On May 17th we will be having an involvement event in place of our LIFE groups. No singing, no sermon, dare I say…no invitation? I am not sure if we will offer the Lord’s Supper for those who were providentially separate from our number on Sunday morning. We probably will as no need to ruffle any feathers and we do value the Supper at Northwest. We decided that we needed a much more hands on approach to involvement. The system we have been using has been for new members to fill out a form that says what they are willing to do and then get word to the deacons/ministers over those areas. Many people are surprised that they would be asked to be involved when placing membership.
We are trying to reshape the way people think about what church is. We are pushing for all of our members to be involved in some area of ministry. This will take some time and won’t happen over night but I think it is a worthwhile goal. Our Connect. event is going to outline our ministries, talk about our ministry needs and specific roles that need filled, introduce our ministers and then give people time to, and then give people time to talk with our deacons and ministry leaders to find out how to pair up their skills and desires with different areas of ministry. I am very excited about this and think it will be a big success! The two keys will be followup and communication.
I am thankful to our elders for their willingness and flexibility to try new things. I am thankful to our ministers and staff for continually challening themselves and the congregation to grow. I am thankful to our deacons who are stepping up the plate. I am thankful to our members who have undergone more change in 5 years than many churches undergo in 30 years and haven’t really complained or raised a stink.
What has your congregation done in order to encourage more people to be involved in frontline ministry?
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It always seems like in takes about a year from the time you place membership until you actually feel like you are invovled in the life of the church. I realize that some that has to do with forming relationships (which can never be rushed), but I think a larger part of it is that we (the existing, older members of the congregation) hesitate to put a new member in certain positions. It can be very frustrating to some one who has declared that they want to be a part of the body, but they remain cut off.
John,
What is interesting to me is that service and involvement is becoming the entry point into many congregations. That is so backwards but it makes sense. People today want to be at a place they can make a difference. They don’t want to hear that after they jump through 20 hoops they can start. It is a wise move to use service and involvement as an outreach tool. Flips our whole paradigm upside down that used to say only those who are most established really end up involved and serving.