What New Members Like About Northside
At Northside, one way we help new members meet other people and get involved is by offering a class for them four times a year. Brian Middleton has faithfully helped me teach this class over the past 20 years to more than 550 new members.
In each class, we ask the participants what drew them to Northside and what they like about us now that they’re members. Brian always writes down what they say and shares their comments with the other elders.
What would you guess our new members mention most often? Out of curiosity, I tallied their comments from the last 10 classes, and the results are listed below, with the number of times each comment was made listed to the left.
- 43 Members are welcoming, friendly, and caring – “Northside is a large church, but it feels like a small church.”
- 33 Preaching is Bible-based and good quality – “I drive past a bunch of churches that don’t preach the truth to get to Northside.”
- 31 Adult classes are Bible-based and good quality – “Our adult class teachers stick to the Word. I appreciate that!”
- 19 Involvement and service opportunities – “It’s great that we have fewer staff members so the rest of us have more chances to serve.”
- 15 Children & youth classes, activities – “Our kids actually learn important things in Bible class; we don’t just babysit them.”
- 14 Bible reading & study are encouraged – “I’ve started reading my Bible since I became a member.”
- 12 Elders’ leadership – “I love that our elders aren’t satisfied to just keep house. They are united and focused on evangelism.”
- 8 Fellowship opportunities – “I’ve already made several friends at the Family Fellowship Meals and other activities.”
- 5 Outreach: Know Your Bible, Missions – “Know Your Bible is one of the main reasons we came to Northside.”
- 5 A cappella singing – “Singing without instruments is important to me. I love that I can hear and understand the words.”
- 4 Family Camp, WWWGod, & other events – “We loved Family Camp! It was such a good way to make new friends.”
- 4 Worship/singing is inspiring – “Worshipping at Northside is awesome! Our singing is so uplifting.”
- 3 Multi-generational membership – “I like that there’s no division between young and old, and I love my Prayer Pal!”