Provide Multiple Ways In
Ministry planners must allow for different levels of commitment and provide multiple avenues of engagement.
Different levels of commitment
Congregations tend to have at least five levels of commitment:
- Core groups (church is center of their lives)
- Active members (participate regularly, take leadership roles, don't "live and breathe" church)
- Occasional members (worship once a month or less, participate in programs that meet their needs, rarely accept leadership roles)
- Infrequent members (worship on high holidays, come to a few events, identify themselves as members of the congregation, but rarely participate)
- Distance Constituents (rarely come to church site, but consider themselves linked to congregation, not by worship, but by group, network or Internet)
Each level of commitment is acceptable. Core groups need to stop seeing their high commitment level as normative for all. Active members need to stop trying to "fix" nthe less active by dubbing them "unchurched" and by luring them toward center.
Each level of commitment requires unique activities and offerings; one size doesn't fit all. Avoid suggesting a hierarchy of activities, as if going to neighborhood church group is less worthy than going to Sunday worship. Avoid setting high on-site participation as a universal standard.
Let people find their way according to their needs.
Establish visible gatekeepers, a clearly identified leader and norm-setter, who is accessible. Make that person available via the church web site. Route inquiries to gatekeeper, rather than to staff; thereby avoid staff bottlenecks.
Multiple ways in
In general, people need to be invited to join a ministry or event, and not just informed that it is occurring. The common appeal -- "If you'd like to come, see ..." -- does little to encourage participation. It comes across as lazy.
Two rules of thumbs: people tend to support what they helped to create, and people tend to value what they paid for.
Helping to create can include serving on a planning team, but also responding to a survey, taking a poll in the church newsletter, or serving on a focus group.
Pre-registration is helpful in estimating attendance. It also provides a way to collect a fee -- whether a token fee or actual cost of materials and/or food -- and thereby encouraging attendance.
