5-page paper synthesizing the 3-5 ideas from the readings that made the greatest impact on you, and how those ideas apply to yo

Win the War against Reversion

Gary McIntosh and Glen Martin believe that “there are only two ways to grow a church: we must bring people in the ‘front door,’ and we must keep people from going out the ‘back door.’”⁰ Church leaders can easily lose focus on the mission or vision of the church by not stopping to analyze and refocus along the way. People come to a church in three ways: (1) birth, (2) transfer from another church, or (3) conversion. In like manner, people leave a church in three ways: (1) death, (2) transfer to another church, or (3) “reversion”—when people slowly drift away from the church and do not identify with another church.⁰ Of the three reasons for leaving a church, reversion comprises the largest percentage.⁰ Thus, church leaders must develop strategies to bring people to Christ and assimilate them into the life of the church. This will effectively open the front door of the church, while reducing the amount of people who quietly slip out the back door.

On average, 6 percent of a church’s total attendance leaves each year because of reversion.⁰ A church should determine to reduce this attrition by 50 percent through the implementation of effective assimilation and retention strategies. Furthermore, the church should continually measure its success rate in reversing the reversion rate.

A church leader must constantly refocus in order to stay focused. Holly Green states: “When an organization lacks a clear destination, it usually has many ill-defined ones. They think they are doing the right thing, but directions change and someone forgot to realign them.”⁰ With the many daily demands on church leaders, they must prioritize their agenda so as to retain their current congregation. The task of closing the back door requires diligence and continual focus.

A church cannot expect to win the war of the back door easily; however, the reward for winning is great. Harold Smith, President of Christianity Today International, speaks about the necessity of renewed focus and vision. When he became president in July 2009, no one anticipated the “perfect storm” that was reshaping the media industry.⁰ The vision of Christianity Today International in 1956 declared:

a ministry that could engage, encourage, and equip pastors, church leaders, thought leaders, academicians, and culture makers so compellingly through quality content that was journalistically excellent in every way: accurate, creatively presented, fair-minded, intellectually sound, theologically orthodox, irenic, clear, accessible, church-supporting, and Christ-honoring.⁰

After reviewing these goals, he began the process of analyzing everything they did to determine unnecessary components and start new processes that would ensure the goals would be met in the twenty-first century. Smith, regarding these recent changes, illustrates the importance of refocusing the vision:

Our recent cutbacks have forced a renewed focus on those publications and related websites directly tied to Graham’s original vision, beginning with CT and Leadership. This ministry-wide sharpening has already redirected our creative energies and resources to finding new ways of taking our award-winning core content into ever-expanding ministry venues.⁰

Every church leader should approach closing the back door of their church with this type of diligence along with the adoption of assimilation strategies.

Facilitating the Retention of First-Time Guests

Assimilation purposes to help the church provide an easy but thoughtful process whereby a first-time guest becomes a fully engaged and responsible member of the body of Christ. Assimilation of new members into the local church creates a sustainable growth pattern for the church. The implementation of assimilation strategies in the local church will result in healthy growth that comes by way of new converts rather than transfer growth.

Proverbs 18:24 declares, “A true friend sticks by you like family” (The Message). Generally speaking, first-time guests come to church seeking friends. Clarensau comments: “What would happen if a church acted like Jesus? How would their experience of us change if they came in our doors and felt like we wanted them to be there?”⁰ People attend church because they long to make connection with other people. This being the case, it begs the question: Why do people have such difficulty making connections when both the church and the individual generally want the same thing? Tim Dolan articulates the harsh reality:

I have never come across a congregation that bills itself as the ‘unfriendly church.’ Every congregation likes to think of themselves as friendly and welcoming to visitors. And yet, from my own experience and from talking to others, I have found that churches are not always as welcoming to first time visitors as they like to think they are.⁰

Intentionality in Plan

Church leaders must create intentional avenues whereby to welcome first-time guests. This intentional approach begins before the guest even visits the church. The church’s Web site, for instance, should be geared for people who log onto the site for the first time by readily providing services times, directions to the church, and a means by which the person can contact the church via email and/or phone. The intentionality at the church starts from the moment the first-time guest pulls into the parking lot, and continues until he or she becomes a part of the body of Christ and joins the church as a member. The church should also provide signs so that as first-time guests approach the church property, they can easily locate the church. Dolan created a friendly environment for first-time guests by dedicating three front row parking spaces for visitors. He believes this accomplishes two goals: “It made it easier for visitors to find a parking space in an otherwise full parking lot. Even more importantly, it communicated, in a very tangible way, that we expect visitors each Sunday. Visitors are important enough to us to have their own dedicated parking space.”⁰

First-time guests represent part of the treasury that God gives to a local church. Searcy says: “Did you have any first-time guests at your church last week? Those guests were God’s gift to you. How did you receive them? Did you show the Giver your appreciation? Did you treat those gifts as they deserved to be treated by having a plan in place to integrate them into the life of your church?”⁰ Preparing for assimilation is the key to being successful in reaching the people God sends to your church for the first time. The Bible declares, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things” (Matt. 25:21). When the church prepares to welcome first-time guests, God will certainly send first-time guests to those services. Creating an assimilation plan requires study regarding effective processes, as well as trial and error as one develops a plan for reaching the people God sends to the church. W. Edwards Deming states: “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.”⁰ Part of any new program includes implementation as well as adjustments along the way so as to make the plan fit the unique needs of the church. Identifying effective assimilation programs based on successful models definitely makes sense.