Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church

STUDY COMMITTEE on NURTURE of MEMBERSHIP

Final Report to Session, March 4, 2010

This written report is a summary by the pastor

of the text of the committee’s plenary presentation.

The text of the full presentation is available in the church office.

Introduction

Thank you for giving this Study Committee on Nurture of Membership the opportunity to serve God and CBPC by challenging us to find ways to improve our church’s ministry of nurturing the membership, without prejudice either in favor of or against any particular model, and with no agenda besides this purpose.

It was our privilege to read, study, visit other churches and discuss pros and cons to be sure we recommend the decisions to “best invite, greet, welcome and incorporate new members while we continue to nurture our existing membership.” We also contacted the Presbytery office and were referred to ministers who were very willing to help us gain knowledge from life experiences.

I. Church Staff

It is our committee’s conclusion from all that we have read and heard from others that, other than the Holy Spirit, the church staff may be the most important factor in the growth and success of almost any church. The effectiveness of the church in serving the people depends greatly on the adequacy and quality of the staff.

Staffing Chart for CBPC and Program Church Recommendations [1]

Position                    CBPC current                     Adequate Program Church

Pastor                       full time                                full time

Associate Pastor                                                 half time

Christian Educator  part time                              full time

Music staff                part time                             1 full time + 1 half time

Youth* staff                                                            half time

Admin. Assistant     part time (25 hrs.)              1 full time + 1 part time

Custodian                part time (contract)             full time

(*Note: “Youth” refers to adolescents/young adults; “Children” means infancy through 5th grade.)

We concur that a growing church of our size should be staffed in anticipation of fifty new members down the road. We have heard over and over that a major pitfall for growing churches is that the membership outgrows the staff in place, which can lead to a stressed or burned out staff, thus resulting in the growth “fizzling out.”

II. Greeting Visitors

Based on our research into what other growing churches are doing to welcome and greet visitors to regular worship services, we recommend continuing or implementing these procedures:

USHERING, GREETING AND FOLLOW-UP

· Ushers continue greeting visitors, members and friends as they enter the church

· Clarify whether the guest book in the Narthex is necessary in addition to fellowship pads

· Pastor continue requesting that all in attendance sign and pass the Fellowship pads

· As worshipers exit, the pastor designates someone to greet specific visitors and learn their names, extend an invitation to join the congregation in the fellowship hall for refreshments, and introduce the visitors to other members.

· Send a card of appreciation to visitors for worshiping with us, including church contact information, preferably Monday or Tuesday after the visit.

· If a visitor or family visits two Sundays, a letter signed by the pastor is sent on church letterhead.

III. Inviting and Welcoming New Members

Demographic data show the largest population growth for New Hanover County along Carolina Beach Road from Monkey Junction to Snow’s Cut Bridge west to River Road. On the island, Kure Beach has the greatest population growth.

ADVERTISING AND/OR MARKETING

We heard many pros and cons to advertising and/or marketing church related activities. Recent scholarship and anecdotal evidence indicate that invitations by word of mouth to friends and neighbors are the most effective way to invite visitors.

The committee notes the importance of:

• Up-to-date information on the church’s web pages
• Brochures regularly updated with complete, specific information about various programs, and displayed or distributed according to an intentional plan
• E-mail and other electronic announcements (Facebook? Twitter?)
• Newspaper advertisements , including some ongoing, special things we offer such as nursery, children’s worship, Wednesday Bible Studies etc.
• Yellow pages [our current ad appears under “Presbyterian” but not under “Presbyterian Church (USA)”]

NEW MEMBER INFORMATION

The committee notes the importance of sharing information about and for new members, including:

• Photos and biographies of new members
• Introduction of new members at Sunday worship (with a small gift, such as a church pin)
• Continuous updates of pictorial directories

MENTORS

One idea used in several different churches, and across denominations, is the “mentoring” of new members. Mentors may be chosen from among the members of the congregation, with the pastor or committee matching new members with mentors. The mentor is available to his or her designated new member for one year, encouraging and assisting in finding a place in the church to use talents and introducing them to other members of the church family.

IV. Continuing Nurture of Membership

Worship + 2

Several churches have adopted an emphasis called “Worship + 2”. This is not a “program” as such, but a means of educating congregations to think of both regular worship attendance and at least two areas of involvement or participation as a basic foundation for discipleship.

This emphasis recognizes that there’s no better way to feel a sense of belonging to an organization than to become truly involved. We agree that personal contact and frequent verbal invitations to participate are vital to successful welcome and involvement. Members might be encouraged to become active on a session committee, in nursery care, to join the choir, to attend or teach a class in Sunday School or Bible study, to help with Meals on Wheels, serving refreshments, or joining a small group activity like Presbyterian Men’s Club, a circle, knitting baby caps, book club, etc.

SMALL GROUPS

Smaller groups such as those listed above lead to closer relationships and the reality of being included with the opportunity to share gifts and abilities with others. “Whether a church is small, large, or somewhere in between, small groups offer church members opportunities for experiencing the blessing of Christian community and for deepening faith,” writes the Associate Pastor for Congregational Life and New Member Ministries at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church in Cary, NC. [2]

Conclusion

We have spent a great deal of time and energy but have learned so much that sorting through items we felt were pertinent to this congregation was difficult. You probably have recognized some of the things we have listed here: our pastor and committees have been updated at various times throughout the course of our year of discovering new ideas and insights.

Again, we thank you and Keith for giving us this opportunity.

[1] Alice Mann, The In-Between Church. Alban Institute, 1998; pp. 54-61 and 77-85.

[2] Cathy Church Norman, “Ten Keys to Faithful and Vibrant Small-Group Ministry,” in Ideas, VIII: 4 (Summer, 2009), pp. 40-41.