Siguraduhing nabasa mo ang dalawang article na nasa Lesson 1 - “Conserving Membership Gains" at "Four Principles to Membership Retention."
Pagkatapos mong mabasa ang mga article na iyon, sagutin ang sumusunod na mga tanong:
1) Ano ang inyong
masasabi tungkol sa challenge ng pagre-retain ng mga old and new converts?
2) Ano ang pinakamagandang paraan para ma-retain o di mag-backslide ang mga kaanib?
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Tunay na napakahirap magpanatili o mapanumbalik ang mga old members na nanlamig sa pananmpalataya, parang kasabihan “ napakahirap gisingin ang nagtutulogtulogan o isang gising… At tunay na mahirap din ang pagpapanatili sa isang bagong convert…una-una napakaconcern natin kapag hindi pa sila nagiging kaanib, halos ay “subuan” natin sila, subalit kapag nabinyagan na ay iba na ang mga kilos natin para sa kanila… nawawala ang sense of belongingness, maling expectation… akala nila ay laging may ibibigay sa kanila kagaya ng pagkain , pamasahe pagsimba o laging susunduin, at pagkaminsan yung attachment ng mga dati ng mananampalataya sa mga baguhan ay wala, sapagkat iba ang nangaral sa kanila… naalala ko ang isang pamilya na nabinyagan sa Quezon, na pagkatapos nilang mabinyagan ay napakainit nila sa pananampalataya at gusto nilang e share tuwina ang kanilang bagong faith subalit ng mapansin nila na para bang sila lamang ang ganun ang ginagawa, at di nila nakikita sa mga matanda ng kapatid, sila ay unti-unting nawalan ng sigla at ang iba ay tuluyan ng nanlamig sa pananmpalataya… Thom S. Rainer emphasized (4) four principles to membership retentions 1. Expectation, ministry involvement, relationship, and small group involvement. Tama din ang naging observation ng GC about “Conserving Membership Gain” “The reasons most frequently cited by persons who leave local church fellowship are found in the realm of relationships, the absence of a sense of belonging, and the lack of meaningful engagement in the local congregation and its mission. Therefore, the loss of members for these reasons should be preventable.” They must be able to articulate their beliefs.They must have friends within the congregation.They must engage in a personally-meaningful ministry. kailngan talagang mapalakas ang kaalaman sa pananampalataya ng isang kaanib, makabubuting mag karoon ng fundamental review once in a while in every churches, patatagin din naman ang fellowship within the church specially sa mga bagong kaanib, gawing aktibo ang mga small group at isama ang mga baguhan sa pag mimisyon tuwing hapon ng sabado, ipahayag din an ating concern sa kanila hindi lamang sa simula o sa mga bago pa lang na kaanib… ipahayag natin an gating pagmamahal sa kanila. Ito din ang nais ipagawa sa atin ni Apostol Pedro; “Na una sa lahat ay maging maningas kayo sa inyong pagiibigan; sapagka't ang pagibig ay nagtatakip ng karamihang kasalanan: Na mangagpatuluyan kayo ng walang bulongbulungan: Na ayon sa kaloob na tinanggap ng bawa't isa, ay ipaglingkod sa inyo-inyo rin, na gaya ng mabubuting katiwala ng masaganang biyaya ng Dios; 1pet. 4:8-10
ReplyDeleteTama ka dyan, Sir. Kailangan talagang nakikita sa atin ang mga sinasabi natin sa mga bagong converts para di sila nanghihina. Kailangan nilang makita na nagmamahalan at may concern sa isa't isa ang mga kapatid.
DeleteKaya mayroon po tayong greater responsibility bilang mga mananampalataya sa bawat miyembro na nadaragdag sa ating iglesiya..sana ay maging way tayo na ma-encourage sila at magpatuloy sa pananampalataya. kailangan makita sa atin ang tunay na pagiging Kristiyano :)
Deletekailangan lang magkaroon ng sense of accountability ang bawat member. alam din dapat ng bawat isa kung ano ang role nya sa pagnurture sa mga new members.
DeleteNapakaganda ng mga impormasyon na ating nabasa lalot higit ang mga panukala na nabanggit upang maresolbahan ang pag-alis ng mga church members sa iglesiya. How i wish, maikalat ito sa mga iglesiya upang sila ay maging aware sa kalagayan ng ating pagmimisyon. At sana ito ay maging wake up call sa lahat which will lead to revival and reformation in the church ;-)
DeleteMas gusto ko Sir yong lumalabas pag hapon ng Sabado, visitation, Bible study, praying for them. (at merienda) I enjoy that. :)
Delete1) Ano ang inyong masasabi tungkol sa challenge ng pagre-retain ng mga old and new converts?
