Let’s be honest. Ever since Billy Sunday and Lee's Payday Someday and the revival movement that followed in the early 20th century we have been focused on reaching more than retaining. In our effort to globally evangelize, from which came the Cooperative Program, we have been extremely focused on winning people to Christ more than marrying them to Christ. We are, in fact, called the BRIDE of Christ.
Every time I do a wedding I emphasize that moment where the father kisses his daughter and hands her off to the new husband. I help people understand the deep symbolism in this action. It is vastly more than just a ceremony. Here is a man who has dedicated his life to change, bathe, feed, protect, and love this girl from the time she was born till now. He has poured his life’s work into providing for the family, her included. He endured the attitudes, fights, and boyfriends. He watched her grow up. He helped her understand what a man should be and how to find a good one. He did not toss her off to the first love. He waited patiently for her to become mature enough to be wed. Now he is handing this responsibility off to a new man. He is giving up his rights of protection and provision and expecting this new man to do it.
What if we took that kind of care and attention in each new birth in Christ? As a church, as a Sunday School class, as creations of a loving God shouldn’t we protect and provide for these new ones until they are ready to be wed to Christ and not just won? Winning people to Christ could be somewhat like releasing responsibility with the first love of your child. You wouldn’t do it then why do we as the church see fit to do so now? We help them understand this first love and assist them to maturity until they are wed to the bridegroom.
But this takes work. This takes a reshaping of our values and awards. This takes a review of our evaluative techniques. Suddenly, it is not solely about growth. Now, it is about maturity.
I believe each birth to be worth it. Don’t you?
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Any reputable educational institution focuses as much time, energy, and money toward retention as they do toward recruitment. It is not enough just to get prospective students to sign on the dotted line and pay their first semester tuition. The goal is for that individual to graduate. And then to become a life-long supporting alumni.
ReplyDeleteIt may be that the church has spent all its energies on recruitment to the detriment of retention. There are as many people going out the back door as there are coming in the front door. Or worse, they do not leave rather they just sit doing nothing.
Recruitment/Retention should be cyclical. We recruit. Then we work to create active participants in the Kingdom work. And when individuals become working partners with God, they reach out to recruit others.
So would there be something to research the major institutions with high retention and evaluating any value that can be transferred? Obviously, God wants retention. If He did not, then why is redemption the singular point of the story? God wants redemption because it is a step toward retention. Yet, it is not the whole journey...just a step.
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