In 1999, the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge adopted the Roots and Branches model, described by Rev. Brent Smith in the Summer Quarterly. An important part of this model is inviting graduates of the newcomers (Roots) class to join a covenant (Branches) group. Our church's initial goal was to create a program that would allow new members to make a connection to a small group and to the church. There were two initial problems: persuading the participants to join a group and finding leaders for the groups. As time went by, the Branches program became a well-known part of our church and was an easier "sell." Also, our minister, Rev. Steve Crump, talked in each class session about the benefits of joining a group, so that by the last session, most were ready to join. Also, in the early years, forming so many new groups created a constant need for new facilitators, but somehow Rev. Crump, and I found qualified leaders and trained them before the last session of the Roots class was held. Our groups continue indefinitely and most members stay with their group. So... after about five years, half of our congregation belonged to a covenant group. After about seven years, more than 60% of our congregation belonged to a group. Currently, we have 24 Branches groups and 250 participants, including about 40 facilitators. If better retention of new members is one of your goals, I highly recommend a concerted effort to get them into a covenant group.
Since 1999, our congregation has grown from 300 members to 390 members. When most members of a congregation participate in small group ministry, membership retention improves and this creates a potential for numeric growth. Another benefit of having most congregation members in a covenant group is the tendency for group participants to be in right relationship in other church settings and to listen and accept other church members. This can make the inevitable church conflicts more civilized.
Recently, I'm hearing that more congregations are intentionally inviting new members and graduates of their newcomers classes to join a covenant group. At one of the GA workshops, a staff member from a church with more than 950 certified members described an experience of intentionally "putting" new members into covenant groups and, over time, having 700 members in small group ministry. I'm in the process of contacting the sgm coordinator at this congregation, so that you can hear their whole story.
Send me your experiences with including new members and newcomers class graduates in your small group ministry program. Diana_dorroh@hotmail.com