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Stealing members


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What's is your thoughts about stealing members from other solid churches in your area? We have at least one church that will do this, 2 more are suspects.

If I talk with a person that is a member of another good Baptist church, or even one that I think might just be fairly good, I will not try to get them to leave their church for our church. If they're out of church I will tell them they ought to go back to their home church if at all possible, if that is impossible that we would be proud to have them.

If I encounter people who attend some of the denominational churches I will not get in a discussion about Bible doctrine, but I will say if you have the opportunity come visit us. I just don't feel there is nothing to be gained debating them.

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What's is your thoughts about stealing members from other solid churches in your area? We have at least one church that will do this, 2 more are suspects.

If I talk with a person that is a member of another good Baptist church, or even one that I think might just be fairly good, I will not try to get them to leave their church for our church. If they're out of church I will tell them they ought to go back to their home church if at all possible, if that is impossible that we would be proud to have them.

If I encounter people who attend some of the denominational churches I will not get in a discussion about Bible doctrine, but I will say if you have the opportunity come visit us. I just don't feel there is nothing to be gained debating them.


Brother Jerry, you're right on target! We're on the same page!
An excellent message on the subject, is from Evangelist Mike Qualls, of Cleveland, NC, entitled "When Is It Wrong To Take Another Man's Members?" I urge you to contact him and get it! He's a member of Morning Star Baptist Church, of Cleveland, NC. I have the cd here and I may put it on my website! It'll take some editing, due to it being on several tracks and a little tape repetitiveness at the beginning of some of those!
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Brother Jerry, you're right on target! We're on the same page!
An excellent message on the subject, is from Evangelist Mike Qualls, of Cleveland, NC, entitled "When Is It Wrong To Take Another Man's Members?" I urge you to contact him and get it! He's a member of Morning Star Baptist Church, of Cleveland, NC. I have the cd here and I may put it on my website! It'll take some editing, due to it being on several tracks and a little tape repetitiveness at the beginning of some of those!


Well, um, apparently, I won't be putting that message on my website, after all! Neither my cd player in the back, nor this computer will play it! Oops?
Ah, well, I reckon you'll just have to get it from Brother Qualls!
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What's is your thoughts about stealing members from other solid churches in your area? We have at least one church that will do this, 2 more are suspects.

If I talk with a person that is a member of another good Baptist church, or even one that I think might just be fairly good, I will not try to get them to leave their church for our church. If they're out of church I will tell them they ought to go back to their home church if at all possible, if that is impossible that we would be proud to have them.

If I encounter people who attend some of the denominational churches I will not get in a discussion about Bible doctrine, but I will say if you have the opportunity come visit us. I just don't feel there is nothing to be gained debating them.


One church can't "steal" members from another. Property is stolen, and members should not be viewed like that. Sadly some pastors seem as if they almost do regard church members as property which can be lost or "stolen". Sometimes there is a little to much ego involved. I do think it is wise to find out why someone is starting to attend you church if they previously attended another sound church in the general area. To often people switch churches for petty reasons and that should be discouraged for their own good and for the good of what ever church they are trying to join. People who leave one church for petty reasons usually make a habit of it while sowing strife all along the way.
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It seems that some have no idea what stealing church members is about, and it can be and it is done many times each year.

I will give an example. Years ago after I had surrendered to preach one night while visiting I got my pastor to visit a man. Let me give some history on this. This man was a member of another Baptist Church, he had surrendered to Preach the Gospel, but had dropped out of church.

While visiting him I made this suggestion, if at all possible he needs to go back to his home church, yet if he felt he could not that I want him to know that he is welcome at our church at anytime.

As we pulled out of the drive way my pastor tried to chew me out, telling me I should never tell them they ought to go back to their home church, but only try and get them to our church. As I said he tried to chew me out, but I explained where I was coming from and he apologized and stated I should have thought about that.

I might add, there be many churches that will do many things in order to gain members from like churches or even churches that are not like them. Its much easier to get members that way than to put in the effort to gain members the Bible way.

PS. I was not talking about church hoppers, that is a completely different subject.

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I understand what you are talking about Jerry. It's a problem in many areas and not something biblical at all. A pastor or another Christian shouldn't try to get folks to leave one good church for their church. If someone is in a bad church, by all means it's our duty to offer them an invitation to our church, but to try and get folks to leave good churches just to build up the numbers in ours is wrong.

Our motive in getting folks into our church should never be for numbers.

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Stealing members could also be accepting someone from another church who left angry. This seems to be a problem here in the Plains States. Mr. Jones gets mad and leaves the ABC Baptist Church in a huff. Mr. Jones then starts attending XYZ Baptist Church across town and wants to join, and XYZ Baptist Church accepts his membership without question. If XYZ Church accepts Mr. Jones without "clearing the air" from his former church, then Mr. Jones still has "ought" against a brother. In my opinion, Mr. Jones needs to make it right with ABC Baptist Church before XYZ Baptist Church accepts his membership, and it's the XYZ pastor's job to make sure that happens. Mr. Jones doesn't have to agree with the stand of ABC Baptist Church, but at least agree to disagree and then move on to another church.

