Solving The Missing Member Puzzle
How to Develop More Faithful Members
Arlon K. Stubbe

Something is wrong. People are going missing, right in front of your eyes! One minute they are staring back at you from their favorite pew, the next Sunday you are looking at an empty spot in that pew. Is there a way to determine ahead of time which members are the likely "religious dropouts"? Often the clues are clearly visible -- but can you recognize them? What's more, do you know what you can do now to keep your "missing members" from drifting away? The secret lies in knowing and understanding the attitudes and belief systems that people hold, because certain sets of attitudes are linked to inactivity.

A detailed examination of this distressingly common experience, Solving The Missing Member Puzzle can help you spot potential dropouts in advance, learn the reasons why they become inactive, and counteract the process with a proactive strategy for reaching them while they are still within your grasp. Based on "blind" interviews with individuals from ten different congregations, it reveals the underlying attitudes and belief systems that encourage or discourage dropping out of church.

Solving The Missing Member Puzzle is a valuable tool for leaders of any church or organization -- it shows how you can develop more faithful members, and assists in their growth, participation, and retention. Don't wait until people drop out before you take action. Learn ways to anticipate which members of your congregation might become inactive and the preventive measures that you can take to help keep them in the pews.

Arlon Stubbe is a retired ELCA pastor who served three congregations over a period of 41 years. His lifelong interest in writing led him to write regular op-ed columns for two local newspapers, participate in a creative writing group at Penn State-Shenango Campus, author three non-fiction books and four novels -- Apple of Gold, Settings of Silver (on the life of St. John Chrysostom), Whitepaper Falls, Breton Heights, and Room 219, and contribute frequent articles on HubPages, under the 'hubber name' of 'Bear Tales.' Stubbe is married and enjoys winters with his wife at their home in Florida. They spend each summer and fall at their house in Pennsylvania, closer to other family members.