7 Key Elements to New Believer Assimilation

Assimilation: Taking the New Contact from Visitor to Minister.(Workshop Notes: Danny Davis)

Introduction

How many of you know that of all the doors that lead into the church also lead out? We

usually call this, “the back door.” This phrase is used to describe the all too real fact that some

people who come in the front door and repent, are baptized in water and Spirit but walk out the

back door not to be seen again. This happens all too frequently in most churches but does not

have to be the normal routine. Senior leaders must develop an “Assimilation Plan” that will

define the path by which those who visit the church are brought into the life of the church.

Rick Warren, in his now famous book, The Purpose Driven Church, defines assimilation

as, “…the task of moving people from an awareness of your church to attendance at your church

to active membership in your church.”1 Let’s look at three key words in this statement:

1. Awareness – this means evangelism and promotion of your church.

2. Attendance – not necessarily membership but can be those who visit or regularly attend

your church.

3. Active Membership – notice the emphasis on “active.” Being a member of a church does

not ensure the person will continue in the church. A person must be brought into active

participation in the life of the church. In other words, senior leaders of UPC of SA

churches have a responsibility to design a process that encompasses the key elements of

the Africa Region Vision so that visitors can move forward to becoming fruitful

ministers.

The process of assimilation, however, does not begin after the person has walked through

the door of the church. Rather, it begins long before they ever step foot into the place where you

have church services. Assimilating new people into the life of the church begins by – finding

new people! Sounds simple but we often miss this very important piece of information. Let’s

take some time today to outline the basic elements of a pre-assimilation and the assimilation

process beginning with evangelism.

1 Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Church: Growing Without Compromising Your Message and Mission (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1995: 309).

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Key Element 1: Evangelism.

The first part of any assimilation process is – evangelism. The church must be about the

business of reaching out to the community where it is located. Here is a question you can answer

for yourself to determine whether or not you church is doing evangelism…

“If the Lord were to remove us overnight from our neighborhood, in what ways would the surrounding community become aware that we were no longer in their midst?”2

Think about that question for a minute. If your church ceased to exist tomorrow would

anyone, other than those who attend, miss you? If the answer is yes then we have to reexamine

what we are doing to make an impact on those closest to where we have church.

Methods of evangelism will vary from city to city and country to country. However, the

greatest form of evangelism is still one-on-one contact with people. Crusades and big

conferences will never work unless the church is about the business of meeting people where

they are at, building relationships with them and preparing them to receive the gospel. You

cannot have a 400-soul revival unless someone, who is already saved, does the work of

evangelism to bring 400 souls to the crusade. It all goes back to the personal touch. Nevertheless,

there are ways that the church can assist the personal evangelist in their efforts. I like to call this

the “Air-War” and the “Ground-War.”

Air-War

The air-war consists of those things that bring general awareness of our church to the

community. Things like:

Vision Casting

Flyers

Tracts

Advertising

Website

SMS Marketing

A Church Sign

Business Cards for the Pastor and other leaders

Feeding schemes, free clothing for the poor, etc.

2 Gibbs, Eddie, Leadership Next: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture (Downers Grove, Ill.: 2005: 45).

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These types of advertising and ministries help to let people know who you are, where you

are and that you are open for business. I remember going to preach at a church one time many

years ago. When I pulled up into the parking lot the grass had not been mowed, litter was all over

the pavement, there was no church sign, and there were cobwebs growing across the doors. This

told me several things: 1) they had not had church in a while, 2) no one cared about the condition

of the building, 3) no one cared that the lost could not know what time church was even if they

wanted to be saved, and 4) that this was a church in decline. When I met the pastor and the 3 or 4

members of the congregation my assumptions were confirmed.

A few simple things like passing out tracts and pamphlets that simply tell where the

church is and when you assemble can be amazing tools. Consistently bombarding your

community with these types of things can bring a lot of awareness about your church but it is not

the only method you must do.

Ground-War

It is not enough to have websites and pass out flyers the church must get down into the

trenches and work with people on the ground. Having made your community aware of your

presence and what you church has to offer makes it somewhat easier for the evangelist to enter

into the ground-war. For instance, if you have consistently presented your church to the

community and then someone from the church begins talking to an un-saved person they are

more likely to trust that person if they have heard or read about your assembly. The ground-war

consists of ministries like:

Home Bible Studies

Personal one-on-one evangelism

Home Groups or Affinity Groups (e.g. small groups that minister to certain people, languages or life situations, such as, HIV/AIDS patients)

Sunday Evangelistic Church Services

Pastoral Care (prayer for the sick, visitation, hospital ministry, etc)

Hospitality Ministry

Membership Class

Sunday School

The intention of the ground-war is simple: evangelism and discipleship. Everything we

do as a local assembly has an affect on the success or failure of reaching the lost. Many churches

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are awesome at the air-war. They have all kinds of placards, flyers, and advertisements

throughout the city but they are terrible at the ground-war. This ends up being a church that

attracts a lot of people but has no system in place to bring them to salvation or discipleship.