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This area has had a long standing problem with this, but its not "member stealing" as much as its "church hopping"!!!! People get mad...and instead of getting it right, there are many choices to try next. You wouldn't believe how many people we've met who say "Oh we used to go to your church!" (Before we moved here...) Its almost like our church doors are rotating...people come, people go....only a few really stick, loyal.

God called us here and He knows best...but...I do see the wisdom in the verse that warns against preaching where Christ is preached, lest we build on another man's foundation. When Baptist churches are within 5 miles of each other, there can really be problems!!!!

I'd be careful not to blame pastors for "stealing" though....its the members' decision to leave or whatever. Sometimes people have good reasons for leaving...other times, lousy reasons. Pastors really cannot dictate who joins their church unless there are glaring Biblical reasons not to. If a member informs the pastor of why he left...and says he tried to make it right with the pastor...and the new pastor contacts the old pastor about it...what more can be done? Its the person's responsibility to make sure their heart is right with God...the pastor can only do so much. The pastor is to lead the flock, not be the Holy Spirit in everybody's lives.

People don't understand the importance of the local church these days, that's really what it comes down to. And people are not loyal. They often are not loyal to their spouse, much less their church. Church hopping is a major problem in our day, unfortunately. It should make us sad.

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If a member informs the pastor of why he left...and says he tried to make it right with the pastor...and the new pastor contacts the old pastor about it...what more can be done? Its the person's responsibility to make sure their heart is right with God...the pastor can only do so much.
I'm not saying the new pastor has to mediate the reconciliation, but he can refuse to allow the prospective member to join until all reasonable efforts to resolve the issue have been made. And if the prospective member is in the wrong and joins the new church, what's to say that unresolved issue won't rear its ugly head at the new church? Should the disgruntled member participate at the Lord's table when he/she has unresolved issues with a former church?

If the former pastor is wrong, the member as least should explain to the former pastor why he/she is leaving. Many church members leave without explanation, and the pastor doesn't realize what the issue is until much later. I think the new pastor has the responsibility to investigate why someone left a church to join the new church. If there are unresolved issues, then those need to be addressed, or the new church is enabling a grumbler.

Too many churches accept new members without questioning. Maybe churches should treat prospective members as new employees, with background checks, drug tests, etc. (Maybe drug tests are taking it a little far.) :saint2:
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It would take me too long to explain the history of the churches in this area....and what happened in them...and why I replied as I did...but I replied that way for a reason and I stand by it.

:coolsmiley:

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I do understand what you're saying, and I may have been more focused on a couple of incidents around these parts. We spent a couple of years in Philly while at the shipyard. Churches there were a bit different, but I thought that was just my Southern upbringing. :th_tiphat:

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It seems that some have no idea what stealing church members is about, and it can be and it is done many times each year.

I will give an example. Years ago after I had surrendered to preach one night while visiting I got my pastor to visit a man. Let me give some history on this. This man was a member of another Baptist Church, he had surrendered to Preach the Gospel, but had dropped out of church.

While visiting him I made this suggestion, if at all possible he needs to go back to his home church, yet if he felt he could not that I want him to know that he is welcome at our church at anytime.

As we pulled out of the drive way my pastor tried to chew me out, telling me I should never tell them they ought to go back to their home church, but only try and get them to our church. As I said he tried to chew me out, but I explained where I was coming from and he apologized and stated I should have thought about that.

I might add, there be many churches that will do many things in order to gain members from like churches or even churches that are not like them. Its much easier to get members that way than to put in the effort to gain members the Bible way.

PS. I was not talking about church hoppers, that is a completely different subject.


Brother, I've seen the same thing! Some people may take this and run with it, but, I'm glad your pastor apologized and understood where you were coming from!
The message of which I spoke, deals with that very thing!
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I understand what you are talking about Jerry. It's a problem in many areas and not something biblical at all. A pastor or another Christian shouldn't try to get folks to leave one good church for their church. If someone is in a bad church, by all means it's our duty to offer them an invitation to our church, but to try and get folks to leave good churches just to build up the numbers in ours is wrong.

Our motive in getting folks into our church should never be for numbers.


Excellent post!
AMEN!
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Stealing members could also be accepting someone from another church who left angry. This seems to be a problem here in the Plains States. Mr. Jones gets mad and leaves the ABC Baptist Church in a huff. Mr. Jones then starts attending XYZ Baptist Church across town and wants to join, and XYZ Baptist Church accepts his membership without question. If XYZ Church accepts Mr. Jones without "clearing the air" from his former church, then Mr. Jones still has "ought" against a brother. In my opinion, Mr. Jones needs to make it right with ABC Baptist Church before XYZ Baptist Church accepts his membership, and it's the XYZ pastor's job to make sure that happens. Mr. Jones doesn't have to agree with the stand of ABC Baptist Church, but at least agree to disagree and then move on to another church.


The pastor of XYZ also needs to talk with the pastor of ABC and see why one of ABC's members is visiting XYZ, in the first place!
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