Study guide Inactives: What do we do? M
By Robert C. Blezard
any congregations struggle with whether to remove people who no longer par-
ticipate in church from membership rolls. On the one hand, it serves little purpose to carry people on the rolls who are absent from church life. On the other hand, how many of these people might return to the fold with a little more encouragement?
Exercise 1: What’s in it for you? You come to church. Why? How important is church? What is church to you? What purpose does it serve in your life? What needs does it fill in your life? Given all the other choices you have, why is attending church the one you choose? Why doesn’t church fill the same needs in the people who drift away from the congregation? What can the church do about it?
Exercise 2: ‘Plugging in’ Churches retain members who are connected—“plugged in”—to an aspect of church life that excites or fulfills them.
Blezard is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Arendtsville, Pa. He has a master of divinity degree from Boston University and did subsequent study at the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.) and the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia.
What opportunities does your church have for education, service, leadership or recreation? Are they sufficient to meet members’ needs? How does your church integrate members into the life of the church— and keep them plugged in? Is there a formal program or is it unstructured? For action: Draft a strategy to integrate mem- bers into the church’s life or suggest changes to the current plan. Submit your proposal to
your congregation’s leadership.
Exercise 3: Gimme a break Over the years most people experi- ence ebbs and flows in their con- gregational life. Has your worship attendance been consistent? When have you stayed away, and why? When did you come back, and why? What’s the difference between “tak- ing a break” from church life and “dropping out”? How would you advise your congregation to bring back members who have left?
Exercise 4: What’s a member? What does being a member of your congregation mean to you personally? For people in general? List what you think should be the responsibilities and duties of a con- gregation toward a member. List the responsibilities and duties of a mem- ber toward a congregation. How are (or should be) mutual duties and responsibilities expressed in church life?
In your opinion, when someone drops out of church life, which party is more likely to be at fault: the con- gregation or parishioner? What can be done about it?
Exercise 5: Attendance How many members do you have on your church roll? What percentage attends worship in a given week? How does the figure compare to the churchwide statistic of 28.7 percent? If favorably, what congregational strengths contribute to a higher attendance? How can your congre- gation build on them? If unfavor- ably, what weaknesses should be corrected?
Exercise 6: Strategic planning Does your congregation have a strat- egy for membership retention? If so, what are its goals? Is it adequate for its objectives? Is it followed? How would you improve it? If your con- gregation has no such policy, why not? How might it help keep people active? For action: As a study group, draft a membership retention strategy or make improvements to the current one. Give it to congregational leaders.
Exercise 7: For whose benefit? When church leaders talk about “bringing back” inactive members, which is generally the bigger con- cern: the welfare of the congrega- tion or the welfare of the inactive member? Why? Which should be the greater concern? As the focus of a strategy to bring back inactive mem- bers, which concern would likely be more successful? Why?
Exercise 8: Too busy for church? Many families say they are too busy or too exhausted to attend church. Is this a factor in your church’s mem- bers becoming inactive?
In the lifetimes of the study group members, what societal changes have hurt church attendance? Among oth- ers, consider changes in these areas: work, family, shopping, school, media, leisure time, children’s sports. Has your church kept up with the changes? How can it do better?
Exercise 9: Love your neighbor Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. What are the best ways to love our neighbors who no longer participate in church life?
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