Thus, they have a rocket growth but then dwindle over time. Other churches are great at the

ground-war and they do the task of evangelism with enthusiasm but they are terrible at the air-

war. This scenario usually means you have a great church that very few people know about.

Why? Because after a period of time new converts lose contact with their un-saved friends and

the work of evangelism declines.

The goal is to have both an awesome air-war and a great ground-war. This means you

have to be intentional about defining who you are as a church, what you will offer to the

community and how you will assimilate people into active participation in the church. Lyle

Schaller in his groundbreaking book, Assimilating New Members, “it is un-Christian for a

congregation to seek new members unless it is also willing and able to accept them into that

called-out community.”3 In other words, do not do the work of evangelism if you do not have a

plan in place to move them toward the nucleus and into ministry of the church. Design the plan

and then work the plan!

Key Element 2: Hospitality.

Now that you are engaging in the air and ground war there should be some new faces

showing up on Sunday, at Home Groups or at church events. Nevertheless, all the advertisement

in the world will not make a church that is cold, unfriendly and arrogant seem like a great place

to be. The cause of souls demands that our churches practice hospitality to those who are in the

household of faith but also those who are outside the household.

Hospitality means, “the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.”4 This

means that no matter if you meet in a classroom or a building you need to develop a hospitality

ministry. These are folks who greet both visitors and church members with a warm smile and a

friendly handshake. I have been to churches where someone met us in the parking lot and

directed us to the entrance. Then at the entrance another person opened the door for us, gave us a

smile and shook our hands. When they noticed our children they immediately helped us to know

3 Schaller, Lyle E. The Seven-Day-a-Week Church (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1992: 128)4 hospitality. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hospitality (accessed: August 11, 2010).

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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hospitality


where the Sunday school classes met and then assisted us to get our kids to class. Then, entering

the sanctuary we were greeted by another person who helped us to find a seat near someone who

would introduce himself or herself and become our host for that service. Believe me when I say

that I was impressed and desired to return to that place. Not because of the preaching or the

doctrines but because of the friendliness and warmness of the people.

This ministry was also responsible to gather our personal details on a “Visitor Card” and

we were then recognized during the service. We were not asked to stand and speak but one of the

service leaders acknowledged we were there and thanked us for attending.

Key Element 3: Altar Workers.

After a person has made the decision to attend your church and the minister has preached

a soul-stirring message about salvation the expectation should be that the lost would respond to

the Spirit’s calling. Who will help them to know what to do? Who will pray with them to repent

and receive the Holy Ghost? That person is the: Altar Worker.

This person is someone who has a burden for the lost and knows how to help people

repent and receive. That means the senior leadership must provide training to those who would

desire to work in this ministry. They should be able to not only pray with people but also be

thoroughly prepared to answer questions about baptism and about receiving the Spirit.

Key Element 4: Before They Leave the Church Building.

One of the elements of assimilation that is often overlooked is the opportunity for

evangelism immediately after the church service. Very often we greet people, pray with people

and then forget about them when church is over. Some churches have rightly established a team

of people who show great hospitality by simply inviting the visitor to have lunch with them after

service. Other churches have a “meet the pastor” tea and coffee after service for all visitors and

their families. This gives the visitor a chance to meet the pastor and other key leaders of the

church.

The method is not as important as the connection. The more people they come into

contact with during and after the church service the better opportunity for connection. Also, this

encourages them to come back to another service because they feel as if they know someone and

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have a friend. The power of relationships cannot be overlooked when designing a process to

assimilate people into the life of the church.

Key Element 5: Visitor Follow Up.

Whether the person repents or not they still need to be visited or contacted by the church

soon after their visit to the church. This can be done in a variety of ways. Our local assembly has

found that often visitors do not have a mailing address or cannot receive mail at their home.

Therefore, we use an SMS system to send out a note within 24-hours of their visit. In this

message we thank them for attending and inform them that someone will stop by to tell them

more about the church.

When the church member goes to the house or flat of the person he or she goes to

accomplish two things. First, to answer questions the visitor may have about the church, church

programs or about God. Secondly, they attempt to set up a home Bible study or connect then

with a Home Group meeting in their community.

If the person attends the Home Group then they fall under the care of that Home Group

Leader. If, on the other hand, there is no group in the area then the person conducting the Home

Bible Study assumes care for the visitor by teaching the Bible study and inviting them back to

the church.

Each church will have to develop a system for visitor follow up but here are some crtical

things to consider when designing this ministry:

How will we get the visitors information?

What will your initial contact be like: SMS, letter, personal visit, phone call, etc.

How will we train people to do home visits?

When the church member visits the visitor what will be the objective of that visit?

How many times will you visit the person if he or she does not want a Home Bible Study,

connects with a Home Group or attends another service?

How will you communicate with the Home Group Leader that this visitor may be

attending their group?