ReplyDeleteTotoo pong challenging ang pagre-retain ng old and new converts. Maraming mga old converts ay kulang sa paglago nila sa faith. Kung ano ang nalaman nila nang una silang maging SDA ganon pa rin hanggang ngayon. Maraming pagkakataon din na sila ay nanghihina dahil sa di magandang treatment ng mga kapatiran at kapag dumating ang mga pagsubok sa kanila sila ay nagpapasyang wag ng magpatuloy sa pananampalataya. Ang iba ay bumabalik kapag nadalaw ng mga kapatiran subalit paulit-ulit pa rin na nararanasan ito. Sang-ayon sa pagsusuri sila ay nananatiling ganito dahil kulang sila sa kaalaman tungkol kay Kristo at hindi rin nila nakita ang pagkalinga ng mga miyembro ng church.
Ito namang mga new converts nangangailangan ng pagkalinga dahil nga sila ay mga bago pa lamang. Kailangan silang patuloy na mag-aral ng Salita ng Diyos. Hindi talaga sila dapat pinababayaan na lamang pagkatapos ng baptism. Ang problema hindi ito strength ng majority ng ating church. Kaya kapag sila ay nasa loob na ng iglesya same ang feeding na natatanggap ng old and new members. Walang separate program ang church para sila ay lumago sa pagkakakilala kay Kristo at sa relasyon sa Kanya.
2) Ano ang pinakamagandang paraan para ma-retain o di mag-backslide ang mga kaanib?
As my observation in every church i go, church members who are experiencing a meaningful relationship with Jesus are those who are not prone to backsliden. Lahat po ng aspect na sinabi sa articles ay kailangan para maging strong sa faith ang mga members. Kaya nga ini-encourage ang church na gawin ang 4 aspects of small group life; worship, nurture, fellowship, and mission. If every member of the church is involved in small group the church life will be active. Ang focus ng pananampalataya ay nasa Panginoon at hindi sa kapwa. Mayroong care sa bawat isa. Sama-samang natututo ng Salita ng Diyos. Sama-samang lumalago ang relasyon kay Kristo. New members will experienced the loving relationship of the church and will always cherish to be with them. They will always look forward to attend the church services.
The church leaders must focus on the spiritual feeding of the new converts. Ito po ang reason kung bakit more people are going out of the church. They need daily feeding of the Word of God and learn to develop a meaningful relationship with Jesus. They need to have a prayerful life to be strong in faith.
Indeed! talagang "daily" dapat ang pagkain ng Salita ng Panginoon.. kasi kapag puno ka ng Salita ng Panginoon hindi basta basta makakapasok ang kaaway.. ang problema lang sa sobrang ka-busyhan ng mga kapatiran ay wala ng devotion. Naturally din, hindi talaga tayo na-train na magkarun ng personal devotion, laging theoretical ang naririnig sa church :(
Deleteyes. and as older church members participate in helping new ones grow, mas nggrow din sila. so everybody wins.
Deleteyeah you are right. However, it's easy to say that one of the ways how to retain the converts is to have a meaningful relationship with God. Unfortunately, this is hard to accomplish since even the church leaders don't experience a meaningful relationship with God. They are more on theories rather than experiential.
Deleteyes, sama-sama together. :) i miss the old days [old na ko sa faith :)] na naglalakad kami ng 2 hours to visit the brethren in other barangays, to fellowship, and exchange programs. friday pa lang ng hapon, naglalakad na (sa province namin) papunta don sa kabilang church, excited. (lalong masaya pag magkasamang naglulupak, at nagluluto ng bukayo. :)
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ReplyDeleteFor me, this is a very challenging task of the church as a whole. For so long, the church has been aiming for a church growth. In the statistics, we are no longer the “fastest growing denomination” in the Philippines and worst, we are even decreasing in number. Many brethren are exiting on the back door. Yes, our laymen, pastors, and missionaries have been doing Sowing and/or Reaping crusades but mostly it just end there. We do not really take so much effort on the nurturing – which is the most difficult part. Most of the time, we are focusing on the “quantity” rather than on the “quality.” We are good in planting yet we leave it as soon as the seeds already sprang. The result is it will die sooner or later because nobody is taking care of it.
