{"id":22071,"date":"1996-07-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1996-07-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/1996\/07\/01\/treating-new-members-like-royalty\/"},"modified":"1996-07-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1996-07-01T00:00:00","slug":"treating-new-members-like-royalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/treating-new-members-like-royalty\/","title":{"rendered":"Treating New Members Like Royalty"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nJesus told us in his Parable of the Prodigal Son the kind of welcome people\nreceive who come to the Father. So we “kill the fatted calf” and hold a\ncelebration and welcome dinner for every new member.<\/p>\n\n

\nWhen someone comes forward to be received into our church, we automatically\nschedule a celebration dinner the following Wednesday. All other Wednesday\nnight programs are cancelled. If the new member failed to show up for the\ndinner (which has never happened), we would still celebrate this new life\nin our church family.<\/p>\n\n

\nAt the dinner we use china and glass, no paper plates. When the guests of\nhonor, the new members arrive, they find a special seating area for them\nand their family. On the table in front of their plates are cards and letters\nfrom all<\/em> of our members, welcoming them to our church. There’s also\na leather-bound Bible, with name engraved, for each new member.<\/p>\n\n

\nJust before the blessing, the new members are invited to stand. We then have\na short responsive reading honoring them:<\/p>\n\n

\nLeader: Welcome! Why have you come here tonight?<\/p>\n\n

\nPeople: We have come to celebrate our joy.<\/p>\n\n

\nLeader: Why do you celebrate? What is your joy?<\/p>\n\n

\nPeople: We have a new brother and sister in our family.<\/p>\n\n

\nLeader: Name these new family members.<\/p>\n\n

\nPeople: They are ____________________.<\/p>\n\n

\nLeader: Let us all welcome them and sing praise to God.<\/p>\n\n

\nAll: Welcome, ________________. We love you.<\/p>\n\n

\nFollowing the dinner there is a candlelight baptismal service and Communion\ntogether. The response to this dinner is great. One family wrote, “This church\nhas made us feel so wanted, needed, and loved, and we shall never forget\nit.”<\/p>\n

Charles Yarborough<\/p>\n \n

1996 by Christianity Today\/LEADERSHIP journal<\/p>\n

Last Updated: September 17, 1996<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesus told us in his Parable of the Prodigal Son the kind of welcome people receive who come to the Father. So we “kill the fatted calf” and hold a celebration and welcome dinner for every new member. When someone comes forward to be received into our church, we automatically schedule a celebration dinner the Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[1104],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[142,154,160],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[648,156,651],"tax_ctp_tags":[3604,3609,3615],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-22071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-charles-yarborough","tax_publications-1996-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_publications-summer_1996-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-church-attendance","tax_ctp_tags-church-growth","tax_ctp_tags-church-membership"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nTreating New Members Like Royalty - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jesus told us in his Parable of the Prodigal Son the kind of welcome people receive who come to the Father. 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