We develop our small groups for people who arrive at the same time so that they can share the adjustment process together. You are not their pastor, yet . In the year since he had arrived in Athens to work for the embassy, Dave and his family had attended our church faithfully. My pastoral responsibility often extends for about a year until the short-termer is settled into a new parish. This involves long-distance counsel and recommendations for new churches to visit.
Newcomers are concerned about people like themselves .
Getting new arrivals involved in reaching their highly transient neighbors is much easier than getting them involved in a project that benefits permanent residents. In Athens, the long-term group hoped that we could move from rented facilities to the stability of our own building. The short-term group saw more pressing needs in staffing and outreach. Since the bulk of the financing came from the short-term crowd, the church couldn't purchase property. This approach has appealed to short-term residents.