Hey Friend -

Thanks for opening up the email. This is the 6th email in a series on what we here in Louisiana the Vitality Matrix.

If you missed any of the previous emails, here are the archives.

This email focuses on New Member Integration. Before we leap into the details, let's lay some groundwork. We're going to examine how churches fit into four vitality categories: unstable, stable, vital, and sustainable. Each has its own way of connecting with our central theme.

First, this is bigger than a welcome sequence. That is part of it, but it isn’t the actions you intentionally (or sometimes unintentionally do) when a new person visits your church.

Second. It’s the concept of integration. A year ago, I was prepping to teach a state-wide workshop on guest assimilation. A coworker suggested we say integration instead. I am glad she did. Why? Because integration into your church is what we are after. To assimilate means the church doesn’t change. The new person fits into the existing church and nothing changes.

But this isn’t true. Each time a new person comes into our faith community, things change. A new life gets added to the body, another disciple of Jesus Christ. You get their gifts, their stories, and their experiences. Integration means they are becoming a new part of the organization and are added into the change. To simply assimilate someone, there is almost a theory that “nothing will change.”

Now I say integration.

I hear many churches talk about wanting to reach new people. Reaching new people and inviting them into a local church community is crucial. Even if the church is struggling, this effort is a vital cry for help. Many churches have forgotten how to do this!

But just inviting isn’t enough. You need to understand what the integration of new people means.

So let’s look at how the vitality matrix gives us examples.

Unstable Churches

Unstable churches have no clear pathway for integrating new people. I once asked a church leader how their church communicated and reached out to new people. His response was “I don’t know, I guess the pastor does it all.” Did I mention this person was the head of the missions and evangelism committee?

A follow-up isn’t an integration strategy. But many churches aren’t even following up! I can't count how many times I've asked a pastor about new visitors. They often say they had a few in church that week. But then I hear they never found time to follow up with them.

Stable Churches

Stable churches are beginning to figure out how to do this. They have basic systems for integrating new people. Note I said "systems." They know a note or email isn’t enough. They’ve thought through a few basic lever pulls necessary to integrate new people into the church.

A quick note about the “lever pull” idea. When you pull a lever, you are getting a specific, intended action. Follow-up needs to be a deliberate system of a few touch points designed with a specific action as the result.

Vital Churches

A vital church not only has a consistent system, but it also understands its success rate. These churches know that 20% of 1st-time guests become 2nd time guests. They know around 50% of their 2nd time guests come back a 3rd time, and they have a specific way of interacting with people depending on each visit.

Research shows the hardest visit is the first visit. Tyler Smith (in the book Boomerang. Go get it) shares that 10-16% of 1st-time visitors typically return after that first visit. This means it takes 10 households visiting the church to get 1 or 2 families for a 2nd visit. Vital churches also have a steady stream of visitors. How? They are inviting churches. Each member should actively share about their church. They have a responsibility to invite people from their social networks.

Sustainable Churches

Sustainable churches focus on more than just Sunday attendance. They aim for complete integration into local church discipleship. Their systems are designed for connecting relationships. These churches have a discipleship pathway not just for new people, for the entire congregation. They know integration best happens when the whole family is integrated. Kids in kids ministry have a pathway and students do as well.

So where does your church fall?

If you're struggling with stability, focus on these two vital parts: new member integration and evangelism. You’ll have to apply intention to them first in the process.

See you back next time as we talk about the 6th core practice, Evangelism.

Chad

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