Comments for Benefits, drawbacks of visiting members at http://pres-outlook.com , comment 1 to 4 out of 4 comments http://pres-outlook.com Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:54:54 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://pres-outlook.com/reports-a-resources/for-church-officers/3401.html#comment-3067 Thanks, Pastor Johnson, for your article. We, too, are wrestling with the problem of reaching out to members who are fading from active membership. We've started with keeping really good records. Many people slip away, unnoticed in a larger church. Timing is also important. Questions like 'will we offend them if we contact them too soon' or 'if we wait too long will it be too late' always come to mind. And WHO should contact them. It should be personal contact rather than a letter. We're working on building awareness to all members of the church to notice when someone hasn't been around for a while and to reach out. We haven't perfected it yet but we're working on it. - Dana Park Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:00:00 +0100 http://pres-outlook.com/reports-a-resources/for-church-officers/3401.html#comment-2819 Hi Mark, I think that the author of the article would agree with you 100%, but the question is how to go about it. Maybe churches should consider sending out postcards if someone misses a certain number of weeks, or make calls quarterly. This is a major undertaking, and one that should probably be led by deacons or session (perhaps as suggested above). The problem with issues like this is we look for a scapegoat more than a solution. Pastors do have to be involved sometime, especially in the Something Happened category. But someone has to tell them. (And members would do better not to blame Something Happened for their departures, and to seek reconciliation themselves.) I'm glad you've found a good church and hope that it does a better job than the last. Perhaps you even being called in a special way to work on membership/nurutre issues in your new congregation. - Jonathan Seitz Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:00:00 +0100 http://pres-outlook.com/reports-a-resources/for-church-officers/3401.html#comment-2812 Dear Earl, Thank you for tackling one of the greatest problems facing pastors today. I hope that you will share your findings and experiences withs the larger church. James - James Quillin Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:00:00 +0100 http://pres-outlook.com/reports-a-resources/for-church-officers/3401.html#comment-2809 Please allow me to present the opposite side of the coin. I am just now re-joining the church after an absence of almost 20 years. I left the church in college. I did so because I saw some things that bothered me (similar to the 'angry' person above). It's a long story and I won't take up your time here repeating it. After I left, I received no communication from the church to which I belonged for at least 15 years. After my parents moved and transferred their membership, I received a letter stating that I was being moved to the inactive list because I hadn't attended church. That's right - no pastoral counseling - no contact - just a letter informing me of the move to the inactive list. This is a violation of the Book of Order, but beyond that it's just poor treatment of members who stop attending. The Johnsonburg Presbyterian Center in NJ held a retreat last January (and they are repeating it this January) for people who were looking for a church. At that retreat, most of the participants had fallen away from the church for one of two reasons: apathy, or Something Happened. Having heard the stories (including my own), I have to think that in the Something Happened group, half of the lost members could have been kept or at least redirected to a new congregation by pastoral counseling. It's true that a call or visit might not elicit the reason for leaving. However, we MUST make the effort. Jesus exhorts us to find these single lost sheep. Perhaps a low-key approach is the way to get information. The last thing that we should consider doing is leave them hanging. While these inactive members are adults, they are often Wounded adults - and may not be able to take the affirmative step of telling the church why they are missing. Showing them that the church cares and wants to understand why they are missing gives them a chance to feel wanted again, and the church has a better chance of discovering a problem that needs addressing. The alternative is much more grim - simply letting them go to the inactive roll and then off the rolls altogether, saving about $25 in per capita, and potentially losing a soul. - Mark Smith Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:00:00 +0100