2003 Shepherd's Conference, A Ministry of Grace Community Church 818.909.5530. © 2003 All Rights Reserved. Grace Community Church. A CD, MP3, or tape cassette copy of this session can be obtained by going to www.shepherdsconference.org
(Handout – Study Notes)
Dan Dumas
Introduction
Assimilation is a total package to implement a biblical philosophy of ministry.
Assimilation is a comprehensive process to integrate people into the body of Christ.
Assimilation is an intentional approach to create a church of participating members.
As we seek to evaluate how we do ministry at Grace Community Church it is our strategy to bring together innovation teams for each particular ministry project. These teams meet for the express purpose of innovation, creativity, and thinking outside the box. We have found these teams to be incredibly helpful in examining and implementing change at Grace Community Church.
The Mission Statement of Grace Community Church:
To glorify God and extend His kingdom by living and proclaiming His truth in the world.
Every member of Grace Community Church actively serving in the body of Christ by living out the one-anothers, exercising their spiritual giftedness, and seeking to make disciples.
The last thing that we want is for individuals or families to be “added to the church” and then fade into inactivity. Our goal is not to acquire more members but to “add to the church” a participating membership. Our goal is to move regular attendees and pew potatoes to fully integrated committed members of our local body of believers.
At Grace Community Church we are striving for excellence in every aspect of ministry on the campus. We realize that the Gospel may offend unbelievers, but we don’t want them to be offended by our presentation or lack of excellence.
Knowing that the sheer size of this church can be overwhelming to a newcomer, it has been our commitment over the years to go the extra mile in ministering to each of our first-time guests. And there are a lot of them.
Whether from across the street or across the country, each Sunday we have over one hundred first-time guests at Grace Community Church. For forty-five years the Lord has been faithful to bring thousands of visitors to our church campus—many who now call it “home.”
Making first-time guests feel at home is the goal of our Host Ministry (Sunday-morning greeters) and Visitors’ Reception (located in the Fireside Room). Over the years, these ministries have flourished and experienced the blessing of God. Ask anyone involved in them about the incredible opportunities that God has given them to minister to others simply because they extended a hand or took time to meet someone new. Together these two ministries have directed, encouraged, cared for, and witnessed to thousands of curious first-time guests.
Building on this foundation of making our first impression a lasting impression, we’ve made some exciting changes to our ministry to first-time guests.
First, we’ve combined the Host
Ministry and Visitors’ Reception and
renamed it The Courtyard. The name represents a second change: the
location for welcoming first-
time guests. Look for our green umbrellas on the patio between the Worship Center and The Master’s Seminary. Positioning ourselves on the patio makes it
easier for our visitors to find and more centrally located in terms of the
worship service and classrooms.
A third change is the time. We realize not every visitor can stay until after the second morning service to be properly greeted. To remedy this, The Courtyard is “open” from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
At any time on Sunday morning, our hospitality team will be available to welcome first-time guests. This welcome includes light refreshments, a warm smile, knowledgeable volunteers to answer questions or walk visitors to where they need to go, and a gift bag—containing a cassette tape from our pastor and key information about our church and ministries.
A fourth change we’ve made to greeting first-time guests involves the congregation. With bags in hand, our visitors are now easier to identify. As our congregation makes their way across the campus each Lord’s Day, we encourage them to keep their eyes open for the Grace Community Church gift bags. When they see one, we teach them to take a moment to say “hello” to the person holding it; it can make the difference between feeling lost in a crowd or one of the family.
The Courtyard is a tangible way to represent our Savior’s kindness to strangers. We long to set the table for the banquet of God’s Word, knowing that He can—and does—use our genuine love and concern for others to bring them to salvation and to glorify His name.
First-time Guests
This process works in tandem with our visitor contact each Lord’s Day. During any worship service or on the patio at The Courtyard, every visitor receives a Grace Community Church welcome booklet. Attached to that booklet is a perforated guest registration card that we ask each visitor to fill out and return.
Two boxes on the card in particular provide an opportunity for a guest to be ministered to by our Outreach Ministries department. One is a box an individual can check if he is interested in becoming a Christian. The other, he can check for a personal contact by someone from Grace Community Church.
Visitor Outreach receives guest cards on Monday morning. If a guest indicates interest in becoming a Christian, a Response Team who lives in their local area ministers to that individual. The Response Team contacts the guest within one week of their initial visit.
