Close the back door

Lutheran, The, Jul 2003 by Hanson, Mark S

Too many members slip silently away

As a parish pastor, I wondered about those leaving the congregation through the back door. I am not thinking about those who left out of disappointment or anger, clear about their reasons for transferring-but of those who slowly, silently slipped into inactivity.

Our church is giving renewed commitment to outreach and evangelism. We are encouraging congregations to have many doors through which people might enter-Sunday morning worship, the adult catechumenate, Alpha, Wednesday evening suppers, after-school youth programs, summer programs and many others. As we become more intentional and invitational in our witnessing, let us not forget those quietly slipping away.

Often they are people who have experienced tragedy or a significant life transition-death of a family member, unemployment, serious illness, divorce, the youngest child going to college. At these life passages, there sometimes is too much guilt or shame, weariness or anxiety to remain faithful in worship. Others who slip away are young adults who go off to college or work, or who simply become inactive after high school.

Please think about these simple suggestions for closing the back door and add your own:

* Divide the congregation into groups of eight to 10 households. Ask a person in each cluster to pray for their group and keep in touch with them. A periodic phone call to listen is an important tie.

* Rather than removing people from congregational membership, inform the inactive that you continue to pray for them and work to welcome them back into active involvement. A letter from a congregational leader can have deep impact.

* Use e-mail to stay in touch, particularly with young adults who move away. Encourage them to do the same, and be sure to respond when they do.

* Look at your congregation through the lenses of those becoming inactive. What might we learn to do differently? How do we communicate? How do we value every member? Increasingly, people join and leave congregations based upon whether their needs are met. What longings are not being satisfied? How do we talk about what it means to be members of the body of Christ in an age of consumerism?

It is certainly more joyful to welcome guests at the front door than to search out those who quietly leave through the back. But remember Jesus' story about the good shepherd, who left the 99 to find the one.

By: Mark S. Hanson

A monthly message from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, His e-mail address: bishop@elca.org.