Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 66

How to Leave a Christ-like Legacy

If we want to leave a Christ-like legacy, where better to look than Jesus Himself? When Jesus invited the disciples to “follow me,” fisherman and tax collectors alike dropped their nets and left their families. After that, as they journeyed together, Jesus showed them what it looked like to follow Him by transparently modeling His faith, teaching them along the way of life, and then finally asking them to do the same thing for others. And the world was never the same. That’s a legacy.

Today we often shift Jesus’ invitation of “follow me” to the simpler “believe in me.” Our churches do a good job explaining what they believe and inviting people to believe in Jesus. But they don’t always emphasize what it looks like to follow Jesus in the world today. Sunday sermons and programs that dive deep into what we believe are great, and adding new believers is definitely a big deal. But the best way to create a lasting legacy is to help people go from believing in Jesus to following Jesus. You’ve probably heard someone say, “leadership is caught, not taught,” and I think the same applies here. If we want people to follow Jesus in their day-to-day lives, we need to show them how, we need to model what it looks like, just as Jesus did. And one of the most potent ways to model how to follow Jesus is intentional mentoring. In Mentor Like Jesus, Regi Campbell explains it this way, “Mentoring involves teaching as you do something. [It] occurs as you’re doing life together … being ‘in the moment’ … interactive.”

Now, please don’t hear me say that Bible studies, small groups, and Sunday mornings don’t matter. They absolutely do. But leveraging the older and wiser in your midst to model what it looks like to follow Jesus is an excellent addition to what you are already doing in these critical areas of ministry and an excellent way to directly influence the next generation of Jesus-followers. Mentoring is the lab that allows these valuable Bible lessons to come to life and get tested in the real world. And when you mentor in an intentional group, as Jesus did, you’re empowering your leaders to devote more time to fewer people and thus have a deeper influence on their lives. Jesus built a legacy (and a whole “way of life”) through mentoring, and He instructed us to do it too.

So, if mentoring is the best way to leave a legacy, what makes an intentional mentor? There are many things, but here are a few key ones:

PURPOSEFUL: Mentors take Jesus’ words seriously. They know that having a John 10:10 life to the full requires thinking about others above ourselves. Mentoring is about purposefully showing someone how to be something – a learner and follower of Jesus.

SELFLESS: It would be easier to approach the second half of life focusing on our golf handicaps or the toys we can accumulate, but mentors understand the value of a Jesus-centered legacy, and they choose to mentor out of obedience to the Father, not convenience.

ACCESSIBLE: Mentors are the embodiment of the Christian life. They make their lives observable and accessible to their mentees. As spiritual fathers and mothers, mentors help their mentees see how a fully alive Jesus-follower lives.

We’d love to help you explore how intentional Jesus-style mentoring could help your church leave a lasting legacy. And the best part, our entire resource library is available to you for free. When you go here to get access, you’ll receive everything you need to launch Radical Mentoring groups for men or Known Collective groups for women, including our coaching and guidance. Learn more here.

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Simple But Useful Tips for Pastors to Make Good First Impressions with Church Guests

A first impression is made in as little as seven seconds. Within a few moments of being on campus, guests are beginning to form ideas—positive or negative—about your church. The first person a guest meets will influence the first impression. When a guest walks into the building, the first item they see will prompt them to form opinions about the church.

 These first impressions are universal. Businesses and schools deal with them. Everyone has first impressions. Even when you consciously try to be impartial, you cannot avoid those first feelings and perceptions.

 Every guest in your church will have a first impression. Let that register. Every person who will eventually join, serve, and give will experience a common phenomenon. How you manage first impressions is critical to the health of the church. And leading the church includes being acutely aware of first impressions.

 Pastors should lead by example with how they manage first impressions.

 Don’t carry your phone. The distraction is too tempting. Focus on people.  It’s impossible to be polite when you pull out your phone while having a conversation with someone. The texts can wait until after church.

 Show initiative and passion. Don’t wait for someone to approach you. Go to those who you do not recognize. Ask them friendly questions about their lives. Be genuinely interested in their background and story.

 Camp in different areas of the church each week. Most people are creatures of habit. Intentionally choose a different part of the church each week and start conversations with the people in those areas.

