St Davids Clergy Conference 3: Church is a welcoming community A culture of invitation, welcome and integration.

St Davids Clergy Conference

3: Church is a welcoming community

A culture of invitation, welcome and integration

Everybody Welcome

• Theological base – Trinity as community• Gospel as welcome into the Trinity’s own

community as friends of God• Radical inclusivity & hospitality as core gospel

values• God draws people to himself, its our job to include

them in his community and not to rest until they become contributing disciples

Everybody Welcome

• The Sower and the seed (Luke 8)• The Prodigal Son (Luke 15)• The Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Cor 5)• All one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3)• I was a stranger and you invited me in (Matthew 25)• Practise hospitality (Romans 12)

Ephesians ch 2v11-22

• In Christ Jesus you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ

• You are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow-citizens with God’s people & members of God’s household

• You are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit

What is the biggest single reason why churches don’t grow ?

The people who try us out

Don’t Stay!!!!!!!!!!

Some Statistics

• Nearly 90% of people who try our churches fail to become regular church members

• It is not always their fault - sometimes• God sends us the people • But we ignore them and they go away again• The sad story of my wife

There are lots of ways of being unfriendly and insensitive…………

Some say he used to be

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Chauffeur

Some say he is a retired Archdeacon

From the planetZog

All we know is he’s called

Photo Stig

And he hasA very fast shutter speed

Photo Stig is seeking a welcoming church near you

With wide open doors

So which of the following welcoming churches

Did Photo Stigchoose to join?

The welcome in more detail

Finding out what’s happening

So did Photo StigFall foul of the Cathedral Parking

Police?

Is it a case of….Stig Martyr ?

Fear not, Stig has found a welcome

In the Rose and Crown !

Course Content

• There is a members’ manual and some pre-reading for each session

• Some course material is delivered by DVD• There are also exercises to do, such as mystery-

worshipping, helping us look at our churches with a stranger’s eye

• And a series of checklists to fill out and put together to identify strengths, weaknesses, and priorities for action

The Course

•For every church member – it only takes one to spoil a welcome

•Four sessions – Discover – Experience the plant – Experience the people – Belong

•Welcome is a long term business over months and years

Four outcomes from the course

• Every church member looking at their part in the welcome their church offers

• The setting up of a ‘Welcome Team’ in the church• Identifying priorities for decision and action by church

councils• Focussed prayer for God to draw people to the church

Prayer and Growth

• It’s God’s job to grow the church – ‘I will build my church’, ‘The Lord added to their number daily’, ‘I planted, Apollos watered but God made it grow’ – but he prefers us to get involved & ask him to work

• It’s our job to pray for, invite, welcome, integrate and disciple the people God sends us

• So pray that God will send the people and prepare to welcome them!

The Everybody Welcome Prayer

Heavenly Father, you have welcomed us into your kingdom and your heart’s desire is to draw every human being to yourself. Grant us clear eyes to see people as you see them, sensitive feet to stand in their shoes, and warm smiles to welcome them in your name. Give us such generous hearts that our church becomes a foretaste of heaven where every soul you send us finds their loving home in the community of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The Checklist System

•You have a checklist on which to record your own view of how well your church scores on each aspect of the welcome business

•When your sheet is combined with the others from your church you get an overall score and can see where you differ from each other

The Checklist System

•When you have been through all 17 checklists you can identify the particular strengths and weaknesses of your church

•This will enable you to develop your strengths and pay attention to your weaknesses

•But it will only work if you are brutally honest about your church!!!!!!

The Church Handicap Hurdles

• Discovering you are there• Meeting church members• Attending an initial service or event• Initial welcome and friendliness• Making new friends• Small groups and belonging• Making a contribution, full identity

The Church Handicap Hurdles

• Discovering you exist 2 • Meeting church members 3• Attending an initial service or event 7• Initial welcome and friendliness 0• Making new friends 18• Small groups and belonging 13• Making a contribution, full identity 0

The Church Handicap Hurdles

• Discovering you exist 7• Meeting church members 7• Attending an initial service or event 25• Initial welcome and friendliness 9• Making new friends 32• Small groups and belonging 44• Making a contribution, full identity 24

The Church Handicap Hurdles

• Discovering you are there 3• Meeting church members 8• Attending an initial service or event 7• Initial welcome and friendliness 7• Making new friends 45• Small groups and belonging 0• Making a contribution, full identity 0

And now I’ll tell you a story….The story of St Alphege Seasalter• They asked me ‘How can we grow?’• I said ‘train how to integrate the people God is sending you and pray

for him to send you some more’• So they wrote a prayer in collect form asking God to send them new

people they could welcome• And did the ‘Everybody Welcome’ course – something what I wrote

myself

St Alphege Seasalter

• They offered the course to their congregation for four consecutive weeks at three occasions – Wed & Fri evenings and Sun afternoons, to suit all diaries and give nobody an excuse

• 130 came out of an Electoral Roll of 240• They did it properly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

St Alphege Seasalter

• A small group analysed the checklists and the flip chart notes made by participants

• This gave the PCC priorities for improving the welcome & integration of newcomers

• A ‘Welcome 2’ team was appointed and did the training in ‘Everybody Welcome’

• The sidesmen became the ‘Welcome 1’ team• The Welcome 2 team began in Feb 2011

St Alphege Seasalter

• They started using the prayer every service and noticed a large, sudden increase in the number of newcomers

• They got so swamped they decided to stop using the prayer for a bit while the Welcome 2 group caught up with the backlog!!!!

St Alphege Seasalter –how the Welcome 2 group works• 2 on duty each service (9 & 10.45) • They speak to newcomers, get their contact details and introduce

them to others• During the week they deliver a high quality ‘Welcome to St Alphege’

booklet/leaflet update every three months with coming events• One team member enters contact details etc on a colour coded

spreadsheet• Only certain personality types need apply for that job

St Alphege Seasalter –how the Welcome 2 group works• Every two months they hold a ‘welcome’ Sunday lunch on church

premises after the 10.45 service• They invite all recent newcomers plus matched numbers & ages of

existing members to meet plus church leaders to talk about the church & answer questions

• People are invited to join small groups

How have things gone?

• In the last 12 months they have recorded 133 newcomers on their colour coded spreadsheet

• 79 adults and 54 children• So they are mainly attracting young families

How have things gone?

adults childrenNow coming min monthly 45 25Not sure yet 17 13Not attached 7 8Too soon to tell 10 8

Total 79 54So the retention rate is between 53% & 89%I think it will settle down to 60-70%

Growth creates problems

• By the autumn their main 10.45 service had got uncomfortably full• So they re-jigged service times and added a third Sunday morning

service – 10.10 for half an hour, all age. 9 became 8.45 and 10.45 became 11am

• So far the 10.10 has averaged 77 people• But 11am has only gone down by 10, so they are still crowded!

St Alphege Seasalter Sunday morning attendance averages late 2010-early

2012

-50

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

prew elcome

pre plant post plant

10 past 10

10.45/11

9/8.45

tw icing