisting wherever needed.

Contribute to the work of the church as a member of a small group, ministry, class or committee.

Participate in social/fellowship activities. Get to know your new family and let them get to know you!

Those responsibilities are pretty daunting! How can we make Membership in our church seem more attractive to potential members?

When you explain the benefits of membership, do it in a way that:

Demonstrates how the church is addressing real tangible and felt community needs. What are you DOING in the community? Who are you helping and how?

Highlights how church membership can enhance and support the spiritual and personal interests of the candidate. How he or she will meet people who can save them years of making mistakes; how it will help in building strong and loving families, and offer networking opportunities in the community.

Promotes the benefit of having positive, loving, spiritual, faith-filled and committed friendships. Tell how we all need to have people who believe in us, and are praying for us, rooting for us and are there for us when we need caring and support.

Promotes the value of a close, on-going relationship with Jesus Christ in a context of caring spiritual leadership, having mentors and being connected to what God is doing worldwide.

Emphasizes the joy, fun and laughter that comes into a person's life and family atmosphere as he/she gets involved in an active, loving and caring church. Tell how much fun your people have when they do things together, like going to a water park, and acting like a bunch of overgrown kids, and how the couples talk and laugh together during Marriage Retreats, etc. Find out when you're having fun and TALK about it!

Once we get people to join, we need to keep them active. How can we achieve our membership goals?

Develop a retention plan that focuses on maintaining high levels of enthusiasm through participation in interesting programs, events, outreaches, projects, continuing education, prayer, worship and fellowship activities.

Appoint a committee of church members who have been trained in effective recruitment techniques. Some will have had training on their jobs or at some time during their careers.

Create a brochure that provides general information about your church as well as specific information about the church for prospective members.

Develop a recruitment plan that focuses on a true representation of the diversity of the community. Intentionally go after people who are under represented in your congregation. Gone are the days that bigotry, racism and social snobbery is acceptable in a local church. If WalMart, McDonald's, Piggly Wiggly and other corporate giants can figure out how to have among their customer bases a diverse segment of the local community, how much more should we be able to plan, strategize and adapt in order to reach these same people?

Implement an Orientation Program for New Members to help them become successfully assimilated into the church.

What can you do to help the New Member become assimilated quickly?

Assign an experienced Member mentor for every new church member.

Conduct a public awareness program to increase awareness about what your church is and what you do, in the Lord.

