At Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor, Chuck Warnock offers an example from his church that backs up Lyle Schaller’s mantra, “New people need new groups.” Schaller reasoned that, since existing groups tend to resist newcomers, churches must create new ones.
Warnock and his wife started a new class in their church a year ago:
The intent was to gather all our younger adults who did not attend Sunday School into a new class just for them. Instead we actually attracted new people. Our class of about 12 now has all new members or guests, with one exception, who have joined since we have been here in Chatham.
That makes a lot of sense to me. Even a group that is intentionally welcoming to outsiders will have built-in obstacles. We develop a rapport with people we’ve been around, in part through our pool of shared memories. Inside jokes are irresistible, for instance, but can be a quick turn-off for others.
Newcomers can also be thrown by an unwritten social code that, developed over time, is invisible to us. Perhaps it’s a certain brand of humor, or the preferred topics of conversation. And it’s not just a matter of learning the rules for the outsider, because the code will naturally fit the group’s founders better than it will many outsiders.
On top of all that, being a trailblazer gives someone a greater sense of ownership. This is something you helped start, and you’d like to see it flourish. Plus, you know the group as well as anyone and feel more qualified to lead.
Tim Keller shares some related statistics when he makes the case for planting new churches. (Click here and listen to “Why to Plant Churches,” it’s fantastic.) He says, for instance, that the average congregation under 10 years old is six to eight times more effective than older churches in bringing in unchurched people. Which makes me ask: When is a new church needed, rather than just a new group in an existing church?
Can you think of other reasons why assimilation into established groups is difficult? On the flip side, what about the benefit for “veterans” of being stretched by new kinds of people? How do you walk that line?
For more on assimilating visitors…
