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COVER STORYcommunity, as has been noted byMichael Green, well-known seminaryprofessor and church leader: “There arefew areas in the Christian church wherewe fail more catastrophically than inthe care we give to new believers.” 2The need for nurture, or makingstrongly committed disciples, beginsthe moment a person is baptized.“People,” adds Green, “need a lot ofhelp at this watershed of their liveswhen they may have entrusted themselvesto Christ but are very confusedabout what they have done andunclear about what it will involve tolive as His disciples in a world that haslittle time for Him. They need information.They need encouragement.They need to be drawn into the communityof Christians. They need to getto know people in the church. Theyneed help in developing a devotionallife. They need to get into the habit ofworshipping and to know what theyare doing. They need to learn thereason for the hope that is withinthem. They need to be nourished bythe Word. . . . They need someone tolook after them and help them overthe initial hurdles. They need examplesof Christian living to emulate.They need, above all, to be loved.” 3Lyle Schaller, another authorresearching this important area,points out that churches tend to havetwo circles—a membership circle anda fellowship circle. By joining thechurch, people automatically becomepart of the membership circle. Butthat does not mean that they are alsoautomatically part of the fellowshipcircle. In the fellowship circle peopleknow each other well, and they have astrong sense of belonging. Most of theleaders come from the fellowship circle.They refer to the church usingpronouns such as “we” and “us.”Unfortunately, there are too manymembers who do not see themselvesas part of the fellowship circle, and insome cases even the membership circle.They still feel like outsiders eventhough they technically are members.They tend to use pronouns such as“they” or “them.” The transition frommembership to fellowship oftenbegins with a simple invitation to participatein smaller circles in whichpeople are more directly involved withothers in study, sharing, ministrytasks, or leadership roles. Schaller’sresearch suggests that it is necessary tohave six or seven groups or circles foreach 100 members who are 13 or 14years of age or older. 4 This is animportant way to assimilate newmembers into the church and tostrengthen them and keep them.Reaching OutSometimes long-standing membersget discouraged, suffer an unkindword from another member, have aconflict with a leader, face a deep personalcrisis, or are overcome by temptation.They no longer attend servicesregularly and slowly begin to fadefrom active participation in thechurch. This should be cause foralarm and should set into motionministry activities that aim at reclaim-By Galina I. StelePrayThem HomeAfter the collapse of the Soviet Union,evangelistic campaigns were conductedall over the territory of the former SovietUnion, and people were baptized bythe thousands. In the context of theserapid political and economic changes,the Seventh-day Adventist Churchmembership grew tremendously from37,388 in 1990 to 109,889 in 1995—in justfive years. 1 Unfortunately, the growth rateslowed down as the years passed by—butnot the rate of those who were leaving.The challenge of retention became a partof life in the Euro-Asia Division (ESD).Why Do They Leave?Many factors can contribute toapostasy as well as to retention. Alongwith other studies, a survey focusingupon retention was conducted by theInstitute of Missiology in the ESD in 2007.Based on the opinions expressed by thepastors and administrators targeted in thesurvey, the most significant loss factorwas lack of friends or a limited number offriends in church. The second and thirdfactors involved inadequate preparationfor baptism, especially during publiccampaigns, and noninvolvement in the lifeand ministry of the church. The followingreasons were also mentioned: influenceor persecution from relatives and friends;lack of pastoral care; absence of churchbuildings; frequent change of rentedfacilities; difficulties with Sabbathkeeping;consolidation of local religions andtraditions; economic crisis and instability.When respondents were askedhow best to retain the newly baptized18 Adventist World | December 2012PHOTO BY ADRIAN VAN LEEN