Brothers all,
There are several ways to approach increasing membership. Here are two ways that I have
found successful in bringing in new members. Both of these strategies involve being an active
member in your parish life and getting to know your parish family members. We put a lot of
stock in organizing membership drives as they often net several prospects in one event and that
is great. However, every Sunday that you are in church potential prospects are all around you.
You greet them with a good morning or you hurry to your seat, because after all, you come to
mass with the intention of hearing the words of God. What if you had a second purpose, to get
to know one family. Getting to know your parish family is my first recommendation as it will
ultimately open the door to relationship building that can lead to bringing in new members. We
tend to listen to people we know and respect. I suggest if you want to increase your council
membership get to intimately know your parish family.
My second recommendation involves more work, but increasing membership as many of you
know, is not easy. Many of my brother Knights attend one weekend mass. I have found that by
attending more weekend masses, I have access to many more potential prospects. Choose
one mass where your attention is solely to worship, and devote the second mass to recruitment,
where you pass out Knights literature and earnestly seek out prospects. To be successful with
this approach, you must first make sure your parish pastor is Knights friendly. It might also be
helpful if you belong to a parish ministry. The more familiar you are to your parish family, the
more they understand your mission to recruit. It is through that understanding of what Knights
do that draws others to want to join our order.
If you want to increase your membership, get to know your parish family and allow them to get
to know you.
Vivat Jesus Brothers.