ReplyDeleteWhile laymen or Pastors do the evangelism, the church members must also take part so that they would also gain the confidence of the Bible interests. In that sense, when they get baptized, they will already feel at home in the church. I believe that the church must build a strong relationship with the new converts because it is the “pull” that motivates individuals in going to church. Human nature, they need a sense of belonging. “The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.” (MH470)
In my experience, when I was still new in the faith, there was an assigned member in our church who nurtures us. There would always be a time on Sabbath when, we, the newly baptized members will be separated from the congregation because we would learn some hymns and would review our Fundamental beliefs. In that way, we could build a relationship from among us, new baptized members, and also to the brethren because we are being taken care of. So we are growing in faith and at the same time we gain our confidence being in the church.
Now, the problem is, I was the only one who continued “actively” in the faith years later. As I analyze it, we are taken care of in the same manner. The difference is, not all of us got involved in the ministry. Not because we are not all encouraged but because not all are willing and available. Personally, I also tried to feed myself with the Words of God whenever I find time. Sometimes, the problem is not in the church alone but also with individuals. That’s why we need to know and understand the problem so we would be able to solve it right.
One instance also from our church and other churches is that others are exiting because of the relationship problem. In fact almost all of the backslide members’ reason is not on our beliefs but with personal conflicts. I think this must solve at early stage before it would be worsen. The church must visit their homes so that they would be encouraged and uplifted. They must be drawn first and foremost to Christ. I believe that the love of Christ will always be the magnet on which a soul would repent and be brought back to the church. It could also be the reason why they backslide – they are not really converted or they have not really experienced God’s saving grace in their lives. So we need to make sure that we introduce Christ in their lives as the foundation of their faith. Ministers should deliver the truth in a way that the person will develop an intimate relationship with God.
“It is our own character and experience that determine our influence upon others. In order
to convince others of the power of Christ's grace, we must know its power in our own hearts and lives. The gospel we present for the saving of souls must be the gospel by which our own souls are saved. Only through a living faith in Christ as a personal Saviour is it possible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world.” (MH 469-470)
yes. that's why hindi puro spoon feeding. we should also teach them how to feed themselves. :-)
Deletekaya nga dapat the church should be a caring church. there should not be faultfinding and blaming others. most of the time this is the cause of conflict between church members. the church needs to experience the true meaning of God's Love.
Deletegood na tayo ay natutong magpakain sa ating sarili, so hindi tayo nanatiling umasa sa ating parents, sa ating elder o pastor para sa ating spiritual growth.
DeleteNine years old ako non nang isama kami ng tatay ko sa Adventist church. Una kong natutunan ang pananalangin. Na-inlove din ako sa pagbabasa ng Bible stories. Usually, my mother would find me reading her old Bible. Nag-e-enjoy akong magbasa ng mga stories, di na namamalayan ang oras.
Every Sabbath afternoon, before A..Y, pumupunta ako don sa bahay ng isang kapatid. May Bible Story books sya. I stayed there for an hour to read. (Excited din ako, pag dumating na ang Sabbath kasi makakabasa na naman ako ng stories. :)
My answer to Question #1:
ReplyDeleteIt is very much easier for us as a church to add new members than to keep them. Retention has always been a challenge to our church and I think it rightly deserves our attention as evangelism and adding church members do. After all, who has not felt it a big loss to see 50-100 new members baptized and lose more than half of them in less than a year? We spend a lot of time, money and effort evangelizing people up to the point of baptism but we do not have a clear-cut program or plan on how to make these new members stay and grow inside our church after their names are written in our membership list. Thus, most of them stop going to church and none are willing to take the responsibility. Old church members and even pastors just accept it as a sad reality, little realizing their own accountability.
Nurturing new church members—helping them grow and mature and stay inside the church—is everyone’s concern. After all, the Bible said that we are our brothers’ (or sisters’) keeper. I think it’s high time that every SDA member becomes aware of this solemn charge. It’s a sacred duty and we all should be serious about it because a lot of things are at stake (eternal life not only of the new members but ours as well being on top of the list). This would involve careful planning and research, everyone’s involvement, training and the power of the Holy Spirit to make us successful keepers of our Lord’s flock.
My answer to question #2:
For me, the best way to help a new member stay inside the church is by developing relationships. And that includes both vertical (God) and horizontal (fellow SDAs) relationships. I think that’s the very foundation of every growing church member. If both aspects of the relationship factor are healthy all the others will follow. I think it all boils down to the most basic, most important yet perhaps most neglected of all—LOVE, which is the very nature of God. And if a new member feels that love which is of God, there is no way he/she would want to leave the church where he experiences the very thing that everyone else is looking for. If love couldn’t keep them in, I don’t know what else can. ;-)
Right! so we need to educate every church members on this matter kasi hindi din alam ng mga members ang gagawin ehh - para kasing nag-aasahan na lang - inaasa na lang sa mga leaders madalas...
