 |  Multiplying your ministry through others.
Fall 1996
|
Ministry to Missing Members
John S. Savage
October 1, 1996
When this article appeared in LEADERSHIP
nearly a decade ago, readers appreciated its insights into a difficult task:
working with people who are leaving the church or becoming inactive.
Several years ago while looking through slides I had used in an every-member
canvass in my church, I was shocked.
Pictured in the first three slides were three couples who had held key offices
during my first year. Now, four years later, those couples were totally inactive.
They no longer attended worship, except maybe on Christmas or Easter, made
no financial contribution, and had a negative attitude about the congregation.
How could people move from active involvement to total inactivity in just
four years? I wondered.
I thought of times I had visited inactive members and seen absolutely nothing
happen. In fact, often they were more convinced to stay away after
I made the call. I needed to figure out how to keep current members active
and enable inactive ones to return.
I went to work on these questions as I pursued a doctorate and have continued
to search for answers over the last decade. With a psychologist and a theologian,
I designed a research project. Thirteen trained pastors and I interviewed
inactive members from four United Methodist congregations to find out what
caused them to disappear from church life.
Meeting an APE
We found 95 percent of the people had experienced what we now call
an "anxiety-provoking event"-an ape. Subsequent research showed these events
usually come in clusters, several apes compounding within six months to a
year.
Anxiety is the emotional alarm system triggered by disequilibrium, hurt,
or anticipated hurt. The inactive members we visited revealed high levels
of anxiety, which ...
Please complete one of the following:
If you're a Leadership journal subscriber...
...but have not yet registered for online access to CTLibrary.com, you can receive a full-year's access for just $29.95!
Register Here | | If you're NOT a Leadership journal print subscriber...
You're entitled to a special, introductory offer for new subscribers only! Subscribe now and receive a one-year Leadership journal print subscription and one-year access to all Leadership archives for just $39.95!
Subscribe now!
When you log in as a Leadership Journal subscriber, you'll see additional articles noted as premium content only available to CTLibrary.com members. To access the entire CTLibrary requires a CTLibrary subscription. If you would prefer this option, select the offer below that best fits your needs.
|
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 20,359 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