 Be knowledgeable about campus activities and locations. A couple of years ago, I attended a crowded sporting event with my four small children. I asked an attendant about our seats. He directed me to another section. Then another attendant told me I was in the wrong section. The confusion was frustrating and slightly stressful as I moved through crowds with my kids. If a guest knows you are the pastor, he or she will expect you to know locations on the campus and activities taking place.

 Walk with guests. Don’t ever point to where something is. Walk. Use your feet, not your fingers. As you are walking, ask them their names and work to remember them.

 Smile. Speak slowly and clearly. A good first impression almost always includes a smile and clarity. Good first impressions happen when people enjoy your presence and understand your words.

 Church campuses are in the reopening phase. People are coming back and checking you out. Likely, you have considered the first impressions ministry. But don’t forget about the first impression that you as an individual will make.

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8 Joys of Church Revitalization

Church revitalization is hard work. Most of the time, the task requires turning around a ship that has been floating in the wrong direction for a long time – and it’s easy to give up too soon. If you’re in a church revitalization situation, either as a pastor or a lay leader, I hope this post about some of the joys of revitalization is encouraging to you:

1. In a revitalization, even the smallest victories are big ones. That is, you don’t worry about achieving great wins until you accomplish the little ones. That means you rejoice more often.

2. Church members who long for revitalization are deeply grateful for pastors willing to lead in that direction. They know stick-to-it-ness matters in revitalization, and they’re thankful for pastors who make that commitment. They support and love those pastors.

3. Revitalization generally increases our prayer life. The task of renewal in a declining church pushes us to lean on God in prayer, and most of us need that kind of impetus. Praying more never hurts any of us.

4. The gospel of hope becomes evident in revitalization. This work is the story of life out of decline, hope out of despair, and renewal out of grief. That’s what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.

5. Revitalization almost forces us to seek the help of others. Too many of us church leaders operate as loners, but revitalization pushes us to learn from and lean on others who’ve already walked in our shoes. That’s one reason Church Answers exists: to be a place where we can walk with one another.

6. Re-igniting a struggling church is good for the congregation, the community, and the nations. Even if the positive change is incremental and slow, it’s still a move in the right direction. The church that is only slightly healthier than it has been still has a bit more to offer to a dying world.

7. Long-term, faithful church members rejoice publicly when their church begins to see life again. In fact, you can usually see it on their faces. They might be few in number, but their excitement is almost palpable – and that zeal can spread to others in the congregation.

8. Each revitalized church is an inspiration to the thousands of others who need hope. One story is evidence that God still does revitalizing work, and one story is all we need to find renewed faith in the work. Our prayer at Church Answers is that you might find that encouragement in this community and then become one of those churches that encourage others. 

What would you add to this list?

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The Once-a-Month Churchgoers Are Becoming More Common

It is fascinating to watch the trends among congregations as they start to regather with COVID-19 beginning to fade. Some of the trends are really good. For example, we are seeing more churches now receptive, if not savvy, to technological developments than any point we can recall. Also, we are beginning to see a resurgence of evangelism in the local church.

To be clear, any developments thus far are in their incipient stages. Time will tell if these trends truly become long-lasting.

One of the most disturbing trends we are seeing is the decreasing frequency of attendance. Two decades ago, a frequent church attender was considered a person in church services or activities once or twice a week. Prior to the pandemic, the twice-a-month church attendee was considered active by most church members and leaders.

But one of the trends emerging from the pandemic is the increasing number of once-a-month attendees. We are watching three developments as this trend emerges.

The Once-a-Month Churchgoer is the Fastest Growing Segment of Church Life

Our information at this point is both early and anecdotal, but we are hearing from numerous pastors that many church members who were frequent in their church attendance are now once-a-monthers. This observation lends itself to many questions. Is this trend temporary, one that will improve as COVID concerns wane? Are these members re-establishing themselves or are they easing themselves out? What are the motivations for such infrequent attendance?

Further anecdotal information from pastors points to the lack of concern by the once-a-monthers for their infrequent attendance. One pastor said they are acting as nonchalant as the CEOs (Christmas Easter Only).

The Once-a-Month Pattern Is a Continuation from Pre-COVID Days

Our team, led by the work of Sam Rainer, has been reporting on the attendance frequency decline for several years. It was a pattern of slow and methodical erosion.

But the pandemic both accelerated and exacerbated the trend. We were lamenting the twice-a-monthers in 2019. We are challenged by the once-a-monthers now.

