Women’s Ministries


By Vicki Marsh


gation. Many churches hold a “New Members” or “Inquirers” class to help new members to learn more about their church and the ARP denomina-


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tion before they join. So they have taken the class and join your church and are probably introduced to the congregation, now what? What strategies or traditions does your church have in place to welcome and help them to become an active member of your church community? How do they learn about what groups there are in your church and how do they  Having moved to Greenville three years ago, and joining a new church, I have seen how several churches handle this  feel comfortable joining. One church holds a “Ministry Fair” once a year where every ministry in the church has a display with information about their work and who to contact. The new members can sign up to join that group at the fair. Some churches have a ministry booklet that gives information on the ministries of the church such as choir, circles, Bible stud- ies, special projects (such as Operation Christmas Child or a Christmas Store) or the various Sunday School classes, book clubs, prayer shawl knitting groups, mentoring at local schools, nursery and children’s volunteers, outreach projects in the community, etc. Some churches have a meal for new members and a representative from some of the ministries who are there to answer any questions that they might have. Another way to help the new member to become acquainted is to have a person or couple to “sponsor” them by introduc- ing them to other members, providing meals to get to know them better, suggesting activities or ministries that they might enjoy. Many churches have a “shepherding” program where the entire congregation (including new members) is divided into groups with a different elder shepherding each group. They might invite their group to a meal a few times a year so that they can all get to know one another better and would keep in contact with their group to see if there are any needs or special concerns that they would like to have prayer for. A church directory with contact information or even better would be a pictorial church directory is helpful. One of the most frustrating things for me has been that I am still learn- ing who some of the members are at my church. I see familiar faces but cannot put a name to them or hear a familiar name and have no idea which person that might be! These are just suggestions and examples of some of the things that I know churches are doing. I would love to hear what is being done at other churches. Let me know and I will include them in my next article. Do you want to know how I “found” my place at my new church? A lady stopped me after church to introduce herself and she answered all of my questions about what projects there were for me to join, what Sunday School class she would recommend, what circle I might like, etc. And I am so glad that she did!


ne of the signs of growth in a church is when new mem- bers are added to the congre-


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