Membership Matters: Insights from Effective Churches on New Member Classes and Assimilation

by Chuck Lawless

Insights from Effective Churches on New Member Classes and Assimilation Findings from a national study to improve membership classes and to motivate current members into active ministry How do churches move members—both old and new— into ministry? Many church staff and lay leaders know they need to start new member classes as a point of entry into their churches but don’t know how. This book is based on a national study of effective churches and shows how growing churches implement new member classes and motivate their members into ministry. Membership Matters is designed to be a guide for church leaders wanting to start or improve a membership class. It includes models for classes and examples of resources such as church covenants, class schedules, and lesson outlines. It also gives direction on motivating uninvolved members to participate in ministry. One chapter chronicles an ongoing discussion among pastors of growing churches that are effectively motivating members to do ministry.

Genres: Church, Discipleship, Christian

208 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[Andrew Ivester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a research based book compiles input from healthy, growing churches. It is not necessarily random churches, but churches who agreed to participate on a more detailed level about membership, new members’ classes, raising expectations, and moving uninvolved members into ministry. Some of the data may be dated, but the final chapter (chapter 9) is worth reading the entire book. It takes the topics mentioned above and relates them to an overall goal, namely a disciple church member. We can get bogged down with the details, but we must not lose sight of a main reason churches exist, to make disciples who make disciples.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of great resources and information for pastors looking to increase membership and member involvement in their church.

[Ellie Sorota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering you're not going to pick up this book unless you're interested in the very specific subject matter, I found it to be a great read - exactly what I was looking for. The results of a national study on church membership conducted by the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth, this book delivers what's promised - the concise yet detailed conclusions of a hundred churches doing membership well. Lawless comes to appropriate conclusions and offers practical advice for implementing membership classes. I found the appendices to be extremely useful.

[Jt]

a book our leadership team read...ok.