A problem of retention

[sculleywr]

I have noticed a disturbing trend that a few friends discussed with me yesterday. We are having churches that are shrinking, even though they bring in many people through the front door. One of the problems I think that causes this would be discipleship. A lot of churches have lost track of personal discipleship and mentorship.

One of the things a friend asked was practical ways that we could remedy this issue.

So fire away with your ideas.

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

I think discipleship is the key here. The church I go to is implementing this and has been implementing it before I started going to it. The only reason people leave this church is because they physically move out of the area.

 

[sculleywr]

I think discipleship is the key here. The church I go to is implementing this and has been implementing it before I started going to it. The only reason people leave this church is because they physically move out of the area.

So how is it implemented is the question. The best system I have seen is where someone is personally taken under another's wing on joining the church.

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

So how is it implemented is the question. The best system I have seen is where someone is personally taken under another's wing on joining the church.

Well this one they have multiple groups. now that I think about it.. their success is maybe the small groups. which isn't really discipleship, even thought they call it that. Now that I think about it, what I think of discipleship is more of a one on one or one on two. very very small.

 

[sculleywr]

Well this one they have multiple groups. now that I think about it.. their success is maybe the small groups. which isn't really discipleship, even thought they call it that. Now that I think about it, what I think of discipleship is more of a one on one or one on two. very very small.

Yeah. That was the original point of godfathers in more traditional churches. That was actually what my godfather did for me. I was able to go to him to ask him anything about the faith.

Though it isn't through our churches, a friend and I have actually decided to do something like this. He openly admitted to not knowing much about the most basic things of the Faith, so starting with the Father and Trinity in general, he and I are planning to do an intensive study of the Faith. When I get to Christology I actually plan to refer a lot to "On the Incarnation", by Athanasius, since it is one of the best discourses on the doctrine of the nature of Christ still to this day. And it's where I started in my personal intense journey that kept me from burning out.

 

[bling]

I was part of the church that withered away to about 80 people or so and lost its preacher. A family moved to the city so the husband could study theology (he was an CPA and she taught, they saved up money so he could do this.

He started attending with us and also went around setting up like 5 one on one Bible studies in his spare time. He used just the bible and taught from 5 different areas dependent on the person he was teaching. He asked 5 different members to go with him to one for each study, but asked them to commit 7 hours per week to pray, study and meditation on the study and person they would be teaching. He also gave them a list of question on the verses they would be going over so they could chime in with comments. My wife went with him on one study and it took her 24 hours one time to try and answer all the questions, I never went with him because I thought it was to big of a commitment. After the first year he did have two converts, but they did not just submit to being baptized and joining the church, but were on fire to teach other what they had learned and had already asked friends and family to study with them, which required more teachers and the new member going to school did not have the time, so some of those church members that had studied with him went with the brand new members.

This just kept growing and growing and eventually the theology student was asked to preach. He used the same style as his one on one teaching: answer questions with questions, never giving his own conclusions but just presenting alternatives for the members to work out. Lots of questions and the membership would meet afterwards among themselves to try and develop answers. It was like taking a graduate course in Bible.

The church grow organically through one on one Bible studies, so it reached in 5 years to be 700 and tons of Bible studies going on at the colleges, High Schools, prison and all over the city. It kept dividing until 17 churches were started in the area.

You might just get it started yourself and bring others in to follow you (Christ living in and through you).

 

[sculleywr]

I was part of the church that withered away to about 80 people or so and lost its preacher. A family moved to the city so the husband could study theology (he was an CPA and she taught, they saved up money so he could do this.

He started attending with us and also went around setting up like 5 one on one Bible studies in his spare time. He used just the bible and taught from 5 different areas dependent on the person he was teaching. He asked 5 different members to go with him to one for each study, but asked them to commit 7 hours per week to pray, study and meditation on the study and person they would be teaching. He also gave them a list of question on the verses they would be going over so they could chime in with comments. My wife went with him on one study and it took her 24 hours one time to try and answer all the questions, I never went with him because I thought it was to big of a commitment. After the first year he did have two converts, but they did not just submit to being baptized and joining the church, but were on fire to teach other what they had learned and had already asked friends and family to study with them, which required more teachers and the new member going to school did not have the time, so some of those church members that had studied with him went with the brand new members.

This just kept growing and growing and eventually the theology student was asked to preach. He used the same style as his one on one teaching: answer questions with questions, never giving his own conclusions but just presenting alternatives for the members to work out. Lots of questions and the membership would meet afterwards among themselves to try and develop answers. It was like taking a graduate course in Bible.

The church grow organically through one on one Bible studies, so it reached in 5 years to be 700 and tons of Bible studies going on at the colleges, High Schools, prison and all over the city. It kept dividing until 17 churches were started in the area.

You might just get it started yourself and bring others in to follow you (Christ living in and through you).

Sounds a lot like how I was catechized when I came in at Pokrov in Chattanooga. Father Stavros sat down and we did two hours a week of meeting one on one together. The man treated me like a grandson. We'd have pizza and I'd ask him questions for half the time we were together after he got through what he wanted to go over and our prayer time. It's how I honestly intend to approach this meeting with my friend. Half material and explanation, half question and answer.

 

[graceandpeace]

I have noticed a disturbing trend that a few friends discussed with me yesterday. We are having churches that are shrinking, even though they bring in many people through the front door. One of the problems I think that causes this would be discipleship. A lot of churches have lost track of personal discipleship and mentorship.

One of the things a friend asked was practical ways that we could remedy this issue.

So fire away with your ideas.

So much ink has been poured over this topic, I'm not even sure where to start.

Lack of discipleship is part of the problem, but I think there are bigger issues, depending on which groups we're talking about.

For some, it's being forced to choose between science & biblical literalism. For others, it's encountering hypocrisy & hatred. And for others, it's a loss of interest in religion. Etc, etc.

Even though there are churches that have addressed specific concerns, the average person is not educated about all of the denominations & nuances & beliefs. If what they encounter in one church puts them off, they may not try another.

As far as personal experience, when I attended a newcomer dinner at my current church, every person was asked to share why they decided to come to this parish. Almost every single person said it is because they feel welcome there.

The average person might not know theology, but they can discern whether they're welcome. So perhaps retention can start with a welcome, then evolve from there to being invited to a deeper participation - & of course, setting an example of faith that's worth holding & creating safe spaces for questions, doubt.