Last stage of integrating a new person into a church
Couple of things to start off with...
First of all I'm not going to say that there is one perfect and get's 'em every single time kind of way to encourage new people to put down roots in a church. People are all different and churches are all different so there is going to be something for everyone. I'm just hoping that whoever is reading this blog realises/understands/agrees with me that it's not as simple as putting on a really good service, or making sure that we give you a name badge and adding you to the mailing list and database. It's a process that needs to capture the hearts and minds of everyone, not just the new people. It is also something that God is in control of, and you could have the best system and people might still leave the church after trying a couple of Sundays, and you could have the worst systems and people might stay...
second of all, it's really important everyone in a church is on board with this. Everyone does play a role - not just the two people who weren't at the meeting and got put on welcoming for a month of Sundays. It's also not up to the priest to be the one to attract and retain. The whole church family can play a positive or negative role. They just need to be empowered to do so...
The last part of welcoming new people to church is empowering them. This goes beyond giving them a job and a little responsibility. The empowerment of people is about giving them a sense that they can contribute to the church, not because I think we need to brainwash people or delude people but because the church needs everybody to contribute. Do I need to give you a bible reference to being one body and many parts? Do I need to make reference to the fact that churches are made of people not of bricks.
A small town priest can probably do the services, visit a few sick people, and do the occasional baptism/funeral/wedding. I'm pretty sure that the church in a small town could exist without the members of the church actually doing anything to contribute to the church. Churches in cities could also survive that way as long as the congregation size was kept small... what keeps them small? A small town mentality...? Is that why I think we should empower people? So that they make the church a better place? No.
It's about the person, not about the church.
I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but our society likes to tell people that they are worthless, so that they will buy something that will make them worth something, which doesn't, so they keep on buying stuff. The fact is that very few people are actually as incapable as they are made to feel. I see it all the time at school, kids believing that they are only capable of a C/pass. Or that they because they are not the sporty cool kid, then there is no hope for them.
We need to empower people to achieve what they are capable of ... for God.
We cannot have people just sitting in pews, because all humans are made in God's image. Humans can do amazing things. If they just sit in pews, for just one hour per week then it's like having a bunch of batteries sitting in the recharger and never putting them into the toy/camera/clock. It's like paying for a solar panel and then not connecting it to your power box. More importantly, each of those humans has been purpose built by God for a reason. They have gifts and they have experiences that God has given them for a reason... and that purpose is for God's kingdom.
Empowering is abut encouraging people to do what God wants them to do in ministry. If they've been trained, equiped and have had enough experience then they should be looking for a niche, a problem, a need and working out a solution so they aren't doing all that training for nothing. It's then up to the person or people in charge to say "Go for it!" ... obviously moulding and shaping the outcome so that it builds the church rather than leads to problems. Making sure that there are proper checks and balances is important. Making sure the person doesn't bite off more than the and end up burning out is also important.
The thing is that God wants us all to be in this. It's not as if he sent his son to die for us so that could just sit there and be grateful for one hour a week.
Now the question is, if you got this far through my extremely long blog - BTW deliberately long - have you been empowered by your church? Are you encouraged to be a part of the building process, or are you just pew warming? Are you given all the training you need to take on something in the church which makes a difference to the lives?
Am I saying that you need to go and start taking over the church? No. This needs to be done under the authority of whoever is in charge of your church - no matter how terrible they might be.
So, if you are new to a church, go and get empowered. If you are not new but have been hanging out there for a while, find someone who needs to be trained, equipped and empowered.
So there you go. You want people to come to your church and stay in your church for all the right reasons. You want them to use their God given gifts and talents, feel appreciated and make something of their time in the church.
No church is perfect, but every single church, even the one's that drive you crazy, belong to God. We owe it to God make sure we don't drive people away. I don't claim to be the absolute expert on this subject, but I hope that wherever you are reading this you have been able to take something away from it and that people in your church will benefit.
Cheers
Macca
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Saturday, 30 July 2011
New to your church - Part 4 Challenge
Welcome back to my New to your church series ... except that Part 4 actually should be left until the new person to your church is ready. This could be after 1 year, it could be after a few years.
Challenge
Here's the thing, you get somebody into church and get them happy and then most people think "Job Done!" But if that is all that happens then you actually fail them...
There are lots of ways to challenge a congregation member or family. One of the most common ways of challenging is to give them a job. I remember a priest telling me that he gave people a job as soon as possible so that you kept them. This was great when everybody responded really well to committment, but these days ... Actually I think he had the cart before the horse, and a number of people who really didn't understand that the Gospel was all about grace managed to get into positions where they used and abused power and people left that church as a result. Having said that, a job is a really good challenge if used according to the gifts/time/experience/spiritual needs of a member. Churches need to remember that the jobs needs to be in the interest of the member, not the church. Just because the lawn needs mowing doesn't mean that the next new bloke goes on the roster. Just because the brass needs polishing doesn't mean the next mum gets put on the cleaning roster. The number of bible verses of serving are quite substantial and I don't need to mention any specifically, but the number of bible verses saying nice things about churches that are "self-serving" is quite a lot less. It is a tricky balancing act.
