MCC - Transition Points

How will we effectively help visitors become members?

(How can the curious be brought into the community of faith?)

How will our members be formed into disciples of Christ?

(How can our members grow and mature?)

These are very important questions for any church to ask, but they are becoming particularly vital for the young Body of Christ in Mbarara town. There are two crucial transitions that can make or break a church: helping the "curious" into the "community," and then guiding those same young "Christians" into the "committed" followers of Christ. Turning visitors (or even strangers!) into members; then growing members to maturity.

However you want to say it, whatever they are called, these are two transition points that MCC is trying to learn to move people through, struggling to open wide the doors that will allow people to walk deeper into faith, community, discipleship... deeper into Jesus and the fellowship of the redeemed here in Mbarara!

The following are two "open door" ministries that are intended to help MCC visitors and members make those vital transitions...

Visitors into Members...

THE GOOD: Each and every Sunday morning, we welcome a LOT of visitors at MCC.

THE BAD: Unfortunately, we've had quite a "revolving door" situation in place where these many visitors tend to get "back out" even quicker than they came "in." (Rather than an "open door" that leads them to membership, ministry, and maturity...)

THE UGLY: Most of our members (and even many leaders) are not yet equipped to help people move through the "open doors" of membership and maturity. What's worse, until recently we did not even have ministries and structures in place that would facilitate regular, consistent "flow" through these transitions... but all this is slowly changing!

We've had a truly difficult time discovering an effective, culturally appropriate way of helping visitors and other contacts become church members. Part of the difficulty was developing enough of a "critical mass" of committed members who had a heart for outreach and visitor follow-up. Other difficulties were logistical and unique to our situation here in Mbarara: the fact that most people here don't live in homes that have street names or house numbers, for example. ("Yes, please do visit me! I live in Kakoba, near the fruit stand, on the small path beyond the big termite mound"... but there are 50 fruit stands and over 100 termite mounds in that area!)

But in 2004/2005, a couple of key breakthroughs did take place! First, and most basic, was the fact that we were finally able to enlist enough ushers and ministry leaders who are willing and able to effectively greet visitors and at least try their best to follow up with a home visit. We're still struggling with the logistical problems, but having a corps of willing people who are committed to making the "greeting/visitation" ministry a reality is a HUGE step! Pray for more people like this to rise up at MCC!

Secondly, our "Welcome to the Family" class has been very sucessful at providing a tangible "open door" for visitors to make the transition to members. The "Welcome" class is a 1-afternoon seminar that outlines the mission, purposes, beliefs, values, and ministries of the church - and it explains what we ask of a person who wishes to become a member at MCC. This class, offered every 3 months, has been great at helping us identify just which "frequent visitors" are more seriously interested in membership in the Body so that we can focus our energies on those who are more receptive to follow-up. Plus, we have seen many people put their faith in Christ, be baptized, or rededicate themeslves to Jesus as a result of the teachings and discussions during the Welcome class!

Members into Disciples...

The other important transition that needs some clearly defined "open door" ministries is the shift from "casual member" to "mature disciple." Though we are still a very young church, we have come to realize the value of having BOTH of these "doors" open at the SAME TIME. We need to be training our current members to be better equipped for ministry, which will in turn give us more ministers to help the visitors and other contacts become members! And it works the other way around, too: the more faithful members we have, the larger our "field" is to grow mature, fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ!

(Side Note #1: As I wrote those last few sentences one thought kept going through my mind: "Duh!" It seems quite obvious, doesn't it??!!! But... Regardless... However... We really have struggled with these things at MCC. It is one thing to "know" it, and another thing altogether for the church as a whole to wholeheartedly "buy in" to these facts and get everyone pitching in!)

(Side Note #2: I also think we need to try to resist the tendency to turn these important principles into overly "clinical", abstract theories... We're talking about PEOPLE here! People who need the Lord! These are vital, non-negotiable, essential Body-life imperatives! Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to help people come into an ever-deepening, always-growing, passionate, life-giving, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ as we all grow together in unity and love, being formed by the Spirit into the image of Christ!)

So at MCC, we have begun to develop some strategies to more effectively "open the door" that will allow members to mature in Christ. We have found that our regular weekly small group Bible studies are not enough. It is important to have some regular oportunities for ministry training and other "events" that focus on spiritual formation. That's why we now periodically plan "men's days" and "women's days" at MCC. And we are working up plans for more "retreat" type settings that can facilitate spiritual growth -- please pray that we will be given wisdom and direction from the Lord as to the best way to do this at MCC!

We have also discovered the value of encouraging our members to regularly meet together in smaller groups for times of prayer and confession. There are several groups of 3-4 MCC members that are meeting weekly now -- pray that more such groups will begin!

Those are the "transition points" and some of the "open doors" which we pray will usher people into a fuller life together in Christ! Of course there will be more... In particular I'm thinking now about when we will one day be moving some of those "committed" disciples into a "core leadership" who will be called to shepherd and nurture the church according to God's vision. It may be too early yet to begin making that transition, but it's never too soon to pray about it!