Tending the Vine

TENDING THE VINE

A Few Words on Congregational Development from Canon Donald Vinson
From Koinonia, May, 2008

Would you be willing to do just one thing to help grow your church?

If a congregation were to choose one step to make their congregation more welcoming to newcomers, the best choice would probably be NAMETAGS -- a freshly-made, single-use nametag for every church gathering.

A simple nametag makes a huge shift in the way a congregation presents itself to a newcomer. No longer is it a private club run for the comfort and benefit of the established members. Now it is a gathering of equals, all of whom can address one another by name, without distinction between ‘belongers’ and ‘visitors.’

But fight the impulse to make permanent nametags for members, hanging on a rack in the parish hall. First, people won’t actually put them on, so there they’ll hang. Second, they only serve to accentuate the un-belonging of the visitor, who doesn’t have one, and won’t, until someone deliberately has one made for her, which could take weeks. Single use ones level the playing field. There is no distinction between member and non-member. Make them fresh, as people arrive.

Yes, there will be some curmudgeons who won’t agree to wear one. Let them alone, no need to alienate them. In time, they’ll ask for one. Here’s a tip, though: let upper-elementary children be the ‘nametag czars.’ They will love to make the tags, and even the grouchiest curmudgeon will have trouble turning them down.

This one step alone will make a difference, over time, in the ability of the congregation to attract and retain new members. The experience might also lead church members to ask themselves a vital further question: What else can we do to make our church events less the exclusivist gatherings of insiders in the know, and more like celebrations of the risen Christ, designed to draw others to the light of His love?