Linking learners to the church community

Bob Whitesel Nov. 28, 2016

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“I got a lot out of churchgoing when I was young,” began Eileen. “There was a lot of good teaching and it really seemed to build toward confirmation. I guess that was when I was learning the most, but it all went downhill from there.” Eileen had been raised in the stately confines of a Lutheran church amid mysterious, beautiful hymns. 

Barry was raised 500 miles away amid the hand clapping of a Midwest gospel church. “But Eileen and I experienced the same thing,” added Barry. “Everything built up to baptism or confirmation. But afterwards, when we became teenagers, the teaching emphasis in our churches quickly disappeared.” 

“Our youth group was more interested in fun, camp-outs, that sort of stuff,” cut in Eileen. “Those things replaced learning for my friends and me. And, as learning disappeared, so did a lot of my spirituality.” 

“Me too,” added Barry. “It wasn’t until both of us met Christ in college and went to a church that focused on biblically hungry young people like ourselves, that we started to learn again.” 

“Yes,” concluded Eileen. “Once we discovered a church where teaching young adults was engaging, relevant, and the focus, we started learning again. And, we haven’t stopped!” 

Why link learners publicly?

Jesus underscored the importance of baptism when he cited it as one of the three hows for fulfilling the Great Commission. To better understand baptism, let’s look at how Paul explained it to a largely uninformed Roman audience: “Therefore, we were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). 

Baptism creates a supernatural connection. Paul explained to his Roman readers that baptism means personally imitating the bodily actions of Jesus. In the first two phrases of Romans 6:4, Paul explained this by saying, “Therefore we were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father . . .” 

Baptism creates public testimony and public accountability.In the last phrase of Romans 6:4, Paul stated that “we too can walk in newness of life.” The phrase “walk in newness of life” emphasizes the unfolding and visible outcomes that should result after baptism. It is important to remember that in Jesus’ day, baptism was a public action which required a new convert go to a public place and demonstrate that one now identified with Christ and fellow learners. 

Unfortunately, today the public declaration aspect of baptism has been mostly hidden by holding baptism in our sanctuaries. Though many young churches baptize openly, such as Journey Church in New York City which baptizes in the chilly Atlantic Ocean, most churches have acquiesced to the comfortable con- fines of our church auditoriums. 

But, this robs baptism of its element of public accountability and testimony. The fact that John the Baptist could rebuke detractors among the throngs, indicates that many people were in attendance, both those for and against the baptismal action. Such public declaration that links a new believer to Christ, to a learning community, and to personal change is often missing today.

Two steps to linking learners

Step 1: Link baptism with public testimony and accountability. 

The public locations where baptism took place reminded New Testament learners of the open nature of their affiliation with Christ. Today a public linking with Christ and his community of learners can create accountability from both inside and outside the church. When such a profession and action is undertaken, not only will the faith community hold that person accountable, but so can the civic opinion. Churches today are returning to public declarations at baptism in the following ways: 

• Baptisms at outdoor venues such as rivers, parks, lakes and even oceans; 

• Baptisms at neighborhood/local events (when appropriate);

• Testimonials from those being baptized, live and/or recorded; and

• Video or audio recording of baptism and testimonials, then posting electronic video, pictures and/or testimony via social media. 

Step 2: Link learners into a small group.³

Small groups are some of the best venues for discipleship (making ongoing, active learners). Thus, while step one creates a personal and civil connection to Christ for the new learner, getting that learner quickly into a small discipleship group promotes his or her ongoing, active learning. 

Many youthful and growing churches, such as St. Thomas’ Church in Sheffield, England (the UK’s largest Anglican church), actually require prospective members to participate in a small group.⁴ Joining a small group creates a weekly, social link between new learners and a community of learners. This concept is not new to Anglicans, since John Wesley required weekly attendance in a small group (called “class” or “band” meetings) before he would allow an individual to attend the larger worship celebrations.⁵ Think of what this would do today if we followed Wesley’s practice and each week required small group participation before a person could attend weekend worship services.⁶ 

Requiring small group attendance of new Christians might be difficult for churches with historically lax membership requirements. But, for newly planted churches, church restarts, and small congregations, it is often feasible and practical. At the least, churches must offer and encourage new Christians to participate in a small group where they create a give-and-take discussion environment that encourages learning. 

Excerpted from Cure For The Common Church: God’s Plan to Restore Church Health, by Bob Whitesel (Wesleyan Publishing House 2012). 

For further online notes: See Chapter 6 Complete Notes. 

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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More »

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