Reservoir Member Welcome

Reservoir > Next Steps > Phase 1: The Infrastructure > Member Welcome

This model uses a 5-Stage Funnel. The goal is to move a curious neighbor to a certified leader by removing friction at every stage. To scale a Reservoir church, you must move away from accidental growth and toward a Leadership Pipeline. In this model, the church functions as an engine for spiritual maturity, moving people through a defined process of transformation.

Where is this coming from?!

This outline for member welcome is cribbed from the process adopted by Central UMC as part of the replant initiative that yeilded The Table at Central UMC. While Central UMC in Sacramento could easily have structured itself as a Lab due to Sac State’s proximity or even a Think Tank due to being so close to the fabulous forties, it remade itself along Reservoir lines when it replanted as The Table. The process below roughly approximates the guest to leader engine in place as of 2020ish. -mkk

1: Guest (Frictionless Entry)

• Experience: High-excellence Sunday production, clear signage, ability to meaningfully participate (e.g.: weekly Communion), and a 10-minute lobby experience where they are greeted but not pressured.
• Milestone: Welcome event as a 30-minute high-level overview of the church’s “Why” and facility held immediately after service. This is a pipeline to the Growing in Faith class.

2: Disciple (Core Alignment)

• Experience/Curriculum: A 6-week “Growing in Faith” class.
  • Week 1: Your Spiritual Story & Self Inventory
  • Week 2: Methodism & Grace
  • Week 3: Christian Ideas & Repentance
  • Week 4: Means of Grace, Spiritual Practices
  • Week 5: Loving God and Neighbor (Covenant Groups & Class Meetings)
  • Week 6: Next Steps
• Milestone: Induction into a Class Meeting or Wesleyan Covenant group. (The Table calls them “Kitchen Tables” or “KT.”) This is a group of 4–8 people, led by two people, who provide a tightly knit church-within-the-church point of spiritual engagement outside worship.

3: Member (Desire to Belong, Desire to Serve)

• Experience: Membership commitment undertaken as a reflection of understood belonging and a gateway into a deeper experience within the community.
• Curriculum: Membership class or cohort experience
• Milestone: Membership formalized within a worship service. Aligns with assessment of gifts and interests.

4: Contributor (Skilled Service)

• Experience: Placement into a ministry team based on their assessed gifts and interests.
• Curriculum: Rather than merely volunteering, people are trained in the specific skills required for their roles. We invest in our members.
• Milestone: Completion of a 90-day or 6-week service sprint demonstrates that people can sustain the pace and quality of a Reservoir model.

5: Leader (System Reproduction)

• Experience: 3-month cohort for potential team leads or Covenant group leaders. Could include regular meetings with a Spiritual Director.
• Curriculum: Focusing on Conflict Resolution, System Management, and Disciple-Making.
• Milestone: Commissioning to lead a micro-system (e.g., they now run the Worship Team or lead a new Covenant group).