My wife and I are the proud parents of four children. With the arrival of the second, third and fourth children, we wondered how the siblings would take to the new arrival. We had an idea of how we wanted it to go...but...well...you know the rest. Would they accept this new baby with warm, tender kisses of love? Would they reject him or her by displaying jealous fits of rage and unpredicted pokes in the eyes? Bringing a new arrival into the family is a great, exciting and rewarding task for the entire family.

The same can be said for the church as it receives new arrivals into it's fellowship. As the church reaches out to new members, reward and excitement await within the church family. Below are some principles to consider if your church is going to successfully implement new members.

1.  Make it your church's goal to move new members from attendees to active members. Everyone has a job in bringing new members into the church family. Provide opportunities and unleash them to go to work.

2.  Make sure every member understands and recognizes the characteristics of an active member. Win and Charles Arn offer several characteristics of Active Members. (Arn and Arn, Master's Plan)

• Identify with the goals of the church
• Attend worship services regularly
• Experience spiritual growth and progress
• Has 5-10 new friends in the church
• Has an appropriate task or role that matches spiritual giftedness
• Is involved in meaningful fellowship in a small group
• Regularly tithes to the church
• Participates in the great commissino by spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to friends and family

3.  Strive to be a healthy church. Christian Schwartz lists eight qualities of a healthy church. (NaturalChurch Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches)

• Empowered Leadership
• Gift Oriented Ministry
• Passionate Spirituality
• Functional Structures
• Inspiring Worship Service
• Holistic Small Groups
• Need-Oriented Evangelism
• Loving Relationships

4.  Challenge members to personally invite people to come to church and take personal responsibility for "on-site hospitality" (Barna, George, User Friendly Churches). On-site hospitality considers the following:

• Friendly Ushers--note the word "Friendly". Find the members that are warm, friendly and love to smile. These are great greeters.
• Parking Attendants--find those who are enthusiastic and welcoming. Provide several parking greeters across the lot. Encourage them to wave, smile and speak to all who walk across the lot.
• Welcome/Guest Center Greeters: Guests are welcomed by a friendly greeter/host who gathers important information. Upon completing the information, the guests are given a "gift" and then personally escorted by a friendly person to Sunday School classes, Worship Service, Children/Youth Departments, etc. (If you are looking to involve your Adult Sunday School Classes in ministry, consider putting them on a rotating schedule to fill these important positions each week.)

5.  Implement the "Law of Seven Touches". Elmer Towns in his book 10 of Today's Most Innovative Churches, says a church must make seven immediate and meaningful contacts with guests if they want them to return to church. Simply put, encourage your members to speak to people they don't know. Be friendly, be outgoing, be interested and be kind to them.

My wife and I are so grateful that with every new sibling our kids opened their arms and hearts with excitement. Of course, they had no option. As the church, we have no option either. We must all step up and take serious the responsibility to love and assimilate all who come into our church family. This will require the effort of every member. It is so rewarding!!

John Caddy serves as a member of the ABSC Evangelism and Church Growth team in the area of Adult Sunday School and Small Group ministry. He served nine years as Associate Pastor of Students at Wynne Baptist Church and four years as Pastor of Church Growth and Evangelism at the Indian Springs Baptist in Bryant. It is his passion to serve Arkansas churches and their staff. He and his wife Lana, along with their four children, reside in Bryant, Arkansas.