your church by three routes:
| 1 | helping every individual to have a welcoming approach to newcomers. So it is important that as many church members as possible take part in the course. |
| 2 | identifying priorities for decision and change. At the end of the course the church council or other leadership group should identify priorities and then develop and implement an action plan for improving the church’s welcome and integration of newcomers. |
| 3 | setting up a Welcome Team, whose specialist ministry is to help newcomers through to being contributing members. |
Welcome as a growth strategy
I’ve been studying the factors involved in church growth for many years and have reached a most surprising conclusion. At least it surprises me, and I’m sorry now that I’ve been so slow on the uptake.
We sometimes overlook the fact that it is Jesus’ own job to draw all people to himself (Matthew 16.18) and he is still doing his job. The main problem and opportunity for the growth of the church today is how well we who are already in the church welcome the people whom God is sending us to join the church. It is as surprisingly basic and simple as that.
I can actually demonstrate this for an average church mathematically with some simple algebra, but if you want that take a look at the Course Leaders’ Manual!
Welcome and the gospel
The hospitality of our welcome is central to our Christian calling. The gospel is about unconditional acceptance into the Body of Christ. Peter learned this lesson in Acts chapter 10 when, having accepted lodgings in the particularly smelly house of Simon the Tanner, he was taught in a vision to accept Gentiles as well as Jews into the church.
Welcome ministry is part of our response to God’s ministry of reconciliation that he shares with his church. 2 Corinthians 5.18 says: ‘All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.’ There is huge power in effective welcome because it is the very expression of the gospel of reconciliation between God and humans, and between humans. The heart of the gospel is that all are called, all are included, all who ask to enter are allowed in to the kingdom of heaven. ‘You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3.26,28).
In the world around we see alienation, isolation, division, barriers, people who are unwelcome here, there and almost everywhere. In the faithful Christian church it does not matter whether or not your face fits – we have a gospel of reconciliation, a core value of radical inclusivity, a community of welcome to all. Your welcome, your inclusion, is based not on what you can give but on what can be given to you. You are welcomed in by grace, flowing from the supernatural love that God and his church already have in their hearts for you.
If anyone did not deserve to be welcomed it was the prodigal son. He had betrayed his father, squandered his money and ruined his family’s reputation. And yet, as the son skulked home in search of a servant’s meal, the father, ever watchful, rushed out to embrace him while he was still a great way off. Such is the prodigious welcome of God the Father for all his children making the slightest gesture of return from afar to the warmth of his family home. And such should be the prodigious welcome of his church to all who glance in our direction.
So we know the marvellous gospel theory that ‘all are welcome’ in the Church of Jesus Christ. Some churches struggle with this, others offer such a welcome that all manner of people are drawn to Jesus Christ through their welcome and friendship. But none can be complacent.
So we know what we should be like even if we sometimes fall short of high standards. Often the reason we fall short is not our lack of willingness, our rebellion against the ministry of reconciliation, our resentment at the prodigals. It is our lack of confidence, our fear of straying out of our comfort zone, our awkwardness with the stranger, and preoccupation with our own needs or stress that breeds indifference to others.
On our weaknesses God has compassion and yet he calls us to grow strong. This is where Everybody Welcome comes in – this course is designed to help every church that aspires to gospel standards of welcome and hospitality to put them into everyday practice. We can be the communities God intends us to be if we put our hearts and minds to the task, obeying and imitating the God of hospitality who welcomes every sinner to sit, eat and rejoice at his table.
Welcome and the big picture
The whole life of the church is bound up with its ministry of welcome and integration. It is central to how the local church fulfils Jesus’ great commission – ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28.19). Making contact with people, befriending them, welcoming them into membership of the community of Christ and nurturing them into Christian discipleship can only be achieved when the quality of the life of the whole church measures up to the task in hand. This course is not about a small specialist ministry, it aims to bring new health and vitality to the whole of church life.
So it helps to see where every aspect of the course fits in to the overall picture. Church members go through a life-changing, church-changing process of discovering the life of the church then experiencing its worship then belonging to its community then contributing to its ministry. There are different aspects of each stage in the journey, and they are labelled and summarized in the chart below, which is our equivalent of a table of contents.
So Everybody Welcome is divided into four sessions:
Session 1. Helping people discover the church’s existence and character
People have to at least know about you, and may well need to know you in person, before thinking of becoming part of your group. So how does your church make contact with the local community and how can you become more visible in it?
Session 2. Giving people a good experience of the church premises
The church grounds, building and hall can attract or deter people. So how daunting is the physical business of entering your building for the first time? Can you develop your facilities to provide a positive and anxiety-free experience?
Session 3. Giving people a good experience of the church people
A newcomer’s first experience of the church community usually determines whether they wish to join it. So how can your church offer a friendly, stress-free welcome to the local community? But people need to experience divine welcome as well as human. So how can you best give newcomers the chance to meet with God in your worship and other community events?
Session 4. Helping newcomers belong to the church community and start contributing to it
Church attendance should be a step along the way to Christian discipleship. Most people aspire to belong, not just to attend. The main factor in deciding whether someone stays is whether they make friends quickly. So how can your church be motivated, trained and organized to offer attractive friendship and belonging to newcomers? How can newcomers turn into members who exercise their own Christian ministry through the church?
There is a fifth session, but this is for the