 At This Point, Churches Are Doing Little to Address This Problem

I hope we will see a surge and recommitment to new member classes to raise the bar of expectations of church members. I pray we will get more serious about the importance of the local church. I also pray we will not surrender to culture and assume we cannot win back faithfulness from Sunday sports’ leagues, lazy sleep-ins, and fifteen Sunday vacations a year.

 A common refrain among the once-a-monthers is that Sunday is the only day they have for family time. What are they doing on Saturday? And why is church not the best family time possible?

 Too many churches have dumbed down what it means to belong to the body of Christ. Check 1 Corinthians 12 again to see what a church member is really supposed to do. And don’t forget: the New Testament from Acts 2 to Revelation 3 is either about the local church or written in the context of a local church.

 God thought the local church was sufficiently important to feature it in most of the New Testament after the Gospels. No, the church is not perfect. Yes, it has hypocrites – every single church member. But it is God’s plan A, and he didn’t offer a plan B.

 The once-a-month church attendee is not as much a function of culture winning as it is the church surrendering.

 It’s time to reclaim the local church and its importance.

 Anything less is flagrant disobedience to God’s plan to make disciples.

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When a Pastor’s Family Member Has Mental Health Issues

Many moms and dads face the challenge of parenting a child with a mental health diagnosis. Due to the history of mental health stigma, especially in the church, it may be hard for pastors and church staff to vocalize when mental health issues are occurring in their own homes. Self-blame or embarrassment may keep church leaders from seeking appropriate help for their children and family.

Where are these parents to start? How do they help their child? And what resources are available to them? 

The challenging journey begins with perspective.

Perspective is Key

Christian parents strive to view children and parenting through the lens of correct theology. Children are often new believers or have yet to put faith in Christ. Their brain and language skills are also not fully developed. Having this understanding can help set right expectations of your child. Given these standards, childhood disobedience and your child’s lack of understanding should not be surprising. Disobedience, temper tantrums, forgetfulness, etc. do not necessarily constitute a mental health diagnosis.

When issues can’t be explained by normal development, poor choices, or lack of spiritual engagement, a mental health condition can then be considered. For some parents, the potential of having a child with a mental health diagnosis may feel overwhelming or embarrassing. Let’s talk briefly about how a parent can view mental health through the lens of theology.

An intricate and creative God designed the human body in great complexity. We are not simply spiritual beings, but relational and developing humans comprised of biology, emotion, and spirituality. The result of Original Sin (Genesis 3) is corruption in every good area of our beings. The Fall negatively affects development, biology, society, emotion, spirituality, and relationships. These areas intertwine and impact overall functioning. Disruption in these areas can result in mental health issues. While some mental health issues lean more towards biological underpinnings (i.e. Tourette’s Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Learning Disability), other mental health issues are more directly influenced by relationships and emotion. Mental health issues are complex.

How To Help  

If your child is struggling, I want to give you some resources. Knowing warning signs, the right questions to ask, and where to seek help, are important tools in helping your child. Let’s begin with warning signs. 

1. What are some warning signs?

Insufficient or delayed developmentSignificant change in appetite or weightExtreme irritability, outbursts, or meltdownsInattentiveness or hyperactivityLoss of interest in activities or friendsPoor academic performanceSudden changes in sleep habitsPersistent sadness or frequent cryingReckless or harmful behaviorsExcessive fears or worriesBehavioral problems across settingsPersistent nightmaresWithdrawn from family and friendsEnuresis or encopresisSchool refusalDevelopmentally inappropriate sexualized behaviors or advanced sexual knowledge

If you find your child exhibits some of these signs, it may be time to look for a professional. If you are not sure, try gathering information from other key adults who are involved in your child’s life. For example, you may want to ask your child’s teacher, “Compared to other same-age and same-gender peers, is my child more or less attentive at school?”

2. Questions to Ask

When considering your child’s behaviors and struggles, here are some key questions to help gauge the severity of the issues.

How long has the behavior occurred?Is it a significant change from your child’s formal disposition?Does the behavior occur across settings?Does it impact your child’s functioning?How often is the behavior occurring?What are the current stressors in your child’s life?Does the behavior occur in relation to a stressor or stimuli?Any known history of trauma?Why are you seeking help for the problem now?

