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For parishes to grow, there needs to be a widening of contacts, the development of new prospective members, and an inflow of newcomers. A few of the ways of developing new prospects are as follows:
1. Ask your faithful members about their children and grandchildren in the area. Do they have a church they attend regularly, and if not, would they welcome a visit?
2. Ask your regular members about friends in the neighbourhood who perhaps have an Anglican background or who do not have a church connection and might welcome one.
3. Develop a list of prospective members and send them well-planned and informative mailings two or three times a year.
4. Check the registers for those who have been baptized, married or confirmed in the past five years. Track down those who live in the area but who have fallen off the parish list, or never got put on. Contact them for a follow-up visit and invite them to get connected!
5. Develop a list of "friends" of the parish. These might be people who lead youth groups in your building, who attend social events, or who show up occasionally for activities.
6. Plan seasonal flyers to the households in your parish area at Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter. Invite those who do not have a church connection to make your parish their church home.
7. Ask three or four of your member households in a given neighbourhood to hold a coffee party and invite their friends and neighbours who might be interested in meeting the minister and becoming connected.
8. As people are leaving on Sunday morning, get the phone numbers of those who are new; call them within the week and see if they are open to a brief visit.
All parishes are enriched by a steady stream of newcomers. I am always struck by the imagery of scripture where Christ takes notice of us "while we are yet far off'. Many churches simply wait for outsiders to wander in. We need to be noticing and reaching out to those who are "yet far off'.
Item XXVII
©2000 Ronald C. Ferris
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