Do you like mazes? I don’t. I dislike not knowing where to go next and when I might arrive at my destination. For many churches, they function a lot like mazes. The average person has no idea what next steps to take should they want to connect into this congregation and what the destination (being a part of the church) might look like. It’s up to us as leaders to create clear and obvious next steps for anyone to be a part of our church and become a fully devoted follower of Jesus.
I think of it as a funnel. Whatever your big meeting is, this is the top of the funnel. It may be a Sunday service. It may be a class. It may be a community event. It may be a concert. You’ve got all these people at the top of the funnel. So …. How are you moving them down into the next step.
For many churches, the next steps from attending on a Sunday are:
Join a newcomer’s connection event. Pizza with the pastor. Newcomers Lunch. Zoom connection. The purpose of this is to connect new people to each other while helping to provide a bit more familiarity with the church. In order to do this, you’ll need to get newcomers information and invite them to this event in a timely manner. You should plan to run something like this every 4-6 weeks.
Join a new believers class. Many newcomers might not be familiar with the Christian faith. It’s good to have an option to join an Alpha or Exploring Christianity class that puts them into small groups for discussion on the topics learned. Make these classes 6 weeks maximum and run them mid-October, mid-January, and mid-May. Talk about them constantly and invite people to attend.
Join a small group. This is a little trickier and it requires you to have an open small group system meaning that anyone can join a group at any time. If you have closed small groups or groups that are closed, then it won’t work. To do this, your small group leaders will need to be ready to make connections with these individuals before they ever show up at the group. The small group leaders will become responsible to connect the newcomers into the group.
Serve in a ministry. Next to joining a small group, this is the best way to turn an attendee into a core member of the church. Getting them involved in serving is a great way to disciple people. Every week you need to provide an opportunity for people to check out serving options in the church. Approach someone who has been there for a few weeks and ask them what their gifts and talents are. Try and match them to a ministry opportunity and ministry leader in the church. Joining a ministry should not be complicated. It needs to be a simple matter of connecting them to the leader, training them, and mobilizing them into service.
Become a Member. People who are serving and attending regularly should be encouraged to become a part of what God is doing in the church and become members. Membership isn’t about holding some type of status, it’s about committing to the vision of the church. There needs to be a consistent call to membership in the life of the church (twice a year) that includes inviting people to learn more about what it means to be a member and what the vision, mission, and values of the church are. Promote and celebrate membership as a partnership in the mission of God through the local church.
Become a Leader. Congregational life doesn’t stop after membership. Every member must be challenged to become a leader in the church. A leader isn’t always someone with a position but it is someone who sees themselves as a champion of the church’s vision, mission, and values and does their part every week to move the mission forward. Some may lead teams and ministries and their role is to develop more leaders. The leaders in the church see themselves as developers of leaders. They don’t hold titles or positions; they hold the responsibility for the mission and vision of the church.
Follow these steps and think through how you move people from the top of the funnel through to the end. How can you create clear and obvious next steps for this?
Jeremiah works as an Effectiveness Coach with the ABNWT District of the PAOC. He is a passionate and creative leader who believes that the church is the hope of the world. He uses collaboration, innovation, and inspiration to challenge churches and their leadership to engage in the only mission Jesus ever sent his church on: making disciples.