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Senior Pastor's 2006 Annual Report

Dearly Beloved,

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

    “ … let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us….”
                                                            Hebrews 12:1c

 Discipleship.  Assimilation.  Service. home

 At a well attended Special Congregational Meeting held Sunday, November 12 this past year, we made a bold statement.  We said we wanted “to be a dynamic congregation of disciples proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all.”  We said we were going “to Glorify God in all that we do, reflecting His Love to our community and the world.” We said we would do this by giving special emphasis: 1)” To provide opportunities for our members to grow in their faith and to take on active roles in the life of the church: to create new leaders within the church and to increase our presence in the spiritual life of our community”. 2) “To nurture and support each other as we integrate new members into the congregation, providing a welcoming worship experience with opportunities for fellowship. To reach out to inactive members and visitors so that they are encouraged to join us in discipleship.” 3) We affirmed that: “The church is the church only when it exists for others” says Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We reflect God’s love when we serve others. This encompasses our everyday actions as well as our more organized efforts.”

 Dash was birthed.  Thanks be to God!
 

In this year’s Pastor’s Annual Report, instead of reflecting on the happenings of 2006 (which were great and many) I am going to DASH into 2007. During the fast approaching season of Lent, we will be focusing on the “D” of Dash. During our Mid-Week Wednesday evening worship services, we will explore Christ’s invitational call to us as believers to become disciples.  We will become aware of the 3 components fundamental to discipleship and essential to sustaining a vibrant, effective, lasting ministry.   As we move into the season of Pentecost, the “S” of DASh will receive special emphasis, not only from the pulpit but through projects. We will join our hearts and hands-- making a difference in peoples’ lives… and experiencing a difference in our lives.

In this season of Epiphany, I am going to emphasize in the remainder of this report the “A” of our Strategic Plan’s acronym DASh -- Assimilation.  The following were adopted as hoped-for outcomes of our congregational efforts under the heading of Assimilation:  A) Increase our active membership rolls by at least 10% over 2006. B) Increase average Sunday attendance by 5% over the 2006 average. C)  Return at least ten inactive members to active status.  These identified outcomes can wonderfully inclusive and can be seen as covering the broad spectrum of: visitors/guests, prospective members, active and inactive members. The question is:  How are we going to accomplish these objectives?

The current statistics show that 85% of churches in the United States have plateaued or are declining in membership and attendance at weekend worship services. When so many congregations are in decline, how are we going to have an increase in membership and Sunday attendance?  We ourselves have been “plateaued”.  What must we do to join the 15% of congregations which are experiencing significant and/or rapid growth?

Some of those included in the 15% are in high growth areas, like we once were. These congregations are growing because of their location, some grow despite themselves and lack of effort.  “Geographic Based” growth is far different than what we now must enter into if our objectives under Assimilation are to be met. “Process Based” growth occurs irrespective of whether a congregation is located in a rapidly growing or non-growing community.  This kind of growth has to do with the congregation establishing and implementing processes that connect and integrate people.

If were are to experience the outcomes we said we desire, then as a congregation we must hone our assimilation process.  It no longer can be regarded as the job of those on the Witness Committee. We all need to see ourselves as part of the Witness Committee. No longer can we compartmentalize Assimilation.  Assimilation no longer is the job of one person or one Committee. Assimilation is an all-church, every member, every committee endeavor in behalf of our Lord and his Kingdom.

How big is the challenge of successfully accomplishing our 3 adopted outcomes under the heading of  Assimilation?  Let us assess our current effectiveness.  Answer the following with a YES or NO.

        1)    Are there large numbers of local visitors who don’t come back?

        2)    Are there large numbers of ”transfers out” who keep the same residency?

        3)    Is there more than 50% of our membership who currently have no role, task, or small group involvement?

        4)    Is there a large gap between church membership and average church attendance?

        5)    Is there a high percentage of members whose worship attendance is one Sunday per month or less?

        6)    Do many members feel “left out”?

        7)    Are their a large number of new members who don’t have a friend or relative in the church?

        8)    Are there members whose level of involvement suddenly decline?

 
Indeed, there are many factors which must be critically considered when answering these questions.  But over all, what is your initial impression?  How affective are we in the practice of Assimilation?

To reach the growth goals of increasing our active membership rolls by 10% and our Sunday attendance by 5%, we will have to act with awareness on the following keys to Assimilation.

 
Key #1
Sustained church growth requires a sustained investment outwards, towards your visitors.
For the most part guest visitors represent 100% of our church's growth potential. This Key #1 sounds so simplistic and self evident, why mention it at all.  Why? Because it is commonly ignored by churches.  Churches that fully buy into Key #1 will focus the appropriate level of energy and resources on attracting and retaining visitors. Others will tend to focus more of their resources and energies inward, towards their congregation.  This first key is the beginning point for effective visitor retention.


