Welcome To The Body

How many times have you known of someone who was baptized and then a short time later just seemed to drift away? The same thing can happen with new members who move in, place membership, and then just sort of slip through the cracks.

What can you do? Incorporate them! That word means, "to make a part of a body."

The purpose for this ministry, "Welcome to the Body", is to help churches incorporate new Christians and other new members into God's Family in such a way that they will build a feeling of belonging and establish relationships within the congregation. It also helps New Christians (and others) establish a habit of daily Bible study.

The concept of this ministry is to help new members become acquainted with at least six families in the church within their first three months of membership by being in homes and sharing in a Bible study. This number can even be doubled depending on the involvement of the hosting families.

In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus tells us to teach, baptize, and teach. In many instances we neglect the last part of this command. Too frequently we do not follow up on new members. This ministry is a means by which the new member can be assisted in maturing and helped to develop a regular habit of Bible study. It will also help them become acquainted with other members of the church family. Here’s how it works.

New converts and other new members are invited to share in fellowship and study in the homes of members for six weeks. Along with Bible study, at each session some aspect of the congregation is discussed such as elders and deacons, ministries, activities, youth ministry, missions, etc.

The benefits of this is that the new member will have been encouraged to mature in his/her Christian life and will also give them the opportunity to become acquainted with six or seven couples (or more) in the church and broaden their base of friendship. Another benefit is that this provides a ministry to involve members of the church who might not teach “evangelistic” Bible studies but are willing to be involved in a “maturing” study. And it is a self-perpetuating ministry in that once new Christians or new members have gone through this series of lessons they can then become involved as those who host and present the lessons.

God's word teaches us that we have a responsibility to one another. We must do more than just baptize people. We must help them become a part of the Body. Of course this whole ministry is contingent on whether or not we are fulfilling the Great Commission in the first place.

See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.

Love, Tony