Integrating the New Member

Abstract

In many denominations, the rate of membership loss is staggering. The same applies to the WELS, despite observing growth in the South Atlantic District. A significant cause of dwindling communicants is members’ inactivity. This often occurs with new adult confirmands. Thus, the church should be attentive to integrating new members into its congregation. As Jesus has shown compassion to that one lost sheep and left behind the other hundred, so are Christians to love and care for those who are delinquent. New members can quickly withdraw from the church when they feel they do not belong in the congregation. Although unity exists in liturgical and doctrinal areas, human tendencies seek to find bonds and alienate others based on human characteristics, even within a church. Therefore, the congregation needs to understand that it is a collection of individuals with unique distinctions, held together by the miracle of the Holy Spirit. The churches that possess a cultural mindset of new-member acceptance will show Christian love from the first moment they stepped into the church, long before their confirmation. The congregation should also provide a reason for the new member to continue attending church. As a pastor, this means preaching the very truths of God’s work, for the Gospel strikes at the very heart and core of a man, and he will come back for more. The pastor can also enlist the new confirmand with volunteer activities, providing meaningful tasks. He can provide a sponsor to aid the newcomer’s integration. He, or even other members, can regularly visit the new member. All of these tools are ways that allow the Gospel to be preached so that the new confirmand knows he is a part of the fellowship of all believers and awaits his glorious heavenly home.