DeleteYes, love to God is the basic foundation of our faith but it is not the only essential aspect of the being a mature Christian. There should always be a balance. We need to share also to others the love that we experienced from God and that is witnessing and fellowship. In order for us to grow spiritually, there should be individual study and development of our relationship with God and also reaching others through our testimonies.
Deleteso GO, pfm facilitators! the challenge is before us. Let us help the church. i-compile na natin ito at gawing manwal. :) eight years na ring nag-aantay ang field projects natin.
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ReplyDeleteDISCUSSION #1: We can see in this article, “Conserving Membership Gains” the great challenge in retaining the old and new converts in the church. This is not just a work of ministers and church leaders but even ordinary church members as well. Everybody has a part in retaining the converts. We can see here the commendation and the areas to be improved in our church to advanced God’s work. The good news is that Seventh-day Adventist church membership is continually increasing. This means that we are good in preaching the gospel to others. We are fulfilling our mission which is found in Matthew 24:14 and Revelation 14:6-7. Every year we have an average of 1 million new converts and this is something to rejoice. However, baptism or bringing in new souls for Christ in the church is not the end of our mission. Our SDA mission is to make disciples of all nations and not just to baptize them and include in the church membership book. Sad to say, almost 1/3 of our converts are going out from the church. We can see here that evangelism is not an event but a process. Baptism is not our ultimate goal. We don’t stop showing our love for them after they were immersed in the water instead we need to nurture them to make them grow in every aspect of life until they too can make disciples to their fellowmen.
Moreover, according to the research, the reason why members leave Seventh-day Adventist Church fellowship is because of the social and relational factors rather than disagreement with denominational teachings. In fact, many who leave denominational fellowship remain supportive of Seventh-day Adventist beliefs and even maintain church practices for some time following their departure. The culprit of leaving the church is the absence of a sense of belonging, and the lack of meaningful engagement in the local congregation and its mission. Therefore, the loss of members for these reasons should be prevented.
To prevent the loss of church members, our goal is to provide the needs of the converts like satisfying spiritual feeding, sense of belongingness, and opportunities for mission involvement. To do this, research and assessment of membership retention capacity in their territory should be done. It requires careful review of membership, analysis of situation or evaluation and then followed by a good planning on how to solve the prevailing problem. To ensure the growth of the convert, fundamental beliefs review should be done same with the Growth Bible Study. The purpose of enriching their knowledge is for them to be used in their daily lives, service to God, and for them to be able to share it with others. Thus, our planning should include the formation of friendships, fellowship in small groups, active participation in witnessing, and recruitment into specific roles and responsibilities as a member of the local congregation. Giving them some responsibility will serve as their training and could contribute to their growth. Let us also ensure that our church programs are inspiring to ensure that they will be enticed to attend church service again and again. New converts are easily bored thus our worship services should be lively and inspiring. Not only this. Church members should be trained to reach out the former members of the church. Careful attention is needed to facilitate the healing of relationships and the realization, between persons, of the reconciliation that flows from the forgiveness and acceptance received through Jesus Christ. The challenge of retaining the old and new converts is not easy. It needs commitment and united efforts of the whole church. But if every church leader will do their responsibilities and each member of the church will cooperate, nothing is impossible with God’s grace ;-)
it is the best thing our leaders must do... provide a variety of program that will encourage the weaker members to be in church and the new members to cherish every worship services... church leaders should be equipped with innovative programming that will mobilize the church to reach out to the backsliden and bring more souls to God.
DeleteI witnessed a baptism ceremony in Mindoro. Each candidate chose their own spiritual sponsor among the brethren. These spiritual sponsors are responsible for the new members to grow in the faith. Sila ang magdadalaw at mangangalaga sa kanila upang mapanatili sa loob ng iglesia. I like that!