Negative behaviors that are persistent, occur across settings, impact a child’s functioning, and are not related to a specific stimuli or current stressor, are more likely to indicate the presence of a mental health issue. If there are current stressors in your child’s life that seem to exacerbate their functioning, talk with your child, try to alleviate unnecessary stressors (i.e. making all A’s in school), and develop tools to help your child cope. Take your child through Scripture, helping them grasp God’s love for them and His sovereignty, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Pray for them and pray with them. 

3. Build Community  

One risk factor for developing or maintaining a mental health condition is a lack of social support. Another way to state that is, having social support is a resiliency factor for a good prognosis. Research and Scripture show that community with others is vital. As a parent, seek to provide ample opportunities for your child to make and keep friendships. Sports, school, extracurricular activities, youth groups, church, and neighborhoods, are all potential avenues for social involvement. Additionally, seek out other Christian families to regularly live life together. Children and other believing adults can be invaluable support for your child. 

4. Quality and Quantity Time With Your Child

God has placed a wonderful and enormous task on parents. He has called parents to steward the children He provided them. Part of stewardship is being present in the lives of those children. Research has repeatedly shown that a lack of parents’ physical or emotional presence has devastating effects on children. Parents, don’t underestimate the influence you have on your child. Spend time with your child. Listen to your child. Be present. 

5. Resources to Read

I encourage parents to read about parenting, mental health issues, and normal childhood development. It’s hard to understand abnormal behavior if you don’t have a good grasp of normal behavior. Here are some resources for recommended reading: 

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine MazlishFull Circle Parenting by Jimmy and Kristin ScrogginsParenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul David TripYardsticks: Child and Adolescent Development Ages 4-14 by Chip WoodWild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys by Stephen JamesNational Eating Disorders Association: www.nationaleatingdisorders.orgAnxiety and Depression Association of America: www.adaa.org

6. Referrals

One of the best places to start when seeking counseling or treatment for your child is your child’s pediatrician. Neurological and medical issues can sometimes mimic mental health issues. Rule out medical issues first. To find counselors, evaluators, or therapists, you may want to check with your insurance plan. Other resources for finding a counselor or therapist:

https://connect.aacc.net/?search_type=distancehttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapistshttps://biblicalcounseling.com/find-a-counselor/

Saying, “I need help for my child,” may feel humbling.  Remember, as God works in the life of your child, He is also working on you. May you lean into Him, and steward well His child.

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Three secrets of unleashing the power of your congregation on Social Media

I’ve heard writers say that the most challenging thing they deal with is a blank page. A page is waiting for it to be filled with words that will tell stories and engage minds. The blank page can be intimidating, begging you to write, putting pressure on you to come up with an idea.

Sometimes, I look at social media the same way. I see a blank status update window from Twitter asking me, “What’s happening?” I know that I’m not going to write something on the level of Tolstoy, but I’m also not going to update you on the excellent ham sandwich that I just ate.

Creating social media for your church can evoke the same feelings. Often, you feel the pressure to create a whole social media campaign all by yourself. This can include the graphics, the wording, the scheduling, tracking of metrics, and engagement. It can be exhausting.

However, you don’t need to pressure yourself to create social media and maintain it as a one-person show. Instead, you have an army of people out there waiting to help you out. Best of all, they’ll do it for free because they believe in what you’re doing. Who are these people? Your congregation.

Never forget, the people in the pew have the power to help you accomplish your social media goals. The problem is that too many of us see them as our audience and not active partners in social media. We view our congregation as passive viewers of our content who can only view, share, and like. 

Today, we’re going to talk about three secrets of unleashing the power of your congregation to help you achieve your social media goals. These three secrets are proven methods to engage your church while equipping them to be your social media ambassadors. 

Hold a Social Media Tutorial

One of the assumptions I made when I joined a church staff was that every church member knew about Facebook. Well, I was wrong. I was surprised to learn that many of my church members had never tried Facebook. 

More specifically, I was surprised to learn that many of these people were our senior adults. I assumed that since most of them probably had grandkids who had photos on Facebook, they would be as well. 

I knew that we had to get our senior adults involved. These senior adults are some of our most active church members. They gave on Sunday, helped out in the preschool area, and sang in the choir. These are our core members.

So what did I do? Well, we decided to hold a brief tutorial on how to use Facebook. I did it right before a senior adult dinner meeting (to ensure maximum attendance). I didn’t get into too many details, but I covered how to sign up and like a page. Granted, I could have gone deeper, but I wanted to take some baby steps.

