EFFECTIVE ASSIMILATION
How To Retain New Members
Steve Parr
Bible Study Ministries, Specialist
Georgia Baptist Convention
The Challenge
Georgia
Resident Members
•1,028,979
Enrollment
Worship
Sunday School
Baptisms/Additions
• 732,398
• 531,552
• 366,353
• 76,130
Net Gain Resident
Members
•
895
This Presentation
• Biblically Based
• Experience Based
• Research Based
Matthew 28:18-20
• The call of the Great
Commission is “disciplemaking,” not “convertmaking.”
Matthew 28:18-20
GO= Evangelizing
¾ of formerly unchurched had someone share the plan
of salvation with them one on one. The overwhelming
majority said it was a lay person.
BAPTIZING= Assimilating and identifying with
the body of Christ.
TEACHING THEM= Discipling
•
Evangelism and Discipleship are both/and, not
either/or.
•
Winning someone to Christ is not an end, but a
beginning.
Ephesians 4:11-13
• “And He Himself gave some to be apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers, for the
equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ, till we all come to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ;
Three Most Effective Tools
• A Healthy Sunday School
• A New Members/New
Christian’s Class
• An Emphasis on
Relationships
I. A Healthy Sunday School
• 90% of Effective Evangelistic Churches
(according to Rainer’s research) identified
Sunday School as their most effective
assimilation tool.
• Churches with healthy Sunday Schools
were found to be more effective in
evangelism and assimilation.
• 83% of believers that were involved in SS
were still active five years later. Only 16%
of those that did not plug into SS were
active five years later.
Georgia’s 100 Fastest
Growing Sunday Schools
Top 25 Small SS
1998
Baptisms
110
2001
Change
Baptisms
360 +227%
Top 25 Intermediate
454
919
+102%
Top 25 Medium
873
1,448
+ 65%
Top 25 Large
3,009
3,710
+ 23%
Top 100 Growing
SSs
All Georgia
Churches
4,416
6,437
+ 45%
37,182
36,280
-
2%
Conclusions
• Membership and/or Worship can grow
without Sunday School experiencing growth.
• Every church with a growing Sunday School
has a growing Worship and Membership.
• These churches were the fastest growing
100 and represent all size churches.
• Evangelism and Sunday School are
resulting in growth (assimilation) in these
churches.
Surprising Insights From The
Unchurched
• Rainer found that the formerly
unchurched were more likely to
be involved in Sunday School
than transfer members from
other churches!
• 68% compared to 58%.
Qualities Found In Effective
Assimilating Sunday Schools
•
•
•
•
They tended to have “high expectations” of
leaders and members.
They tended to be balanced between
content and relationships.
The Sunday School class was the source
from which ministry occurred.
The Sunday School classes had an
outward focus.
Having a Sunday School Is
Not Enough
• Almost every Georgia Baptist Church has a
Sunday School ministry. They are not all
getting the same results.
• The Sunday School must be healthy.
• Example: Children do not invite friends over
if their home is dysfunctional.
• Are the members inviting their friends to
Sunday School?
Common Factors of Effective
Sunday Schools in Georgia
•
•
•
•
•
98% train their Sunday School Leaders
96% believe the Pastor’s support of the
Sunday School is critical.
96% are very flexible about schedules and
space.
91% practice “open enrollment.”
85% use an evangelistic training process
or method.
Common Factors of Effective
Sunday Schools in Georgia
•
•
•
•
•
83% are strategic in creating new classes.
80% have a weekly visitation ministry.
78% have an active prospect list.
78% have high standards for their leaders.
78% intentionally organize for growth by
enlisting multiple leaders for each class
and providing age-graded adult classes.
II. A New Members/New
Christians Class
• These are classes that meet for four to eight
hours to introduce prospective members to
the church, to orient new members
regarding membership, and/or to provide
introductory discipleship training to new
believers.
• The times and schedules varied widely from
church to church. The common factor was
that there was a class provided.
Results of New Members
Classes
• When offered, but not required, assimilation
improved by 72%.
• When expected, but not required,
assimilation improved by 89%.
• When required, assimilation improved by
112%. People were more than twice as
likely as before to become active members
of the church.
What Happens In These
Classes?
• Information is provided.
• Expectations are
communicated.
Information Is Provided
• The information includes general
information about the church and
ministries.
• The information primarily provides a
doctrinal summary of the churches
beliefs.
• The formerly unchurched (in Rainer’s
study) considered this “extremely
important.”
Expectations Are
Communicated
•
•
•
•
•
The participants were “more likely” to engage in
ministry.
The participant’s were stronger in their financial
giving (30% higher than non-participants).
The participants were more inclined to share
their faith (Only 7% of members ever verbally
share their faith).
They were more inclined to attend Sunday
School.
They were more more likely to join (if they were
prospective members).
Characteristics of Effective
Churches
• There is a “front end” new
members class.
• One-on-one mentoring is provided.
• There is an opportunity to become
involved in ministry immediately.
• Concepts of personal evangelism
are taught immediately.
III. An Emphasis On
Relationships
• “Intentionality” is a common quality in
effective churches.
• Sunday School tended to be the key source
of relationships.
– Do you have resident members that are not
enrolled in a class?
– 1,028,979 resident members minus 732,398
enrollment equals 296,581 of our resident
members that may not have a source for a
relationship.
More On Relationships
• Relationships need to be assigned as well
as spontaneous.
• One-on-One Discipleship is offered by very
few churches, but is highly effective where
implemented.
• People visit because they are invited. They
return if the church is friendly. They
assimilate if they build a relationship.
Five Resources For
Discipling New Believers
•
•
•
•
•
Five Steps of Christian Growth by Bill Bright.
$3.99
Beginning A New Life available through Lifeway
Christian Resources. $3.00
Ten First Steps For The New Christian by
Woodrow Michael Kroll. $1.99
Survival Kit For New Christians available through
Lifeway Christian Resources.
Ten Basic Steps Toward Christian Maturity by Bill
Bright. $14.99
Statistical Research
• Georgia’s Fastest Growing Sunday Schools: Ten
Common Factors by Steve Parr available at no
cost through GBC.
• Information from Georgia’s Annual Church
Profiles.
• Effective Evangelistic Churches: Successful
Churches Report What Works And What Doesn’t
By Thom Rainer.
• High Expectations: The Remarkable Secret For
Keeping People In Your Church By Thom Rainer.
• Surprising Insights From The Unchurched By
Thom Rainer.
EFFECTIVE ASSIMILATION
How To Retain New Members
Steve Parr
Bible Study Ministries, Specialist
Georgia Baptist Convention