Welcoming Home New Family Members

Editorial by Jerry Lutz

With all the evangelistic meetings and prophecy seminars that have been going on in our conference this year, such as our twin outreach initiatives, Pentecost 2025 and Reach Baltimore 2025, there are likely some unfamiliar faces and new members in your church. For this, we praise God and welcome them with open arms into the fellowship of believers. How wonderful it is to see how the Lord is blessing Chesapeake churches with hundreds of baptisms and many more who are preparing to join God’s great advent movement.

While we rejoice with the saved and celebrate every new soul who enters the kingdom, we who are more mature in our walk with Jesus and better grounded in the faith must be mindful of the special care and needs of our newborn brothers and sisters in Christ.

For some, Christianity and church membership is an entirely new experience in which nearly everything is unfamiliar and strange. By their baptism, they have demonstrated that they love the Lord with all their hearts and have committed their lives to Him and His teachings, but what about their new church family? How will they be received? How will they learn to be a member of your church? There are many answers to these questions for which there is not enough space to write about here, but one thing can be said: Nothing overcomes the unfamiliar and strangeness better than a seasoned, experienced member to guide them into their new surroundings with caring, patience and understanding. Everyone new to Jesus and His church needs a friend, a mentor, someone to show them the way. Maybe you can be that person.

Then there are other new members who were already Christian when they came to the meetings or Bible studies, but have now come into the Advent movement, having received “new light” and gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Christ in these last days. Theirs is a very special journey that also requires extra attention. To get to where they are today, they have likely made some difficult decisions and sacrifices that may have caused strained family relationships, loss of friends and social affinities, Sabbath and job issues, dietary changes, adjustment to a new day of worship, unfamiliar traditions, customs, Adventist church “language” and so on. We must be aware and sensitive to the things they are enduring to make this transition. Just because they have been baptized and voted into church membership does not mean things are all settled in their lives. Hardly. The truth is, they are now at their most spiritually vulnerable, and there is a long road ahead of them. They also need someone to carefully, lovingly help them navigate their new life. Maybe you can be that person.

Whatever their circumstance, welcome these new members as brothers and sisters in Christ. Encourage them to get involved in their new church life. Whether it’s in worship services, small groups, church or school events, walk with them. The fellowship will help them get more and more comfortable with their new surroundings. Pray with them and for them. Invite them into your home for a meal or take them out to their favorite restaurant. Above all, make yourself available to them. Put yourself in their place, as someone to whom church is a new experience, or someone who has left their church community to join the Adventist Church. Remember what it was like when you first joined the church, or if you are a lifelong member, at least imagine what it must be like to be the newest member of your congregation and welcome them to their new home!