This is the first step of many that we’re going to take to engage our senior adults. Why am I focusing on our senior adults? First, they’re incredibly passionate about the church, and second, they love to share our content, which makes promotion for us that much easier.

If you want to grow your social media engagement, you need to focus on senior adults. Despite the prevailing myth that social media is just for young adults, senior adults are becoming increasingly active on social media. These passionate people would love to engage and share your church’s content.

 Publicly Praise Your Congregation

Everybody loves encouragement, and social media is the perfect medium to make that happen. If there’s any institution that should thrive on encouraging others, it should be the church.

Here’s an example of why this is important. When you publicly highlight and encourage your church volunteers, you’re doing two things. First, you’re showing everyone the kind of leadership that your church wants everyone to model. Second, you’re giving your audience permission to encourage others as well.

One of the other factors of why publicly praising your congregation is important is that you’re also making your church feel smaller. No matter what size your church is, everyone wants a small church feel. They want to know people, and they want to be known. You can do this by publicly highlighting people on your social media.

Again, this unleashes your congregation by making them feel like they are a part of your social media. It helps them feel connected to the church and other people as well. The more they feel connected, the more likely they are to engage with your church’s content.

Give Your Congregation Room to Respond

Despite our best intentions, a lot of our social media can be a one-way conversation. We want to have active engagement but instead end up giving our audience more commands (click here, share this, etc.) than we should. The result is a social media presence that seems one-sided and locks our congregation out from being active partners.

To break this cycle, we started asking our congregation a straightforward question on social media: “How can we pray for you?” Now that question may seem insignificant, but the responses we received argued otherwise.

By asking a simple question, we empowered our audience to respond to us. This question allowed us to get great feedback and reinforce that we’re a church that prays for each other. (It also helps the church feel smaller.)

The more we can get our audience to respond, the more it will become natural to have a conversation with us online. These conversations eventually will spill out beyond just our Facebook page and hopefully into people’s news feeds, which want those conversations to happen.

Sometimes you have to give your audience permission to respond to your social media. You would think that people would instinctively know this, but you would be surprised that it takes a little prompting to get the conversation going.

Bonus Idea: Let Your Congregation Become Co-Creators

This next idea is a bit scary. I’ll admit as someone who likes to have control over the smallest detail; I’m not a big fan of losing control (especially when it comes to design). But I do know that if you let your audience co-create with you, you end up with something more valuable to everyone in the long run.

Let me give you a specific example. Let’s say for this Christmas that instead of using stock art to create your sermon artwork, you hold a contest on Instagram. You would announce to the congregation that you’re looking for the best artwork to use this Christmas and that anyone can submit designs on Instagram with the hashtag #churchchristmasdesign (or something better than that). Then whichever design received the most likes would become the artwork for Christmas.

Now is there a chance that artwork could be ugly? Possibly. Could it have imperfections? More than likely. However, your audience will feel like they were co-creators in creating and choosing the artwork for Christmas. This type of empowerment is one that not only reinforces that your church cares what its members think, it also supports that they’re active members of the church.

(Note: I’m not saying that you should do this for everything and not hire a professional designer for, i.e., large-scale projects like branding, etc. Please, designer friends, don’t send me hate mail.)

Now It’s Your Turn…

How do you engage your congregation? What secrets have you learned to keep your congregation involved with your social media? Share in the comments section below?

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Why Worship Pastors and Lead Pastors Should Meet Weekly

Every Monday at 5:00 p.m., I meet with my worship pastor. We review the previous Sunday. We discuss the upcoming Sunday. We laugh together. We hold each other accountable. Sometimes I sing the worship set back to him because I have the voice of a senile cat and it annoys him.

Even if you don’t have a full-time worship pastor, you likely have someone leading the worship experience. Lead pastors should meet with this person regularly for several reasons. 

Music and preaching are complementary, not separate. Some lead pastors have the perspective of “You do your thing, and I’ll do mine” with worship pastors. The music is completely detached from the sermon. While their motives are likely not disingenuous or lazy, crafting sermons and worship sets separately creates an awkwardness in worship flow. Music should never be isolated from the message. They are not distinct parts but part of a whole. The theology of the text should match the theology of the songs. The tone of the sermon should match the tone of the songs. 

