Category Archives: New Member Classes

Information about creating/organizing new member classes.

Closing the Back Door

By Mike James | Published: November 7, 2011

I recently met with a church that was having consistent baptisms but not experiencing net growth. They asked me to help them plan some strategies that would keep those they reached. About the same time I read Tom Rainer’s blog on “closing the back door.” How does a church keep those it reaches so they [...]

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The Velcro Principle Part 2

By Mike James | Published: July 22, 2010

These series of blogs will help you keep the people you reach and help you discern if your church is more like Teflon or Velcro? We have a twofold challenge…getting new people to attend and getting people to stick after they join and not slide off.  So is your church currently more like Velcro, people [...]

Also posted in Assimilation | 1 Response

Farewell

By Steve Rice | Published: October 16, 2008

Today I say farewell as the writer of 28Nineteen. On November 2, 2008, I will assume the Senior Pastor position at the First Baptist Church of Shelbyville, Kentucky. My family and I are very excited about our new assignment from the Lord. Read about our move in this Kentucky Baptist Convention article or this Western [...]

Also posted in Assimilation, Church Growth, Discipleship, Mentoring, Miscellaneous, Personal Journey, Preaching, Resources, Spiritual Growth, Sunday School | 1 Response

Training Opportunities

By Steve Rice | Published: August 18, 2008

This past Saturday at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, the Kentucky Baptist Convention offered a variety of great training opportunities. If you missed the event, similar training is being offered at five other locations across the state. One of the discipleship faculty was Tim Holcomb, Director of Discipleship for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. [...]

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New Member Class Evangelism

By Steve Rice | Published: August 14, 2008

Recent studies by Dr. Chuck Lawless and Dr. Gary L. McIntosh indicate that more and more churches are utilizing new member classes. Although some require the class for membership (31% according to Lawless), the majority do not. Regardless of whether the class is required for membership or not, it can serve as a great tool [...]

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Rainer’s Four Legs of Assimilation

By Steve Rice | Published: July 31, 2008

When Dr. Tom Rainer served as Dean of the Billy Graham School at Southern Seminary in Louisville, he ran a consulting company that helped churches across America. In his consultations, he discovered that the overwhelming majority of the churches needed marked improvement in the area of assimilation. As a result, he began to teach about [...]

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Searcy Speaks

By Steve Rice | Published: June 13, 2008

The last few days, Nelson Searcy has been answering assimilation questions on his blog, Church Leader Insights. These posts are a MUST READ if you are seeking to improve in the area of assimilation. Searcy’s posts include answers to the following questions: What do you say to get people to fill out their Connection Cards? [...]

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What A Day! What A Guy!

By Steve Rice | Published: May 22, 2008

Here’s a picture of Dr. Gary L. McIntosh and yours truly from our event today in Louisville, Kentucky. You will not meet a nicer guy than Dr. McIntosh.  We had a great turnout and Dr. McIntosh hit a homerun just as expected! Be sure to pick up a copy of his latest assimilation book, Beyond the [...]

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Don’t Miss Gary McIntosh

By Steve Rice | Published: May 18, 2008

This Thursday, May 22, Dr. Gary McIntosh will be with us at the Kentucky Baptist Convention building. He will talk about assimilation principles taken from his book, Beyond the First Visit, along with other books he has written. Check out the well-written Western Recorder article on this upcoming event. Dr. McIntosh is a consultant, author, [...]

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“Fusion”, Street to the Seat

By Steve Rice | Published: May 5, 2008

Today, as I continue discussing Nelson Searcy’s book Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church, I will look at the seven-minute, pre-service period when first-time guests decide if they will return for a second visit. Searcy refers to this time as the time “from the street to the seat.” This is the time before the service [...]

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