Key #2
Visitor Retention is Far More Significant than Visitor Volume.
Visitor retention is somewhere between 10 to 20 times more significant, in terms of church growth, than visitor volume. Yet churches tend to put all of their outreach resources into "the one basket" of increasing visitor volume and very little into visitor retention. Most churches allocate their church growth resources into Yellow Page ads, purchasing demographic data, conducting large community events and mass mailings, all of which are very expensive and only target visitor volume. We must develop and sustain an effective visitor retention ministry.


Key #3
It Takes People to Reach People
Mass mailings, impassioned pulpit announcements, multimedia and slick advertising collateral are not enough to reliably connect newcomers into "places of belonging" in your church. While these kinds of materials can be helpful in assimilation, they are no replacement for the person-to-person connections where visitors experience personal care and the love of God. Every member must be motivated and mobilized to personally care for ”outsiders.”
 
Key #4
Be Proactive to Connect People
Laypersons and leaders of any church will never automatically prioritize their attention on outsiders. The spiritual transformation from a passive mindset to a proactive posture towards outsiders must take place. The natural sociological phenomenon is to focus inwardly. We must divert attention away from longstanding comfortable relationships and begin to invest time in the strangers who come through our doors.
Visitor assimilation begins as a matter of stewardship towards those whom God brings to the front doors of our church.
 
Key #5
It Takes Time to Win People
The research shows the more a visitor visits a church the greater the odds are that they will eventually become a part of that church. Yet, churches often place all of their efforts in the first time visitor. Reality is that churches will receive a far greater return on investments that they make in 2nd and 3rd and subsequent visitors. Sustained follow up is essential to effective visitor assimilation.
 
Key #6
Listen to Your Visitors
Whether they are from out-of-town or from the surrounding community, visiting guests come for a reason.  Those reasons vary.  It may be simply to worship.  But most of the time, it is for reasons far deeper.  They may be seeking to change their life (or the life of a loved one) and this represents the starting point in that hoped for transformation.  They may be new to the community and looking for a friendly face to support/welcome them. Regardless, they carry with them a message.  Their returning has a lot to do with our ability to identity their needs and connect them with the people/resources that will be helpful to them. We must further refine and develop competent ministry systems that proactively work to connect all visiting guests.

 
These Six Keys do this. They enhance a congregation’s VELCRO FACTOR.   The Velcro Factor is the ability of a congregation to retain visiting guests.   The more a local visitor returns, the more likely they will join the congregation.  Once they become members we must remember it takes significant hands-on care for a significant period of time before they are fully assimilated into the church. Assimilation cannot be assumed or left to chance. We must further refine and develop competent ministry systems that proactively work to connect our newest of members.
 
Why?
 
As we seek to achieve our Assimilation goals we must remember this: Every church has two doors!  Not only is there a front door.  There is also a backdoor.  It is used by members (and visiting guests) that feel unconnected.  They are still looking for a place to belong or to have their needs met. Within the congregation, few or none are close to them.  Their involvement in the congregation’s life and ministry is seldom more than marginal.
 
The backdoor of a congregation is largely silent and invisible -- as opposed to a congregation’s front door. The front door is highly visible and attention getting because newcomers are highly visible and their presence stirs excitement. The backdoor of any congregation is rather invisible, Why? Because these members have already exited. They are no longer standing there to be seen. They leave rather quietly and relatively unnoticed because they are unconnected.
 
The leading causes for members to exit a congregation are:
 
   1)   Lack or loss of friends
   2)   Dissatisfaction with the church and its ministries
   3)   Unresolved issues or conflict

The lack or loss of friends is far and above the predominant reason why people leave any given congregation.  In I Peter 4:8 it is stated:  “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” Paraphrasing St Peter’s words: Where great relationships exist, members are willing to overlook a host of flaws in the church.”  In other words when we adequately address the issues in #1, there will be a lot of grace given by people to work on the issues attached to #2 and #3.
 
The fundamentals never change. Churches grow by connecting people, one at a time.  Let us therefore:
 
   Improve our welcome of visiting guests
    Help new members become active members
    Close the backdoor to inactivity/disconnectedness

If we are to meet and exceed our goals in Assimilation, then we must grow our personal efforts in making this “home” for all who walk through Salem’s doors. This is not the sole task of a committee, be it Witness or Fellowship. Every member has an important role to play in the process of Assimilation. We are all members of the “priesthood of believers.” May we continue in joy to grow and go forth in Christ. Thanks be to God!

Together for Christ,

Pastor Schmidt