Church Growth & Assimilation, Part 4

This is our final installment (for now) on the topic of assimilation.  We've already examined in the previous posts the topics of how to know if assimilation is happening, how to identify people who don't identify themselves as guests, and who you should really focus your assimilation efforts upon.  

Now we have to address this tricky and difficult subject of 'churn'.  Churches don't make a lot of reference to this topic, but businesses do, especially subscription-based businesses like Netflix, for example.  Customer churn in the business world is also referred to as attrition or turnover.  It is the recognition that it is much easier to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new customer, which makes this an important concept in the business world.

How does that relate to the church?  In the church it is not about customer acquisition, or retention, it is about loving people in such a way that they feel they are cared for and a part of the family.  If they feel like they are both loved, and they have a purpose in this new-found family, then they will stick around. If either one of those two factors are not realities for them, then they will leave.   

"Churn", to use the business term, occurs after assimilation has been successful.  You can't lose them if you never had them, so churn as a concept can only occur if you have been successful at your mission to win them over to be part of your church family.  Once having done that, you might be tempted to sit back and relax and say, 'Mission accomplished.'  But such is not the case.

Let's say that you define assimilation in your church as successfully welcoming a guest into your church family, so that six months after their first visit, they are now a member of your church.  That is successful assimilation.  But the next period of time of maybe six-months to a year, are also important that you continue to help them in two areas.  They need to continue to feel cared for, and they need to have a sense of purpose in your church.  They need to know how they are an important and contributing member of the body.

This is important because sometimes churches make guests feel really welcome and in the excitement of joining a new group of people and finding out all the things your church has to offer, they jump on board with both feet, and sign up as members, and start attending regularly, and bring their kids to children's or youth events.  But once that initial warm glow wears off, they need something sustainable for the long haul.  They need to have real friends, and they need to have meaningful ministry jobs.  If either of these two are not solidly true for them, they may become your next 'churn' statistic.

So it comes down to this: church health includes having the sort of relationships and ministry in your church that are actually healthy!  That is, there must be more there for the long haul than just the initial excitement.  Your church needs to be able to have the sort of environment that helps new people to develop long-term sustainable relationships, and long-term meaningful ministry.  

Some churches have great assimilation rates, 20%, but also really high churn rates.  They keep a large percentage of guests, who join the church, but then 12 - 18 months later, the people have become inactives, or have left to go elsewhere.  Other churches may have a modest assimilation rate, like 10%, but then they seem to keep their people forever.  Which would you rather have?

Experienced people in both the business and the church world will tell us that it is much easier, and satisfying, to keep people for the long haul.  In the church world, this means that people have found their home with you, and you are becoming increasingly the family of God that Jesus wants you to be.  And that is what it is all about.

Yours for the Kingdom,

Dr. Bill