Key Element 6: Assimilation Process.

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The Africa Region Vision actually helps to formulate an outline for designing a process

to incorporate new members into the church through new members class(es).

1. Vision – all those who have been born again should be introduced to the vision of the

local assembly. People want to know that they are joining something that has a vision for

the future and a vision to help them become a better person.

2. Equipping – the new believers should be equipped with a solid doctrinal foundation.

They need to understand what the Bible says about itself, salvation, holiness,

stewardship, spiritual gifts (both supernatural and natural) and the future (i.e. end time

events). Our local assembly teaches a 7-lesson course that covers our fundamental

doctrines.

3. Nucleus – the church should clearly detail what it means to be a part of the nucleus. This

means that people should know what the church teaches and believes, what is expected of

them as members of the church (e.g. tithes, holiness, attendance, etc.) and what they

should expect from the church (e.g. pastoral care, prayer, equipping, etc). Many churches

have what is called a “Membership Covenant” that outlines all of these elements and after

someone completes the new converts class they are given the opportunity to become

members.

4. Best Use of Gifts and Talents – each member of the church should be helped to know

how God has uniquely gifted them for the work of ministry. This can be done by offering

seminars about gifts and talents, teaching about gifts and talents in Sunday school and a

variety of other ways. Once the person has discovered how God has gifted them and they

are remaining faithful to the requirements of a nucleus person then you can begin to plug

them into relevant ministries.

5. Balanced Ministry – now that God is providing people with the necessary commitment,

as well as, gifts and talents the church can begin to expand its base of ministry. The

nucleus is growing because people are picking up the tools to equip themselves. Now you

need to plug people into the targeted ministries that have been identified by the Ministry

Leadership Team.

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6. Organizational Structure – this may not seem like it would fit into the process of moving

visitors toward fruitful ministry but it does. If the senior leadership fails to organize their

process and evaluate that process from time to time it will eventually fail. The path to

ministry has to be incorporated into the very essence of your local church culture.

Win and Charles Arn suggest the church can measure its success in assimilating new

believers when they display the following nine characteristics:

1. Identifies with the goals of the church.

2. Attends worship services regularly.

3. Experiences spiritual growth and progress.

4. Becomes a member of the Body.

5. Has made 5-10 new friends in the church.

6. Has an appropriate task or role that matches spiritual giftedness.

7. Is involved in meaningful fellowship in a small group.

8. Regularly tithes to the church.

9. Participates in the great commission by spreading the Good News to friends and relatives.5

It goes without saying but somewhere at the beginning of this process there has to be a

born-again experience. However, you can enroll people in a new believers class prior to

salvation. I have found people often desire to know more about certain Biblical doctrines before

their faith will move them toward salvation. I can remember teaching a Bible study that lasted

almost 2 years before the man ever repented. He enjoyed the company but he was also listening

and when the time was right he repented and was filled with the Spirit! I have also had people go

through the new believers class and decide they could not or would not adhere to what was being

taught and chose to attend the church but not become a member. That is OK but it is not the

norm. I have learned that when the Bible is taught with consistency and clarity that revelation

will come by faith that comes from hearing the Word.

At our local assembly we have developed what we call our “Path To Ministry.” This

outlines every class and requirement for moving from born-again believer to fruitful minister of

the gospel. We use three key words: 1) Believe, 2) Belong and 3) Become. These key words are

taken from our Vision Statement and then we have designed a brochure that graphically

5 Arn, Win, and Charles Arn, The Master’s Pan of Making Disciples (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1998: 49-55).

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illustrates these steps. This “Path to Ministry” was formulated after about 1 month of work,

meetings and brainstorming. We constantly went back and forth between the elements of the

Africa Region Vision and how we could implement them into the life of our church. In the end

all the hard work took shape and we now have a workable assimilation process.

You will need to gather your ministry team together and do exactly what we have done.

You will have to take a lot of time to put together a clear Vision Statement. You will have to

decide which classes to teach, how to help people discover their gifts and talents, what ministries

will be needed and more. I can tell you from experience that it is a lot of hard work. It will

require an investment of time and finances but it will make all the difference for your church and

more importantly the Kingdom of God.

Key Element 7: Perseverance.

In our fast paced and sometimes impatient society we cannot, as senior leaders, fall into

the trap of trying to provide shortcuts in the assimilation process. A person who has a great

personality or is wealthy but is not born-again or who is not being faithful to the church must not

be given consideration for ministry. You must always persevere in your commitment to draw

ministers from the nucleus of the church – only! That commitment is made firm in your

determination to define the process by which someone can enter the nucleus. Do not be afraid to

ask people for loyalty devotion and steadfastness in their walk with God. If people are aware of

the requirements and expectations of the church then most will do their best to meet those

expectations. On the other hand, if you fail to define what is expected then do not be surprised

when people become angry when you tell them they cannot lead a particular ministry.

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7 Key Elements to New Believer Assimilation