The foundational message from God is simple. God loves us!
With this message, Christians are sent out into the world (2×2) to spread the Good News of God’s Love.
Congregations dedicated to outreach take this message seriously and revolve activity around it. All are welcome. Come as you are. Embrace God. Embrace us.
But from the moment the hook touches our eager lips, the message begins to change. You didn’t expect all this love to be free, did you?
More is expected of the new Christian. This is biblical to some degree. We love because God first loved us.
Some of it is pure greed. Newcomers to church will sense it. Some will dive in and become part of church culture. Some will lurk, testing the water no deeper than than their knees. Some will run to shore and keep running, the dollar sign on their foreheads no longer visible.
It is a balancing act for any congregation. What exactly is expected of lay church members? How do we grow involvement without crumbling the foundation of new faith?
It helps to understand lay thinking.
- People join church because of family tradition.
- People join church to feel part of community.
- People join church to know God.
- People join church to feel loved and to grow in their expression of love.
- People join church to feel better about themselves and their personal failings.
- No one joins a church to take on enormous existing debt.
- No one joins a church looking to be subject to authority they barely know.
To welcome people openly with love, waiting to begin demands until they are settled in the pew, is a bait and switch. It is what keeps people away from worship and Christian community.
It is something for congregations to think about as they plan outreach, stewardship and new member programs. Are we ministering to them or hitching our lifeline to them?