Kicking off fall activities is an exciting time for church leaders. Everyone can feel the palpable energy of a new ministry year as kids and adults jump into new programming and new people begin to make your church a part of their lives. Harnessing all the enthusiasm, excitement and energy of the new ministry year can be a daunting undertaking for even the very best ministry teams.  

As leaders, we ask ourselves: How can I help people get connected in meaningful ways that will last? How can I ensure deep community happens? Obviously there are no guarantees that everyone will connect at a deeper level. However, since church leaders are called to make disciples, we must try to inspire true and lasting relationships within our churches. So the real challenge is, how do we create relational opportunities for those who are new to (or standing on the sidelines of) our ministries?

For your church to increase its impact in the lives of the people of God, it’s essential that you strategize and execute a game plan designed to help people move past the activities and events made for newcomers and toward relational investment and becoming a strong and stable member of your church community. 

Be Strategic

Before you can create a more effective experience for visitors and prospective members, you need to understand what engagement, membership and community mean to your ministry on a strategic level, and then communicate it and adopt systems to measure success.

Get a clear picture of what a connected member of your church looks like, and track people’s progress toward it.

How does a truly connected member serve, give and lead? What does engagement look like? Define your goals so you know what data you want to collect, manage and measure. Formalizing this information will help you understand how to prioritize and focus on the things that really matter. This objective data will help you identify trends and to know whether you’re really building a thriving ministry.

Align your systems and processes to track what you’re learning about and from your people.

Don’t rely on solely your leaders’ brains (or your own) to remember and catalogue everything you’re learning from your members. Use technology to collect, share and analyze the data you’re gathering. Chances are good you already know your finances down to the penny, but if you’re like most churches, you might be less precise on serving and engagement numbers. Investing in a decentralized system for leaders to access this information will empower them to make better decisions, faster.

The ultimate goal isn’t just attendance; it’s discipleship. 

Document your expectations for how members participate in your church.

Talk through and write down your expectations around things like worship, giving, serving, small group participation and more. Your ideal level of participation needs to be clear to you before you can make it clear to your members. Showing up on Sunday mornings isn’t enough for people to connect and grow in a thriving community — after all, the ultimate goal isn’t just attendance; it’s discipleship. 

Make it easy for new and prospective members to access information.

Meet your people where they are. Invest in a landing page or printed materials with all your visitor and new member information so people can access it easily. Even if you share the information verbally, you can’t expect people to remember everything about your ministries. Use your web presence whenever possible to give members a resource to go back to and help visitors gain a deeper understanding of your church’s path to discipleship.

Execute Effectively

When you know what connection and membership mean to your church and have your systems and processes in place, you’re ready to reach out and make people feel understood and valued.

Make sure you’re listening to new members.

Take advantage of the fresh perspective your visitors and new members have — they’re a terrific source of new ideas and ways to change things up. You may hear some surprising things, but taking the time to ask and listen will definitely be worth it. We’ve all heard the expression: “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” But never is that more true than when we are in the middle of the weekly grind of doing ministry. 

Get your pastoral leadership involved in new members’ classes and activities.

A personal presence from your leaders early on shows your visitors and prospective members that they really do matter to you. In fact, engagement with the visionaries and leaders in your ministry is often exactly what people need to understand “how they fit” and how God may be aligning their individual gifts with your ministry.

“Show and tell” people what membership looks like at your church.

It’s fairly common to have a membership class and get-to-know-you events. But have you thought about offering an online premembership class or utilizing videos to give interested visitors a feel for what it’s like to be a connected member of your church? This presentation can build excitement and even encourage them to take the next step.

Give new members a step-by-step process for connection.

Provide your people with a roadmap they can follow after committing to membership. Break down the membership expectations you outlined before into steps a new member can follow at their own pace. Laying out a flexible path to connection respects people’s time and prevents them from getting stuck along the way. This could even be as simple as providing alternate options for people to go through your membership materials if they miss a week.

Helping your visitors and new members integrate into your community leads to discipleship growth, changed lives and a thriving church. And I can’t think of a better way to start your fall season than with that as your goal!

Charissa Lillard works in public relations and brand awareness at Church Community Builder and has a professional background in church communications and volunteer leadership. Church Community Builder is dedicated to discipleship growth and equipping church leaders for modern-day ministry through software and coaching. This article was originally published in the August/September issue of Influence. For more print content, subscribe.