Relationships are the most effective means of reaching and retaining the unchurched. What pundits fail to tell us, however, is the how of getting the unchurched or formerly unchurched established in relationships in the church. The process can be frustrating.
You cannot "program" relationships in the church. They must develop naturally. But the church must provide avenues and opportunities for new members to get to know others in the church.
Dr. Thom Rainer's research shows that the formerly unchurched typically found a Sunday school or some other small group where they developed relationships. Though not mutually exclusive, the evidence is strong that some type of small-group involvement was deemed very important to the formerly unchurched.
His researchers found an overwhelmingly convincing relationship between effective assimilation and involvement in small groups, such as Sunday school.
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