3 Reasons Your New Member Class Isn’t Working

Is your new member class designed for the JFK or IDK generation? It’s time to fight some false assumptions by making these three shifts.

By Bryan Rose

How well is your new member class working? Are more people attending, or are you gaslighting the team with a “fewer people allow more connection” spin? Do you sense many people have an affinity for your church but are hesitant to take the next step? Has your team exhausted all combinations of lunches, weekly classes, monthly seminars, or on-demand videos and is still looking for a silver bullet solution?

What if we are planning and executing our membership events from an outdated church growth model from 20 to 30 years ago? Here are three reasons your membership class probably isn’t working: 

1. Your church’s new member class is based on an outdated assumption about knowledge

Your recent attendees have all the understanding they want and are more capable than ever of asking or finding it online if they don’t. Guests today are perfectly content and imperfectly uncurious. Church leaders tend to assume people attend a newcomer event to learn more about the church. However, your new folks want someone from the church to know more about them. After all, being known is much more compelling than knowing more.

“Make your membership class work by communicating that church leadership wants to learn about ‘all the new folks around here’ and get to know them.” — @thebryanrose Share on X

Make your membership class work by communicating that church leadership wants to learn about “all the new folks around here” and get to know them.

2. Your church’s new member class is based on an outdated assumption about connection

It may be time to modernize your language around people’s engagement. Many, if not all, new attendees do not feel unconnected. Most people have strong relationships, just not at the church. They have travel ball connections, neighborhood connections, or connections through hobbies or special interests. Social media makes people feel connected to high school friends they have not seen in decades.

Most people are not missing a sense of connection, but we know they are missing genuine, biblical community. Instead of listing group times, topics, and locations, paint a compelling picture of the value of life together. Illustrate what happens when people who love Jesus learn to grow and study regularly. Don’t just invite people to a group; engage their hearts toward transformation.

“Most people are not missing a sense of connection, but we know they are missing genuine, biblical community.” — @thebryanrose Share on X

Make your membership class work by casting a compelling vision of what happens when Jesus’s followers fight through the busyness and messiness of life to care for and support each other.

3. Your church’s new member class is based on an outdated assumption about content

Two simple questions can help discern if your membership class content is on the right track:

• Are you starting the class with the past or the future?
• Are you ending with what we want from you or what we want for you?

First, no matter how great you think they are, the stories of planting, building, or growing your church should not form the basis of your newcomer’s lunch content. People do not connect with where you have been as much as they engage with where you are heading (and how their life can be better as a result). Your mission statement should retell the Great Commission in a way that challenges every person in the church to live purposefully every day. Start here.

Second, most membership classes wrap up with a list of things for new people to do at the church (join something, say something, give something). Instead, leaders should clearly show what new people can become through the church. Let’s face it, few people need more weekly activity, but everyone needs more spiritual growth. Define what you want for your new members through clear maturity markers and disciple-making outcomes. End with the next step into maturity, not just activity.

“Define what you want for your new members through clear maturity markers and disciple-making outcomes.” — @thebryanrose Share on X

Make your membership class work by shifting the content to “future” and “for,” inviting them to walk with you into community impact and spiritual maturity.

Three shifts for your newcomer class

Are your newcomer events and membership classes designed for the JFK or IDK generation? It’s time to fight the false assumptions of 20-plus years ago by making these three shifts:

• Shift from “Come and get to know us” to “Come let us get to know you” through well-crafted Sunday announcements.
• Shift from “you need connection” to “you need community” through compelling vision clarity.
• Shift from “what we want from you” to “what we want for you” through compelling mission and clear maturity outcomes. 

For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.

Here is a free and fun self-assessment tool from Auxano that may reveal critical gaps in your language and culture. Holes like these keep your membership or newcomer classes from working well. Gather your staff team or core leadership and walk through this Vision Headwaters tool together.

Auxano’s “Clarity First” church consulting engages church leaders to achieve breakthrough clarity by creating compelling mission statements and defining disciple-making outcomes. Schedule a conversation with one of the Vision Strategists at Auxano here to see how they can help you make more and stronger followers of Jesus.