Separating the sermon and music separates the church. This problem can be overt or subtle. We’re all familiar with the worship wars over music style. But worship wars can also occur between those who want more music and those who want more preaching. Churches should not have a “music” camp and a “preaching” camp. When worship pastors and lead pastors work together every week on a worship experience, these types of divisions will naturally ease.

Churches can sense the healthiness of staff relationships. A worship pastor and lead pastor share the stage every week. In most churches, they are the two most prominent staff people. Meeting weekly forces the issue. You have to interact. If you’re going to be around someone that much, then you might as well figure out how to get along. Distance creates division. If you never interact, then the default relationship setting will be one of suspicion or apathy. The people in your church are more perceptive than you realize. They can tell when a worship pastor and lead pastor do not get along, even if both remain professional about their relationship. A standing weekly meeting between worship pastors and lead pastors helps create a bond—one the church needs. Healthy churches have healthy staff relationships. 

A regular rhythm in worship fosters discipleship. If you don’t get worship right, then it’s hard to get anything else right. When music and preaching are planned separately, the service will often feel disjointed. A fluid worship experience helps create an atmosphere where discipleship is encouraged. The sermon is part of the whole of worship. The music is part of the whole of worship. Discipleship does not occur within silos in the church, with each staff person running independent programs. The worship experience is no exception. 

Pastors need to know what drives each other. The worship pastor needs to know the lead pastor’s heart. The lead pastor needs to understand what makes the worship pastor tick. Worship pastors need to know how to enhance the vision of the church, while lead pastors need to know how to resource the worship ministry. The only way to facilitate this level of understanding is to meet often.

I believe it is the lead pastor’s responsibility to take the initiative with this meeting. And one meeting a week will not solve all problems between worship pastors and lead pastors, but it’s a start. Get together and see where God takes you and your church.

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What Does the Rapidly Declining Birthrate Mean for Churches?

The data did not seem to get a lot of attention, but it sure caught my eye.

New provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the U.S. birthrate dropping for a sixth consecutive year. But look at these additional eye-opening facts: 

The year 2020 saw the sharpest decline in births since 1965, the year the baby boom ended.The birthrate is now 1.73 births per woman, compared to 3.77 births per woman at the peak year in 1957.The number of births in 2020 was 3.6 million babies, the lowest number of births since 1979.The birthrate decline worsened during COVID, but the trend was already in place. The pandemic accelerated it and exasperated it.

What are some of the implications for churches in the United States? Here are five: 

1. Growth will be more difficult. Churches can grow through conversion growth, transfer growth (often including the declining number of cultural Christians), and biological growth. There are dramatically fewer cultural Christians today, and there are fewer babies being born. The pool for church growth has diminished significantly.

2. There will be fewer children in our churches. If you think the members in your church are older than the average was a few years ago, here is clearly one reason why. There are fewer children demographically to bring the average age down. The implications for children’s ministry are great as well.

3. Churches with daycares and schools could be hit hard. Again, this reality is one of demographics. It will affect all schools, and church schools will not be exempt.

4. Young adults could be less motivated to connect with a church. One of the primary reasons young adults joined churches was to find a spiritual home for their new kids. Now many young adults are opting to wait until a later age to have children. Some are deciding to be childless altogether.

5. Evangelism should always be a priority for churches; this demographic shift adds to that urgency. Though it should not be so, in the past many church leaders and members were not motivated to reach lost people because their churches were stable or growing. But as our data indicates, that growth was not coming from the evangelistic field of lost persons. We were growing by higher birth rates and by cultural Christians transferring to our churches. Both of those sources of growth have declined dramatically.

Such is the silver lining in what may appear to be a dark cloud. Evangelism may be our only significant source of church growth in the days ahead. While we would hope that numerical growth would not be the lone motivation or even a primary motivation, we can be grateful for churches reaching people with the gospel.

If you as a leader or member of a church wonder where your church’s priorities should be, evangelism should be near the top. And though the demographic declines may be an impetus for this shift in priorities, I pray we will soon be so burdened by the lostness of humanity that “we cannot stop telling about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20, NLT).

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Give Them a Reason to Fill Out Your Church’s Connect Card

At my church, we call it a Connect Card.

I’ve heard it called many other names: Connection Card, Visitor Card, Information Card, Guest Card, and Next Steps Card. 

