active/inactive

[Traveler]

I've been through inactive periods that would have been a lot shorter if there HAD been someone who cared enough to get in touch and find out why they hadn't seen me in a long time. A major reason for those downswings for me is when I don't feel like anyone cares whether I'm around or not anyway.

Remember this when you have your opportunity to leave the 99 in search of the one that is now feeling that they are so far away that no one cares. Once you convince them you care your perspective is likely to change as well. On an occasion that I have felt lost and out of touch I have found someone more lost and out of touch than me - once it nearly cost me my life - but being there for someone else was more than worth it.

The Traveler

[LDSVALLEY]

alas it is very easy for the leadership not to notice someone is gone until it has been too long. The squeaky wheel scenario often ties up the leadership with noisy but less important matters and the quite ones who need the attention are often overlooked.

I learned through the on line training that the Ward Clerk is responsible, along with the appropriate presidency to train auxiliary secretaries. When a secretary notices someone has not been in class for a couple of weeks without knowing why they can ask around and report to the clerk. The clerk can check with the secretaries of other auxiliaries, check sacrament attendance and ask around. Once an issue has been determined then the Clerk and appropriate Secretaries can take it to the Leadership with concrete information instead of vague haven't seen so and so.

When that happens the person missing becomes a squeaky wheel due to the diligence of the secretaries and clerk. Often people leave because of hurt feelings or feeling left out etc. When the above format is used often a pattern can be found to pinpoint a time or place where something might have occured. Usually people will stop going to classes before the stop going to sacrament so them not coming at all might be several weeks after something happened.

Once a member stopped coming to Priesthood, when backtracking the records with the EQ secretary it was found they had stopped right after a ward activity. Putting that before the Bishop allowed him to stop in and visit and say Brother we noticed you've not been coming to Priesthood since the last ward activity and I remember you left suddenly, is there something wrong?. The Bishop was able to go in with a concrete starting point. No matter what actually caused the member to stop coming it showed he was noticed and important.

Personally I make it a habit each Sunday when I haven't seen a new member or someone else the mission group is working with at church for more then a week. I hate the phone so I drop them an email or face book. Several times I've had the reply that thanked me because no one else seemed to notice they were missing for a few weeks. Then they have always come back again.

Sad it takes so little effort for such a big reward yet we do it so little. While the official format is great and proper each of us members should be willing to just drop people a note. It makes both parties feel better.

[lilered]

To elaborate just a little. For those who hate labels etc. I offer this. Labels if used righteously, are tools that can be used by leaders to focus their attention where it should be. LDSValley made some good points. I have found in a number of instances that the reason nothing gets done towards finding that lost sheep or solving a particuliar issue in the church is because of lack of focus. Example. recently I heard a scoutmaster talk about how well his scouts were doing and how successful his programs were. Afterwards, I went up to him privately and ask him about 5 other boys - (three inactive Deacons and 2 inactive teachers) that had not been attending scouts. I ask him if he or the troop had ever made any effort to include these boys and if so what. He indicated they had not and that he was concentrating his time on those who attended, someone else could worry about those who were not coming. Although it upset me, I decided to take it upon myself to pay a visit to each of these boys and find out why they weren't attending and yet at one time they had been active. There were several reasons but the common thread was they were not interested in scout because all they did was go camping and it wasn't fun for them. I then ask for a meeting with the Bishopric, Scoutmaster, and the YM presidency to discuss this matter. My point, labeling can have positive effects if used righteously to build up Zion. IMHO

[deseretgov]

I think that what we actually do determines our level of activity. But in strictly church attendance sense I use the following definitions:

Active: Attends church as often as possible.

Less Active: Attends church occasionally, off and on.

Inactive: Holiday attendance, never attends.

[sanguine]

Isn't the church definition of inactive when someone fails to attend Sacrement more than once a month.

Hope not, I've not been for years, due to ill health. Yet consider myself an active (chair bound...so an oxymoron) member.