Signs of Engagement
I often find myself answering questions about how to reach out to newcomers or welcome returning Catholics. It is important to know how to get people in the front door. And some parishes are finding out that it is just as important to know how to keep people from slipping out the back door. We need to make the experience of church sticky for people if we want to keep them. After reading an article in the last ejournal, “The Power of a Sticky Church” a reader asked, “So how do we know that someone is sticking? How can we tell that a person has actually found a home with us?” We all know the pain of thinking that a person is happy and satisfied with us only to hear that they have left without a word.
What are the signs that a person is fully engaged at a church? Engaging someone in a parish is a commitment process not unlike the two people who meet, get acquainted, date, share things in common, set goals, and eventually marry. With the church, the process moves a person from being welcomed to becoming the welcomer. A person has found a spiritual home when that person is well acquainted with the parish, finds spiritual nourishment, feels welcome and belonging, and knows that they are an indispensible part of the parish’s ministry and mission. Some studies suggest that this is most likely for a person when:
1. you or another leader, is well acquainted with the person (interests, abilities, passion, personal goals and significant relationships). More importantly, it is when this person knows at least as much about you.
2. the person can tell you what is unique about your parish, name the goals of the church and say why they chose to belong at this church and not go elsewhere.
3. the person can name their gifts and the parish helps them to use their gifts in service to the community.
4. the person has close friends at church (excluding family members).
5. the person regularly attends worship, church events or participates in a small church group of some kind.
6. the person is grateful for life, supports the church financially, performs service at least once a month and invites others to church events.
7. a person can describe how they encounter their Creator, walk with Christ or lean on the power of the Holy Spirit in life. It is important that a person can articulate something about how the parish was instrumental in encouraging that faith.
When these things are happening, a person is unlikely to be in the market for another church or consider an invitation to leave. If a parish is concerned about someone who has lost interest in the parish, one response is to assess the situation using this list as a starting point. One might get the view from the pew using a planning survey. When something is missing, a parish leader has an opportunity to help make it happen. And when a person does suddenly leave, consider conducting an exit interview to find out what went wrong.
- Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life
What are the signs that a person is fully engaged at a church? Engaging someone in a parish is a commitment process not unlike the two people who meet, get acquainted, date, share things in common, set goals, and eventually marry. With the church, the process moves a person from being welcomed to becoming the welcomer. A person has found a spiritual home when that person is well acquainted with the parish, finds spiritual nourishment, feels welcome and belonging, and knows that they are an indispensible part of the parish’s ministry and mission. Some studies suggest that this is most likely for a person when:
1. you or another leader, is well acquainted with the person (interests, abilities, passion, personal goals and significant relationships). More importantly, it is when this person knows at least as much about you.
2. the person can tell you what is unique about your parish, name the goals of the church and say why they chose to belong at this church and not go elsewhere.
3. the person can name their gifts and the parish helps them to use their gifts in service to the community.
4. the person has close friends at church (excluding family members).
5. the person regularly attends worship, church events or participates in a small church group of some kind.
6. the person is grateful for life, supports the church financially, performs service at least once a month and invites others to church events.
7. a person can describe how they encounter their Creator, walk with Christ or lean on the power of the Holy Spirit in life. It is important that a person can articulate something about how the parish was instrumental in encouraging that faith.
When these things are happening, a person is unlikely to be in the market for another church or consider an invitation to leave. If a parish is concerned about someone who has lost interest in the parish, one response is to assess the situation using this list as a starting point. One might get the view from the pew using a planning survey. When something is missing, a parish leader has an opportunity to help make it happen. And when a person does suddenly leave, consider conducting an exit interview to find out what went wrong.
- Dennis Mahaney, Office of Parish Life
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Recall the insights shared by John Roberto at the opening conference of the Pathways initiative...
Engagement, outreach, evangelization, innovation, planning, strategic, vitality, new evangelization, parish, Catholic, renewal, innovation, pastoral planning, faith formation, young adults, Millennials, Mosaics