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

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Assimilation: Taking the New Contact from Visitor to Minister.
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do as a local assembly has an affect on the success or failure of reaching the lost. Many churches
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
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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Assimilation: Taking the New Contact from Visitor to Minister.
(Workshop Notes: Danny Davis)
smile and shook our hands. When they noticed our children they immediately helped us to know
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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Assimilation: Taking the New Contact from Visitor to Minister.
(Workshop Notes: Danny Davis)
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?

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Assimilation: Taking the New Contact from Visitor to Minister.
(Workshop Notes: Danny Davis)
Key Element 6: Assimilation Process.

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