What do Sunday School classes, church doctrine, clean restrooms
and friendly greeters all have in common?
They are all factors that have helped attract unchurched people
to the church -and keep them there.
What do Sunday School classes, church doctrine, clean restrooms
and friendly greeters all have in common?
They are all factors that have helped attract unchurched people
to the church -and keep them there.
At least, that is the conclusion of a seven-year study by Dean
Thom Rainer and a research team at the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism
and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The study is titled
“Nine Habits of Churches that Reach and Keep the Unchurched.” It combines
both old and new research and includes surveys of more than 4,000 churches and
interviews with more than 1,000 individuals.
A highlight of the study is new research into what Rainer calls
the “formerly unchurched” – that is, people who had become Christians
within the previous 12 months and were active in church. This new research includes
interviews with more than 350 formerly unchurched people and examines factors
that attracted and kept them in the church.
Past surveys that simply studied people outside of the church
(the unchurched) had weaknesses, Rainer said.
“Something is obviously wrong because the unchurched are
telling (researchers) what it would take to reach them, but they are not responding.
So, we asked the question: Is there another group that can give us some insight?”
The answer came in the form of interviews with those who recently
entered the church (the formerly unchurched).
“Instead of asking the unchurched what it would take to
reach them, … why dont we ask those people who have recently accepted
Christ, who have come into the church?” Rainer noted. “Why dont
we ask them what God did in their lives and what the church did to bring them
into the church?”
Rainer is known for his research. Since coming to Southern
Seminary in 1994, he has put his teams research into five books,including
“effective Evangelistic Churches” and “The Bridger Generation.”
Two more books are on the horizon, including “Surprising Insights from
the Unchurched,” set for release in late summer. A book examining evangelical
churches that have flourished for at least 25 years is scheduled for release
sometime in 2003.
Nine denominations comprise the basis of Rainers new
study – the Southern Baptist Convention, Evangelical Free, American Baptist,
Presbyterian Church in America, Assemblies of God, Wesleyan Church, Church of
the Nazarene, United Methodist and independent Baptists. Churches in the study
ranged in attendance from 40 to 18,000.
Interviews with the formerly unchurched were limited to those
who are members of what Rainer classifies as “effective evangelistic churches.”
Those are churches that meet certain requirements regarding the number of annual
conversions in relation to their membership. Only 4 percent of the churches
in Rainers research met such requirements.
By combining the research, Rainers team came up with
the nine habits key to reaching – and keeping – the unchurched. These
include the:
Habit of Intentionality
Simply put, for a church to be successful, it intentionally
must be trying to reach the unchurched, Rainer explained.
In his survey of some 4,000 churches, Rainer said more than
83 percent of the churches did not have an intentional plan for reaching the
lost. However, that statistic flip-flopped among effective evangelistic churches.
Among the formerly unchurched, more than 75 percent said that someone from the
church shared the plan of salvation with them. In most cases, it was not a staff
member.
Rainer said one example of intentionality is the Southern Baptist
FAITH program, which is being used in churches to teach members how to share
their faith effectively.
The “habit of intentionality” also can include seemingly
trivial matters. For instance, Rainer said his research shows that people often
picked a church for such reasons as restroom and nursery cleanliness. Some people
even drove away from a church because it did not have adequate signage to help
them find the sanctuary entrance.
Rainers research also shows that friendly greeters at
a churchs entrance can have an enormously positive effect.
Habit of Cultural Awareness
“The churches that reached the unchurched were highly
intentional, but they (also) understood the culture,” Rainer pointed out.
“It does not mean they compromised with culture, but they understood culture.
There are some things we can do to be culturally aware.”
Rainer said a large part of being culturally aware is understanding
the generation born between 1977 and 1994 -the “bridger generation.”
Research indicates only 4 percent of this group are Christians, he said. By
comparison, 65 percent of the generation born before 1946 are Christians.
“If there is one area where we are culturally unaware,
it is in this generation,” Rainer said. “This is the most unchurched
generation in America.”
Habit of High Expectations
There is a direct correlation between how much is demanded
of a new member and how long the new member stays active in the church, Rainer
emphasized.
“Churches that expect much receive much,” he explained.
“Churches that expect little receive little.”
New member classes are vital to keeping people in the church,
Rainer said. Among all churches (both effective and ineffective) in America,
the average retention rate of new members is 35 percent, Rainer pointed out.
However, if new member classes are offered, that percentage
shoots up to 72 percent, the Southern Baptist dean noted. And if the class is
required of new members, the percentage increases even more.
“You bring these new members through some type of new
members class, and you will see a significant increase in retention,” Rainer
said. “The most effective new members classes were those that said, We
want to put you in a ministry as you leave this class.”
Personal evangelism classes for new members can be very fruitful,
Rainer added.
“One of the most effective ways to get these new Christians
involved is to get them sharing their faith with those who are in the world
of the unchurched.”
Habit of Clear Doctrine
Rainer said the formerly unchurched told the researchers: “We
want to hear about the doctrine on the front end. Were not going to make
a commitment to a church where you will tell us about what you believe later.”
This can be accomplished in the form of a written document
or through new members classes, Sunday School lessons and sermons, he said.
Habit of Risk Taking
“What we found was that churches that are reaching the
unchurched do things and take what seem to be risks in the light of the worlds
eyes – or maybe in light of the churchs eyes – that other
churches do not,” Rainer said. “We see very few churches across America
that truly act on faith – not foolishness, but faith.”
Among the effective churches, 83 percent of senior pastors
could tell of a major task their church had undertaken.
“The risk-taking attitude of these churches is obvious
by their willingness to lose members,” Rainer said. “They do not make
decisions based upon who might leave as a result of this. They make decisions
more on: Who will we reach?”
Habit of Dynamic Small Groups
Rainer said that prior to his teams research he had bought
into the belief that Sunday School was on the decline. However, among the formerly
unchurched, 68 percent are involved in Sunday School, the Southern Baptist researcher
noted.
So, what is different between Sunday Schools of effective churches
and those of ineffective churches?
“There tends to be an expectation that you are involved
in ministry through that Sunday School class (in effective churches),”
Rainer said.
“Unhealthy Sunday Schools are inward focused – they
only care about themselves. Healthy Sunday Schools are constantly looking beyond
themselves.”
Habit of Effective Leadership
“I cannot understate the importance of leadership in these
churches,” Rainer emphasized. “Once unchurched persons visited churches,
they said the pastor and the preaching were the most important factors in their
returning.”
In effective churches, the pastor spent five hours a week involved
in personal evangelism, Rainer said. In ineffective churches, the pastor spent
less than 10 minutes a week.
“As the leadership of the church goes, so the rest of
the church tends to go,” Rainer said. “If the pastor is not doing
it, then it is highly unlikely that youll see a congregation reaching
the unchurched.”
Habit of Effective Preaching
Among effective churches, pastors spent an average of 20 hours
a week on sermons – including the task itself, Rainer noted. Among
ineffective churches, pastors spent an average of four hours.
“That means that something has to give (in their schedule),”
Rainer said. “What do they become? They became Acts 6 pastors. What do
Acts 6 pastors do? They delegate and give away ministry (assignments).”
Expository preaching was the most dominant style in the survey,
although no one pastor preached expository sermons exclusively, Rainer said.
Habit of Prayer