One of the hardest things about being a pastor is trying to reach out to my members. We are a small church comprised mostly of older member. To my surprise, the younger members have been very inviting and engaging, while the older members have been harder to connect with. There is no trouble in this area, however I seem to find that it takes a lot of time and a great deal of effort to connect with them. I don’t mind… It’s my joy to do so, I’m their pastor.
So I thought, how can I reach out to my Church members and these are some things that I began to practice, maybe you will find them helpful!
1. Take the church directory and write notes of encouragement, (I write 2 every office day) telling them that you are praying for them
2. Send out birthday cards
3. Visit a member/family every week - (on top of making visits to hospitals and the home-bound)
4. Go through the church directory calling members and asking them about their prayer request, ball games, doctor visits, kids, extended family, etc…
5. Schedule times when you can meet over a meal
These are just a few things that I practice to help me connect with my members. This is a little easier with smaller churches but rremember, (as a pastor) you are called to shepherd your people… and one way we do this to connecting with our members. This is so very important, if you study, read, write, but neglect to connect with your people then you are only crippling your ministry If you have other suggestions please feel free to add some thoughts! By all means, tell me what works for you!
-Yogi
July 7, 2008 at 7:05 pm
So I finally made it to comment on the blog. All very good stuff!
You have some excellent and very practical tips for connecting with your congregation (especially seniors). The tools you mentioned are great ways to communicate your love for your people. Generally the rule is with younger folks they place a premium on authenticity and community while the older folks appreciate respect.
Being relatively new to my church body as you are to yours it is imperative that we earn the right to speak truth into peoples lives.
My prayers are with you. May God grant the opportunity to reach the world with His gospel.
Your partner in the Gospel,
Jonathan
July 7, 2008 at 7:24 pm
yeah…sorry completely messed up my blog name. try it now
October 2, 2008 at 12:25 am
[...] These are just a few things that I practice to help me connect with my members. This is a little easier with smaller churches but rremember, (as a pastor) you are called to shepherd your people… and one way we do this to connecting with our members. This is so very important, if you study, read, write, but neglect to connect with your people then you are only crippling your ministry If you have other suggestions please feel free to add some thoughts! By all means, tell me what works for you! -Yogi [...]