Here We Go! Now What?

Salem will celebrate our Grand Opening in a new location on the first Sunday of a new Christian year, November 28, the first Sunday of Advent. We hope to move our offices by the middle of November and hold our first worship services (9:00 am and 11:00 am) on the previous Sunday, November 21. On that last Sunday of the Christian year, we celebrate the reign of Christ and our commitment to Jesus’ reign. That also will give us an opportunity to gather together in our new location and see how everything works before our Grand Opening.

I am especially grateful to the members of the Building Task Force for their time and work: Louis Busch, Linda Jandik, Joy Louk, Mark Minger (chair), Richard Pankey, Bob Thompson, Sharon Vavra, and Paul Vieira. They have done a wonderful job. Furthermore, many people from the congregation have worked and helped, too. Thank you! I believe we will be very pleased with our facility when we relocate around the middle of November.

We have been waiting with great anticipation to make this move. Now that we are finally making the transition, what needs to happen? First, on November 21 we will have an opportunity to make a commitment to the kingdom of God through Salem. Second, we need to prepare for guests and get ready to not only welcome them but also help them become part of Salem.

To begin with, on our first Sunday in our new location, November 21, we will have a commitment Sunday. This is wonderful timing as we celebrate not only our arrival to a new home but also the reign of Jesus Christ. As we begin in a new location, it is vital that we step up and commit to the future of Salem. A local church is not an institutional entity on its own; it is comprised of people. Salem can only move forward if people commit to God’s kingdom through this local church. We all have an opportunity to be part of this grand adventure. Salem needs your commitment as a disciple of Jesus, someone who will take responsibility and ownership for Salem.

Attendance and giving are down. In fact, right now our operating budget is in crisis. Still, we believe that some of the Salem people will come back. We believe that we can reach many new people. Salem must grow and get healthy again as quickly as possible. The first step towards that is a commitment from the people who will comprise Salem. You will receive a letter the first part of November, asking you to prayerfully consider your commitment. We will offer those commitments on our first Sunday in our new location, November 21.

Second, we need to prepare for guests and get ready to not only welcome them but also work to help them become part of Salem. In order to have guests, of course, we need to invite them. Depending on what research you are looking at, 70% – 90% of new people come because of the direct or indirect influence of a person in the congregation. We exist to make disciples who will transform the world. Therefore we must engage the world around us and invite others.

From the moment we arrive in our new location we need to be ready to welcome newcomers, identify them, and respond to them. Thankfully, Salem is already a warm, caring, and welcoming congregation. We will need to work at being even more welcoming. For instance, the first five minutes after the worship service are critical. We need to be intentional about seeking out three people we do not know and welcoming them and inviting them to fellowship before we seek out our friends and spend time with them.

We need to have systems in place that help us identify newcomers. More than simply recognizing guests, we need to get their names and contact information. That way, we can respond to them in order to help them come back. We do not want people to come in the front door only to slip out the back door without us working to assimilate them in the life of Salem as disciples of Jesus.

In order for Salem to be ready for this, I invite you to come to an orientation meeting in our new location on Wednesday, November 10 at 7:00 pm (after the prayer walking). We will organize how we will connect with our newcomers, the guests who come to Salem. This is not just for a few people and it is not difficult. It is vital for everyone to participate. We do need to be organized. If you are unable to participate at that time, let me know so we can either connect you in one of the processes or offer this at a different time too.

This is an exciting and important time for Salem. Do not stand back to see what happens. You are what happens.