Deletenurturing talaga is the most difficult, most tiring, most challenging, (lahat na ng most) part of evangelism pero ito din yung most rewarding and most fulfilling na part para sa mga church planters when you see new converts grow and mature. andun syempre ang growing pains pero those things are nothing compared to the joy of seeing them na lumalago.yun siguro ang joy ni Jesus kung bakit Siya nagtyatyaga sa atin. i hope na we will all share our Lord's burden in seeing our brothers and sisters grow in faith and not leave the church. kasi when we share in His burden we will also share in His joy. and that's the best part. :-)
DeleteIndeed! Especially to the youth - they need a more lively program. It doesn't necessarily mean that we need to be like born again or other denomination but we need to have a variety which would inspire our members especially the youth. After all, the youth will be the next leaders kaya dapat alagaan din talaga sila. But first is kailangan ang leaders ng church muna ang ma-educate before we could facilitate in the responsibility of our church members.
ReplyDelete1. Tungkol sa challenge ng pagre-retain ng mga old and new converts. Habang nagdadagdag ng new members sa church, 28% ang lumalabas from the old members. Twenty-eight persons agad ang nababawas out of 100 members every year. Hay, kakalungkot naman nito!
ReplyDeleteA timely challenge! From 2000-2005 of evangelism, by 2007 nagkaroon ng appeal how to retain church members! Ano yon, after 1 or 2 years meron ng lumalabas agad! Or wala pang one year, may lumalabas na rin.
Mas gusto ko ang challenge na mag-retain ng old members muna bago magdagdag ng new members.
2. Pinakamagandang paraan para ma-retain o di mag-backslide ang mga kaanib.
1. Set a clear Expectation of members and prospective members. I-gather ang mga members at mag-lista ng mga inaasahan sa kanila bilang miyembro ng iglesia. Mag-agree ang bawat isa sa inilista. Irekord ang mga napag-usapan at bigyan ng kopya ang bawat isang miyembro. Buwan-buwan ay mag-meet ang mga miyembro kung natutupad ang mga expectation na ito.
Kung ang giving ay part ng expectation ng mga members, isama sa listahan. At mag-lista ng mga sitwasyon kung saan pwedeng magbigay ang mga kapatid. (Iwasan na maging burden ang “giving” sa kanila.)
Kung may dumating na bagong members, i-orient sila sa expectation na inilista. Tanungin din sila kung ano ang expectation nila sa bagong kinaanibang iglesia at idagdag sa listahan ng church expectations pagkatapos na mapagkasunduan ng lahat ng miyembro.
2. Involve them in some type of Ministry in the church. Yes. Alamin ang kanilang spiritual gifts. At gamitin ito para sa iglesia at para sa kanyang ikalalago. Huwag i-delay ang pag-involve nila sa witnessing. Sa West Palawano, pinag-usapan ito nina Shem na i-involve na agad sa witnessing ang pitong nabautismuhan last January, 2014. By pair, sila ay binigyan ng task to share or to witness. (The challenge is: busy ang mga converts o kaya ay ayaw nila.)
3. Develop relationships with the members. Gawing highly intentional ang pag-develop ng relationships sa kanila bago pa sila magsimulang umatend sa church. I agree with this. Mostly ang tumatagal sa church ay merong kaibigan sa church na yon o kaya ay na-feel nila ang warmth at good relationship ng mga members don.
4. Develop Small-group for the members. How I wish na makita sa field ang small group na nag-succeed. I am so convinced and I recommend this principle. I was the facilitator for small group development last 2012, and I was so excited to implement it to the missionaries back then. They were convinced also. I gave them ideas na kayang gawin ng mga converts. Nagawa naman nila sa una, pero hindi tumagal. Nakadepende din sa panahon ng mga converts, at sa pag-unawa nila sa kahalagahan ng small group involvement.
Last Sabbath, dumalaw ako sa Pag-asa church. Ang midweek at vesper nila ay held by small group sa kani-kanilang location. Nag-iipon sa isang tahanan ang mga magkakalapit. Nakakatuwa nong dumalaw kami nong Linggo sa ilang members. They enjoyed being together, praying together, and wait for another week to meet again. Nakita ko na uhaw talaga sa dalaw ang mga kapatiran, kaya natutuwa sila pagdinadalaw. (Iwasan lang ang tsismis.)
magaganda talaga ang mga activities na namention. i just hope na if ma-implement ay hindi tayo ma-out of focus dahil sa sobrang dami. let Jesus and helping our new members come closer to Him always be the reason for all the things we do sa nurturing.
DeleteThese activities are really good and essential di nga lang kayang i-sustain ng church. Yong expectation ng mga new members sa church and vice versa, maganda, pero mahirap para sa big congregation. Ok lang kung less than 30 ang members who will meet in one setting to do this activity. We can teach the missionaries to adopt it.
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