Response Teams are comprised of two people, either husband and wife or two men. These individuals are spiritually mature members of Grace Community Church, who have been recommended by our pastors or elders ensuring our visitors are called upon with wisdom and discretion.
If an individual checks the “I would like a personal contact” box. The ministry coordinator will call them within one week. The coordinator calls to minister on the phone and make an assessment of the particular need of the guest. If the need warrants, the person will be assigned to a Response Team.
At Grace Community Church we feel compelled by God to follow-up personally with an interested guest. To ignore this opportunity would be nothing short of a tragedy.
Moving Attendees to Members
I. Make membership a biblical priority.
In a day when commitment is a rare commodity, it should come as no surprise that church membership is such a low priority to so many believers. Sadly, it is not uncommon for Christians to hop around from church to church, never submitting themselves to the care of elders and never committing themselves to a group of fellow believers.
This kind of “spiritual hitchhiking” often flows from a consumer mentality in which an individual stays put only until something better comes along. Loyalty and commitment are sacrificed on the altar of novelty and excitement.
To neglect to join a church as a formal member, however, not only reflects a misunderstanding of the believer’s responsibility to the body of Christ, but also cuts one off from the many blessings and opportunities that flow from this commitment. For this reason, it is essential for every Christian to understand what church membership is and why it matters.
We are not just after “numbers”; this will only result pew-potatoes. Our goal is committed participation. This is New Testament membership!
Although Scripture nowhere states, “Thou shalt join a church,” a biblical basis for church membership is found throughout the New Testament. This can be seen most clearly in (1) the existence of church government, (2) the exercise of church discipline, (3) the example of the early church, and (4) the exhortation to mutual edification.
The consistent pattern throughout the New Testament is that each local body of believers is to be overseen by a plurality of elders. The specific duties given to these elders presuppose a clearly defined group of church members who are under their care.
Among other things, these godly men are responsible to shepherd God’s people (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2), to labor diligently among them (1 Thess. 5:12), to have charge over them (1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 5:17), and to keep watch over their souls (Heb. 13:17). Scripture teaches that the elders will give an account to God for the individuals allotted to their charge (Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:3).
These responsibilities require that there be a distinguishable, mutually understood membership in the local church, for how can the elders shepherd the people and give an account to God for their spiritual well-being if the elders don’t even know who they are? Elders must be able to define the members allotted to their care, for how can they provide oversight if they don’t know exactly those for whom they are responsible? How can they fulfill their duties to shepherd the flock unless they know who is part of the flock and who is not?
The elders of a given local church are not responsible for the spiritual well being of every individual who visits the church or who attends sporadically. Rather, they are primarily responsible to shepherd those who have submitted themselves to the care and the authority of the elders, and this is done through church membership.
On the other side of the coin, Scripture teaches that believers are to submit to their elders. Hebrews 13:17a says, “Obey your leaders, and submit to them.” The question to the un-churched believer is, “Who are your leaders?” The one who has refused to join a local church and entrust himself to the care and the authority of the elders has no leaders. For him, obedience to Hebrews 13:17a is impossible. To put it simply, this verse implies that every believer knows to whom he must submit, which, in turn, assumes a clearly defined church membership.
If for no other reason, church membership should be pursued as a demonstration that you are submissive to the loving leadership of the elders (Heb.13:17).
In Matthew 18:15–17, Jesus outlines the way in which the church is to seek the restoration of a believer who has fallen into sin—a four-step process commonly known as church discipline. First, when a person sins, he is to be confronted privately by a single individual (v. 15 Private). If he refuses to repent, that individual is to take one or two other believers along to confront him again (v. 16 Semi-Private). If the sinning individual refuses to listen to the two or three, they are then to tell it to the church (v. 17a Public). If there is still no repentance, the final step is to put that person out of the assembly (v. 17b; cf. 1 Cor. 5:1–13, Ex-communication).
The exercise of church discipline according to Matthew 18 and other passages (1 Cor. 5:1–13; 1 Tim. 5:20; Titus 3:10–11) presupposes that the elders know who their members are. For example, the elders of Grace Community Church have neither the responsibility nor the authority to discipline a member of the church down the street. Sadly, the widespread lack of understanding of church membership has made it necessary for our elders to discipline not only formal members but also those who regularly fellowship at Grace Community Church. However, the Bible’s teaching on church discipline assumes church membership.
