Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul’s,
Last month, I wrote to you about church growth. As we continue to discuss worship times, the future of St. Paul’s, and bringing in new members, this is still a very important issue on my mind and has been the topic of conversation with several members over the last month and a half.
Please note that in this article I will be using the word “evangelism” to talk about church growth. At its base, “evangelism” means sharing the good news of God. Church growth is more than that. While it is not a perfect synonym for church growth, it is the term that has historically been used.
As I mentioned last month, the Council is working on forming an Evangelism (Church Growth) Committee. I have heard from a couple people that are interested in serving on this committee, but we could use a group of 6-8 members to be involved and active in getting this work started.
Some have asked, “What will the Evangelism Committee do? I don’t want to go knocking on doors!” Well, I have good news! I am not asking anyone to go knocking on doors. As we prepare to assemble the committee, I believe there will be three primary tasks:
Learning about evangelism and teaching the congregation. This could take a variety of forms. The learning aspect could be done through reading a book together on the topic, seeking out and attending workshops, studying the demographics of our local community, or finding information through other trusted sources. The teaching component could be through temple talks, group conversations, events, or anything the committee feels would be helpful.
Planning evangelism events such as a “Bring a friend to church Sunday” and publicizing them within the congregation.
Reaching out to former and inactive members. We already have a relationship with these folks. Depending on the reason they left, they may be the most likely to get involved again.
There may be other tasks that arise as the committee learns more about evangelism. Perhaps finding ways to be more welcoming to visitors when they do come to St. Paul’s, or especially finding ways to connect with visitors that come for Christmas Eve and Easter services. However, these tasks will be determined by the committee over time.
Last month, I provided you with six things I know about evangelism. I would like to repeat them here, but also add one more.
Sending postcards or knocking on doors is not particularly effective. It takes a lot of time and resources, can be disappointing or even dangerous depending on the community, and only rarely does someone actually visit the church because of it.
A pastor inviting people to church isn’t particularly effective either. People hear me encourage them to come to church, and they just assume I’m saying that because I’m supposed to.
It usually takes a relationship to get someone to come to church. A personal invitation to attend church from a friend or a family member can go a long way.
With that personal invitation, people need to know why it’s worth attending your church. Why is St. Paul’s meaningful to you? What difference has the church made in your life? How have you made a difference in the community through the ministries of St. Paul’s? How could the person you’re inviting find more meaning in their lives by visiting St. Paul’s?
It can also be helpful to reach out to former members to let them know that they are missed and invite them to come back.
Church growth takes time. It often takes multiple invitations, and even then, we’re not going to have hundreds of people flooding our doors next week. Growth will happen slowly, one by one, as we are intentional about personal invitations and more public about what our faith means to us.
NEW: The number one indicator that a church will grow is if the surrounding community is growing. Additionally, the demographics of the community matter. It is unreasonable to expect 50 new young families to join the church if the primary area of growth in a community is senior citizens. Similarly, if a community is staying stagnant or declining, we can expect that church attendance will decline as well.
As the Evangelism Committee is forming, I will be available to help provide direction and leadership. As the church and community have changed over time, so has evangelism. So I look forward to learning alongside the committee and discovering new information and techniques beyond what I learned in seminary.
If you are interested in being a part of the Evangelism Committee, please let me know. St. Paul’s is a great place to be, and together we can grow in faith.
Peace,
Rev. Jessica Hahn