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Attracting & Recruiting New Members Article Two: Outreach & Getting People to Actually Join Ok, we recognize the importance of getting people to come to our church. But, as long as they attend, and are supportive, why is it important to get people to officially join? When a person joins your church, or is inducted into your church, he or she becomes an official Member, with the rights, privileges, responsibilities and commitments of Membership. This SHOULD guarantee him or her privileges such as more open access to the Pastor and staff, free counsel when needed, and inclusion in other "members only" privileges. Many people don't feel the obligation to commit to service or financial support at any meaningful level until they have officially become members. It's hard to expect a non member to tithe or get deeply committed. Your Christian Education teachers, Worship Team Members, Youth Workers, Nursery Workers need to come from your Membership. Bringing people into membership through a meaningful and significant Induction Ceremony inspires loyalty to the church. If you don't invite people to become members of your church, we can be sure that another church will! The Induction Ceremony provides a distinct beginning of being an active part of a lively and committed group of Believers. Some churches don't make a big deal out of joining, or becoming official members. And, in these same churches are long term attendees who would tithe, participate and strengthen the work of the church, if they were only asked to become members! Many times, we have not because we ask not. So, ASK, be prepared to list the tangible as well as intangible benefits of membership and EXPECT people to want to become official members on your next Membership Sunday, which you are PROMOTING regularly. I can sense that providing the new member with a meaningful Induction Ceremony is a way of demonstrating our acceptance, respect and commitment to the new member. What are some ingredients for a significant Induction Ceremony? First, let me reiterate. A meaningful and touching induction ceremony gives the new member a sense of acceptance, respect, and belonging. It also reaffirms the commitment and sense of belonging of existing members who witness and participate in the ceremony. A moving and meaningful Induction Ceremony can inspire others who are attending but have not joined, to be inspired to become official members of the church. Many churches make the Induction ceremony something of little or no significance, making no impact on the new members, their families or existing members. And these churches aren't churches that are growing as a rule. It is the role and responsibility of every existing member to be involved with the outreaching to and recruiting of new members. The Pastor and other Church Leadership need to continually model and talk about the joy of being part of a church such as this, and how badly people are looking for the type of fellowship your church has to offer. Membership induction is the link between Recruitment and Retention. Recruitment is like the fish swimming into the net. If we don't pull the net onboard, we have not caught the fish. Once on board, Retention is about keeping what we catch. What else can we do to make sure the Induction Ceremony is moving and meaningful? From the pulpit, have the Pastor emphasize the benefits, advantages and responsibilities of becoming a Member. Have various department heads make sure they bring up the benefits of membership, when they meet with their people. Underscore the importance of the event by ensuring adequate time to introduce and welcome the new member properly. Don't rush through it between the announcements and the offering. Invite the new member’s family to attend the Induction ceremony. Design and print a nice looking invitation, signed by one of the church leaders and the Pastor. Induct new members as a group, rather than just in ones or twos, if at all possible. Ensure that the person who initially invited the new member initially is present. Present the new Member with a lapel pin, membership card, framed certificate of membership, New Testament and other appropriate material that has a clear value. Make sure that all these items are special Members Only items! Take several group and individual pictures of the Induction Ceremony as well as pictures of the new members. Digital pictures are best. Have someone put the picture through PhotoShop or other photo editing program, to crop it, convert it to grayscale, adjust brightness/darkness and contrast. Save it at 300 dpi resolution in .jpg format. Email a copy of this picture to your local paper for insertion in the Community section. Make sure everyone's name is listed and and spelled correctly. You mention "benefits" of Membership a lot. What are some more of the benefits of membership in our church? Your church’s broad representation of the community allows members to widen their circle of friends, resources and contacts. Find out who you have in your church already. You can start by trades, professions, occupations, branches of the service that are represented in your church. How many retirees? How about by age groups? Singles, marrieds, families, grandparents, etc? How about cultural diversity? Do you have Whites, Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, etc? Once you know who is represented in your church, you can also recognize who in your community is under represented. Then, make it a matter of prayer, adaptation and invitation to make your church look like the community. Then, this broad representation becomes a benefit. How? Because there are fewer and fewer neighborhoods that are strictly one color or one culture. People need to be able to invite their next door neighbor to come and worship God together. The church provides a an extended family to turn to for support and prayer in times of crisis. With such a transient population, many people don't have any family members close by. Others have family members who are geographically close, but are emotionally and spiritually distant. Belonging to your church provides a caring and supportive extended family. The church enables members to have a positive impact on their community and other communities through outreaches, events and service activities. An individual member is limited in his or her circles of influence. Through outreaches, events, conferences and service activities, each member has a chance to meet other community leaders and to make an impact on the community. Then, there's the spiritual fellowship and association with other positive, wholesome and spiritually minded people who provide support, counsel and friendship. Everyone needs more of that! How would we describe the responsibilities of membership in our church? Church membership has responsibilities, because it has benefits. Responsibilities are areas that you expect a new member to aspire to and to grow in. A new member may take months or years to become fully mature in carrying out all the responsibilities of membership. But, following is a short list new member can work towards: Regularly attend and participate in weekly church meetings. Participate in the worship, prayer and growth opportunities that are offered. Get there early and stay late, meeting your fellow members and new friends. Live a Godly life, with the Lord’s help, as a testimony to the power of God. As you do, you'll notice and those around you will notice the blessing of God in your life. Reach out to others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tell your friends, co workers, neighbors and family how the Lord is working in your life, and using your church to do it. Pay tithes and offerings promptly. This acknowledges the Lord as the source of your finances and is a key to releasing financial blessing in your life. Participate in service activities and opportunities. As soon as possible, begin to be involved in serving, through ushering, greeting, assisting wherever needed. Contribute to the work of the church as a member of a small group, ministry, class or committee. Participate in social/fellowship activities. Get to know your new family and let them get to know you! Those responsibilities are pretty daunting! How can we make Membership in our church seem more attractive to potential members? When you explain the benefits of membership, do it in a way that: Demonstrates how the church is addressing real tangible and felt community needs. What are you DOING in the community? Who are you helping and how? Highlights how church membership can enhance and support the spiritual and personal interests of the candidate. How he or she will meet people who can save them years of making mistakes; how it will help in building strong and loving families, and offer networking opportunities in the community. Promotes the benefit of having positive, loving, spiritual, faith-filled and committed friendships. Tell how we all need to have people who believe in us, and are praying for us, rooting for us and are there for us when we need caring and support. Promotes the value of a close, on-going relationship with Jesus Christ in a context of caring spiritual leadership, having mentors and being connected to what God is doing worldwide. Emphasizes the joy, fun and laughter that comes into a person's life and family atmosphere as he/she gets involved in an active, loving and caring church. Tell how much fun your people have when they do things together, like going to a water park, and acting like a bunch of overgrown kids, and how the couples talk and laugh together during Marriage Retreats, etc. Find out when you're having fun and TALK about it! Once we get people to join, we need to keep them active. How can we achieve our membership goals? Develop a retention plan that focuses on maintaining high levels of enthusiasm through participation in interesting programs, events, outreaches, projects, continuing education, prayer, worship and fellowship activities. Appoint a committee of church members who have been trained in effective recruitment techniques. Some will have had training on their jobs or at some time during their careers. Create a brochure that provides general information about your church as well as specific information about the church for prospective members. Develop a recruitment plan that focuses on a true representation of the diversity of the community. Intentionally go after people who are under represented in your congregation. Gone are the days that bigotry, racism and social snobbery is acceptable in a local church. If WalMart, McDonald's, Piggly Wiggly and other corporate giants can figure out how to have among their customer bases a diverse segment of the local community, how much more should we be able to plan, strategize and adapt in order to reach these same people? Implement an Orientation Program for New Members to help them become successfully assimilated into the church. What can you do to help the New Member become assimilated quickly? Assign an experienced Member mentor for every new church member. Conduct a public awareness program to increase awareness about what your church is and what you do, in the Lord. www.STEVEDAVIS.ORG FREE Podcast \| Constitution & Bylaws YOU need! \| Contact All images & content are subject to copyright SteveDavis.org TM	Home Your Tough Questions Answered Leadership Challenges, Skills & Tips Ministry & Church Government The Constitution & Bylaws You Need! Get Them Organizing & Functioning Leadership in The Lord's Churches Who is Dr. Steve Davis? Dr. Steve Davis in the News CDs, DVDs, eBooks & Merchandise FREE Podcast! Links