In the early church, coming to Christ was synonymous with coming to the church. The idea of experiencing salvation without belonging to a local church is foreign to the New Testament. When individuals repented and believed in Christ, they were baptized and added to the church (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 16:5). More than simply living out a private commitment to Christ, this meant joining together formally with the other believers in that local assembly and devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer (Acts 2:42).
The epistles of the New Testament were written to churches, and in the case where they written to individuals—such as Philemon, Timothy and Titus—these individuals were in key roles of leadership in churches. The existence of the New Testament epistles themselves demonstrates that the Lord assumed that believers would be in gathered assemblies, not running around loose.
There is also evidence in the New Testament that just as there was a list of widows eligible for financial support (1 Tim. 5:9), there was also a list of members that grew as people were saved (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 16:5). In fact, when a believer left a given city for another, the church of the city he was leaving often wrote a letter of commendation to the church of which he would now become a member (Acts 18:27; Rom. 16:1; Col. 4:10; cf. 2 Cor. 3:1–2).
In the book of Acts, much of the terminology that is used fits only with the concept of some kind of formal church membership. Phrases such as “the whole congregation” (6:5), “the church in Jerusalem” (8:1), “the disciples” in Jerusalem (9:26), “in every church” (14:23), “the whole church” (15:17), and “the elders of the church” in Ephesus (20:17), all suggest some kind of recognizable church membership with well-defined boundaries (also see 1 Cor. 5:4; 14:23; and Heb. 10:25).
The New Testament teaches that the church is the body of Christ, and that every member of the body is called to a life devoted to Christian ministry. In other words, Scripture exhorts all believers to edify the other members by practicing the “one-anothers” of the New Testament (e.g., Heb. 10:24–25) and exercising their spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:6–8; 1 Cor. 12:4–7; 1 Pet. 4:10–11). Mutual edification can only take place in the context of the corporate body of Christ, and exhortations to this kind of ministry presuppose that believers have committed themselves to other believers in a specific local assembly. Church membership is the formal way to make this commitment.
II. Make membership an intentional process.
One of the most difficult challenges that the church faces is to cultivate commitment in its people. Oftentimes church is regarded as a spectator sport and involvement in the body of Christ is seen as little more than attendance on Sunday morning. As a result, the work of the ministry falls on the shoulders of the few, while the many are simply there to watch.
One way this lack of commitment has become evident is through the low premium that many believers put on formal church membership. The unspoken belief is that membership is optional—a preference held by some, but certainly not essential. In contrast, the idea of experiencing salvation without joining and serving in a local church is foreign to the New Testament. In the book of Acts, coming to Christ was coming to the church.
For some, the issue of church membership has taken a backseat because they have not come to appreciate the tremendous blessings and privileges that flow from this kind of commitment. For this reason, it is essential for every Christian to understand the advantages of formal church membership. We now turn our attention to a closer look at the expectations and benefits of church membership.
What is church membership?
Church membership is a commitment to unite with an identifiable spiritual body of believers who have joined together geographically for specific, divinely ordained purposes. These purposes include receiving instruction from God’s Word (1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:2), the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:7–12), serving and edifying one another through the proper use of spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:3–8; 1 Cor. 12:4–31; 1 Pet. 4:10–11), participating in the ordinances—baptism and communion (Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38–42), and proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers (Matt. 28:18–20).
Who is eligible for church membership?
Membership at Grace Community Church is open to anyone who has confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, obeyed the command to be baptized, exemplified a godly lifestyle, and completed the membership process.
What are the benefits of church membership?
There are many obvious benefits to being a formal member of Grace Community Church. First, there is the loving accountability that a body of believers provides. At times we all experience the propensity to drift spiritually, but God uses the care of the elders and other members of the body to shepherd and restore our wayward hearts. In this way, the local church provides for each of us an umbrella of spiritual protection. A second benefit is that the church provides the fitting context for believers to discover and use their spiritual gifts through serving and edifying other members. This, of course, also includes being served and edified in return. Third, being a member provides one the opportunity to pursue and serve in positions of leadership in the body, such as elder, deacon, or teacher. A fourth benefit is that one is eligible for the many privileges reserved for church members—holding weddings on campus, voting to confirm servant-leaders, receiving formal biblical counseling, and obtaining financial assistance from the deacons’ fund if needs arise.