Some churches have gone completely digital with their card. I’ve seen barcodes on the back of chairs that bring a church attender to a digital connect card. I’ve seen tablets passed down rows during the service for people to fill out (at least in our pre-covid world). Other churches, like mine, use both digital and physical cards.

But whatever name you use and whatever method you use, the purpose is the same. The goal of the Connect Card is to gather information from guests and members in order to connect with them. The Connect Card is vital for follow up with first-time guests and for regular attenders to communicate with you.

Here’s the challenge we all face: how do you actually get someone to fill out the card?

Most of my conversations around overcoming the challenge of actually getting people to fill out the Connect Card are around methodology. The concern is more about “how” people fill out the card rather than “why” they fill out the card. On Sundays at my church, we give 3 reasons during the service to fill out our Connect Card.

Reason 1: We Give Away Money

For every Connect Card that is turned in in-person or submitted online, we donate $5 back to local charities and non-profits that our church partners with. During our welcome, we let everyone in the church know that if they don’t fill out the card, then we don’t give money to the local food pantry. It’s a great way to not only highlight our mission partners, but also to give people a big reason to fill out the card.

Reason 2: We Want to Pray

During our prayer time in worship service, we ask people to write their prayer requests on their Connect Card. We commit to praying for those prayer requests on Monday.

Reason 3: To Stay in Touch

At the end of the worship service, we ask people to make sure we have their most recent information on the Connect Card. That way, we can stay in touch with them.

Every Sunday, we communicate these three reasons throughout the service and it works well. We have a high percentage of our adults actually filling out the Connect Card each week. For our regular attenders, it may just be their name only on the card. For others, we are connecting and praying for them. But for all, we are giving back to our community and seeing our church’s vision carried out.

If you don’t already, I encourage you to give them at least one reason to fill out the Connect Card. If you can, give them more than one reason.

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Making Your Church New Member Class Better: Answering the Top Five Questions

With more people regathering in-person for church, a pent-up demand is building for membership classes. The membership class was one ministry many churches put on hold during the pandemic. A year has passed since most churches paused in-person gatherings. During that year, people still decided to join a church. Even if people have not vocalized their decision, you likely have a larger group wanting to join your church than you realize.

Now is the time to restart the membership class. It’s also your opportunity to revamp how you onboard people in your church. How can you make your membership class better? At Church Answers, we’ve noticed some trends.  

1. Should a church require a class for membership? In the late 1990s, less than 20 percent of churches required someone to attend a new member class to join. Through our anecdotal observations, we are seeing figures over 80 percent today. The shift is dramatic, and the lesson is obvious. Some churches make membership classes optional, but it is better to require them for membership.

2. What is the content of the class? The most successful classes focus on two key items: Doctrine and expectations. Be upfront about what you believe. Explain your statement of faith. Let people know your beliefs before they decide to join. You can no longer assume people understand historical denominational differences. Additionally, churches within the same denomination in the same town can be quite different now. Don’t surprise people. Additionally, be upfront about your expectations of members. Many churches are putting their membership expectations into the form of a covenant. Here is an example.

3. When should a church offer the class? The best day to assimilate people is Sunday, when they are already on campus (or Saturday if that is your primary worship day). Two good options exist on Sunday. Offer the class during your group time and encourage people to start attending a group the following week. People who join are five times more likely to stick in the church if they join a group. You can also offer the group right after your service and provide lunch. This option allows you the opportunity to show a high level of hospitality. Make sure the food is good and offer childcare. Just be aware young families will bump against naptime for their children if you go too long.

4. How long should the class be? The most effective church membership classes are offered in one sitting and last no more than two hours. If you go two hours, then make sure you take a break at the halfway point. The least popular classes are spread out over multiple days or occur all day on Saturday.

5. Is there a resource to help with a membership class? One of the most common requests for help at Church Answers involves the new member class. We’ve created a resource that helps you accomplish the new member class, whether you do your class in person or digitally. This resource includes leader training, participant videos, bulletin inserts, an in-person guide, and a virtual class guide. You can get the resource here.

Church membership is nothing like a country club, where you pay your dues and receive a service. Church membership is a commitment to be part of God’s community through the body of Christ. In order to be part (a member) of the body (the church), you must commit to a local church. The term “local” refers to a specific location with a specific people. The term “body” represents how there are no lone ranger Christians. Those who have faith in Christ are meant to be connected to a larger group of believers through the church.

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