My current church actually spends some time encouraging people to go through their gifts to work out how they can best contribute to the life of the church. The benefit of finding the right job for someone, is that people are more likely to commit, complete and enjoy doing it. When people complete a job they like doing for the glory of God, they end up feeling affirmed, encouraged, uplifted, and more responsible.
The problem is getting the right attitude. If people are cajoled, manipulated or guilt tripped into jobs you just know its going to end badly - jobs not done, or done badly, or done well with a judgmental attitude, or done well with a scowl. It's just not right. You need to develop a specific culture where people are recognized and encouraged to do jobs for the church. You can't have the priest/pastor do everything, but you can't let people do it in a grumpy way.
Another key way of challenging people is through bible study. Some churches see "young people" (aka under 55s) coming regularly to church and think this means they should be ordained and encourage them to do a Bachelor of Theology. I am all for study, but I'm thinking that maybe some other steps in between might be useful.
Small groups should always be a key aspect of the Church life and regular prayer and bible study should be key features of any small group.
Another way of challenging is through small studies such as Alpha course, Christianity Explained, or Back to Basics. 5-8 weeks is not too much of a commitment and can really help members understand what it is that your Church loves and emphasises... and sometimes what Jesus dying on the cross really means.
Challenging is also a vital step if you want the next part (empower) to be effective. Well-meaning powerful people who don't know why they do what they can be a danger to themselves and everybody. Ephesians 4:12 says that we need to "equip His [Jesus] people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up.
If you don't challenge pew warmers with jobs and training, then they will become parasites in the church. We are all called to serve and everyone needs to serve appropriately using their gifts. Challenging people can sound bad, but really, it's in their best interest
Cheers
Macca
Challenge
Here's the thing, you get somebody into church and get them happy and then most people think "Job Done!" But if that is all that happens then you actually fail them...
There are lots of ways to challenge a congregation member or family. One of the most common ways of challenging is to give them a job. I remember a priest telling me that he gave people a job as soon as possible so that you kept them. This was great when everybody responded really well to committment, but these days ... Actually I think he had the cart before the horse, and a number of people who really didn't understand that the Gospel was all about grace managed to get into positions where they used and abused power and people left that church as a result. Having said that, a job is a really good challenge if used according to the gifts/time/experience/spiritual needs of a member. Churches need to remember that the jobs needs to be in the interest of the member, not the church. Just because the lawn needs mowing doesn't mean that the next new bloke goes on the roster. Just because the brass needs polishing doesn't mean the next mum gets put on the cleaning roster. The number of bible verses of serving are quite substantial and I don't need to mention any specifically, but the number of bible verses saying nice things about churches that are "self-serving" is quite a lot less. It is a tricky balancing act.
My current church actually spends some time encouraging people to go through their gifts to work out how they can best contribute to the life of the church. The benefit of finding the right job for someone, is that people are more likely to commit, complete and enjoy doing it. When people complete a job they like doing for the glory of God, they end up feeling affirmed, encouraged, uplifted, and more responsible.
The problem is getting the right attitude. If people are cajoled, manipulated or guilt tripped into jobs you just know its going to end badly - jobs not done, or done badly, or done well with a judgmental attitude, or done well with a scowl. It's just not right. You need to develop a specific culture where people are recognized and encouraged to do jobs for the church. You can't have the priest/pastor do everything, but you can't let people do it in a grumpy way.
Another key way of challenging people is through bible study. Some churches see "young people" (aka under 55s) coming regularly to church and think this means they should be ordained and encourage them to do a Bachelor of Theology. I am all for study, but I'm thinking that maybe some other steps in between might be useful.
Small groups should always be a key aspect of the Church life and regular prayer and bible study should be key features of any small group.
Another way of challenging is through small studies such as Alpha course, Christianity Explained, or Back to Basics. 5-8 weeks is not too much of a commitment and can really help members understand what it is that your Church loves and emphasises... and sometimes what Jesus dying on the cross really means.
Challenging is also a vital step if you want the next part (empower) to be effective. Well-meaning powerful people who don't know why they do what they can be a danger to themselves and everybody. Ephesians 4:12 says that we need to "equip His [Jesus] people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up.
If you don't challenge pew warmers with jobs and training, then they will become parasites in the church. We are all called to serve and everyone needs to serve appropriately using their gifts. Challenging people can sound bad, but really, it's in their best interest
Cheers
Macca
Friday, 20 May 2011
Friday
Chapel rock band played for the first time this year. Having sung shout to the lord times than I would have liked to this year, take it all, mighty save and everyday were a great change. I loved hearing the kids humming to themselves later in the day.
But what makes crb special is not what they play, or how polished their performance is, but the fact that they encourage the College to enjoy Chapel, participate in chapel, look forward to chapel and sing in chapel.
I hope that everyone who leaves tsac finds a church where they are encouraged and supported. Its a tough world out there and there aren't too many places that will support as much as tsac.
Hope everyone has had a good week
Cheers
Macca
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