What are the responsibilities of church membership?
Living out the commitment that one makes as a member of Grace Community Church involves several responsibilities: exemplifying a godly lifestyle in the community, exercising your spiritual gifts in faithful service, contributing financially to the work of the ministry, giving admonishment in love and receiving the same with meekness, and faithfully participating in corporate worship.
There are four steps to becoming a member of Grace Community Church.
Application: Individuals present themselves for membership at the Prayer Room after one of our worship services. After meeting briefly for an initial interview with one of our Membership volunteers, the person is given a membership packet.
Confirmation: The individual meets with a pastor or elder to review his membership application and to receive direction in your ministry opportunities at Grace Church.
Instruction: The individual attends the three-session membership class that is offered on select Sundays throughout the year.
Affirmation: The individual publicly affirms his commitment(along with other new members) to church membership during the designated evening worship service. At that time he will be presented as a member to the congregation through the Right Hand of Fellowship.
III. Make membership a comprehensive plan.
Assimilation by definition is to incorporate those individuals on the periphery of your church into participating members in the body of Christ. At Grace Community Church we desire that everyone be absorbed into one or more of our multifaceted ministries. In order to accomplish this we have design a long-term, comprehensive strategy for assimilating attendees into committed members.
This strategy affects everyone at Grace Community Church from the pulpit to the pew. This comprehensive plan was fruit from our annual pastors’ retreat and a subsequent, all-day pastoral staff innovation team meeting. Much time and labor has poured into our strategy. We are not looking for a quick fix or program but rather a long-term strategy to teach our people to serve in the local church.
Our strategy has six main components:
The key to effective implementation of any church-wide philosophy is communication.
Therefore the first-step is to articulate the objective and its biblical foundations.
Our communication begins with our elders. Each of these men has significant ministry oversight and needs to understand and embrace the objective. Our communication then moves to our extended staff, ministry leaders, Adult Fellowship Groups, and finally to our congregation as a whole.
Our second tier of a communication strategy includes the following:
Every strategy needs to move people from theory to practice. Real motivation is not talk but action. People are motivated by seeing the potential and fruit from such an emphasis.
At Grace Community Church we motivate first and foremost by informing the mind with the scriptural mandates. Secondly, we inflame the heart by godly examples. Thirdly, we equip the hands with genuine ministry opportunities.
In an attempt to be intentional with our motivation here are some specific actions steps to motivate our people:
III. Identification
Identification is the process of determining what must be done and what can be done in ministry at Grace Community Church. Leadership must be actively involved in looking for new ways to serve the church and beyond.
IV. Education
Expectation without biblical clarification leads to confusion. A comprehensive, intentional approach to equip our people for the work of the ministry is crucial. We have a multifaceted approach to educating our congregation. Many people simply feel ill-qualified to participate in ministry. It is our commitment to do everything in our power to equip them for ministry.
V. Evaluation
What you expect you need to inspect. A philosophy, if left to its own, simply becomes a program. It is our goal to use this strategy in concert with our biblical philosophy of ministry to shape the ministries and people committed to Grace Community Church. Lack of a sustained, comprehensive vision has left the few to do the majority of ministry. As a staff we have committed to reversing the 80-20 principle (Eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the people).
· Personal follow-up from our new members division (3, 6, 12 month plan)
· Tracking database for our new members
· Annual evaluation at our Pastor’s retreat
· Continuous evaluation at our staff meetings
· Continuous evaluation at our leadership meetings
VI. Reproduction
The leadership of Grace Community Church must model servant-leadership. As Luke 6:40 states… “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Leadership sets the standard and expectations for its membership. This is the key to a long-term strategy to equip the church for the work of the ministry (Eph.4:11-16). Bottom-line, servant leaders equip others to serve.
· Encourage creativity in the individual ministries
· Expectations for new members
· Encourage the people to never minister alone. Bring someone new along to let them taste the fruit of serving
· Weekly leadership meetings
· An intentional mentoring plan
Conclusion
Every member of Grace Community Church actively serving in the body by living out the one-anothers, exercising their spiritual giftedness, and seeking to make disciples.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Shepherd's Conference Collection" by:
Tony Capoccia
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