Leadership Journal

We have a wonderful preacher," reflected a long-time member of First Church. "We enjoy a superb choir, we have a good Sunday school, and our people really love one another. How come our church isn't attracting those baby boomers who are supposedly returning to the church?

"I've always been told the four keys to church growth are superb preaching, inspiring music, an excellent Sunday school, and friendly people. We have all four, plus an excellent building that we remodeled six years ago, and nearly a hundred spaces of off-street parking. Why don't we grow?"

Fair questions. Why does this congregation with its many assets not attract new members? A central reason may be a shortage of entry points for new people.

Most long-established churches resemble a large closed circle. Most of the resources are allocated to meeting the needs of the members already within that circle. This includes the priorities on the pastor's time and energy, the use of the building, the ministry of music, the priorities in the spending of money, and the use of the time contributed by volunteers.

If that congregation is to grow, it probably will have to change the nature of that closed circle.

One way to do that is to bring in a new pastor who will introduce a different approach to ministry, transform the culture of that congregation, and attract new people. Pastors who can accomplish that are rare!

Far more often the culture of that congregation turns out to be more powerful and molds the new minister into the tradition of that congregation.

A more productive alternative may be to open up the closed circle by creating new and attractive entry points for newcomers. Rarely is this easy. Powerful pressures exist to make the number-one priority the finding of new members who will help perpetuate the status quo. This may be expressed as "Before we talk about a second service on Sunday morning, let's fill the pews at one service." Or, "Instead of talking about a new staff person to expand our program, let's first find someone who will visit our shut-ins, or who can strengthen our youth program and maybe build up our Sunday school."

One 97-year-old congregation in Ohio that had been on a plateau with an average attendance of 145 at worship for the past 12 years doubled in size in five years. This followed the arrival of a second staff member who was asked to expand the entry points. During her first year, several important things happened:

She identified a dozen volunteer allies who would help her create new entry points.

She began to build a list of prospective new members, most of the names coming from those who attended the special events she scheduled.

She scheduled nearly 100 new events and activities to which non-members could be invited. Here are some of them:

1. An after-church picnic for everyone in the community who had been reared in Pennsylvania, with subsequent Sundays for other states.
   
2. A four-session divorce-recovery workshop.