How Adult Sunday School Classes Assimilate Guests

Written by John McClendon

Thom Rainer, Billy Graham School of Evangelism professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, discovered through his research that:

16 out of 100 persons whose primary point of contact was through a worship service were still active after 5 years.
83 out of 100 persons whose primary point of contact was through Sunday School or other small groups were actively involved in the life of the church after 5 years.

Membership Matters: Insights from Effective Churches on New Member Classes and Assimilation

Assimilation is vital to first time guests. Review the following ideas and helps and determine what your adult Sunday School class should do to effectively assimilate guests.

Assimilating First Time Guests and Prospects

The number seven is important to remember regarding assimilating first time guests. Within the first seven minutes a person visits a Sunday School class they will make a determine if they will return. It might be a good idea to prepare a poster with the number seven on it and display in adult classrooms to remind everyone of this fact.

Make a commitment to follow-up on all guests. Ask the church to provide the class with names of adults who only visited worship. Give those guests the same attention you would give a first time visitor to the class.

When a guest visits they are evaluating the class using these criteria.
Put me at ease and help me feel comfortable.
Let me know you think I’m important.
Learn and meet my basic needs.
Please listen to me and understand me.
Let me know you want me back and to be part of your group.
Try to understand my situation from my viewpoint.
Remember, just show me uncommon courtesy. I don’t know your church like you do!

Accurate information is vital. When a guest visits be sure to gather accurate information. The Ministry Coordinator or someone designated to welcome guest should guide guest through a simple registration form that will gather the information needed to make a follow-up visit.

After they visit, do the following.

Contact them Sunday afternoon. This doesn’t have to be a visit but some kind of simple contact thanking the guest for visiting is vital.
Make sure they are added to your prospect roll.
Follow-up immediately. Someone needs to make a visit within 48 hours. This is vital. This begins the relationship process that is vital to reaching guests.
Follow-up repeatedly. It doesn’t have to be a visit but do some continuous follow-up. Send cards, e-mails, make phone calls, invite them to fellowships.
Spend about 13 weeks maintaining the relationship. This will give them and the class time to determine what will happen next in the relationship.
Don’t forget the over-arching goal: to discover and address their need for salvation. Deal with any ministry needs. If a ministry need is discovered lead the class to seek out ways to meet those needs.
Enroll them in Sunday School. Throughout the process always offer an invitation for the guest to enroll as a member of the class. This multiplies the possibilities for relationships to be built because they will then be assigned to a care group.

Consider these ways to create an environment that is “guest friendly.”

Greet people at the door.
Use name tags each week.
Use a “designated plant” to greet people and to help guests feel comfortable during and after the session.
Plan class social events.
Keep accurate records.

John McClendon is Lead Adult Ministry Specialist in LifeWay Church Resources, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville, Tennessee.