During recent months the North England Conference (NEC) Secretariat Department in the United Kingdom has been leading the General Conference’s redemptive membership review (RMR) initiative across its territory.
On paper it may look administrative, but in practice it has been deeply pastoral, regional church leaders said.
At its heart RMR is simple and biblical: notice when someone has drifted to the margins and respond with care, regional church leaders explained. “In Luke 15 Jesus describes a shepherd who counts the flock, spots a gap, and goes after the one until it is found,” they said. “RMR takes that posture and applies it to church life. Records become ministry tools, and every name on a list is treated as a person loved by God.”
Training Across the Field
To equip local churches, the Secretariat team traveled throughout the conference, delivering practical training. Emanuel Bran, NEC secretary, led the training, alongside Chioma Ikechi Ekpendu, NEC administrative secretary. Together they met pastors, church clerks, and ministry leaders at six venues, providing hands-on guidance for implementing RMR at the local level.
From the outset the message has been clear: RMR is not about “cleaning the books” for neat statistics. It is about recovery, reconnection, and rejoicing.
When a clerk or elder notices that someone has not been present for a while, that observation is not a check-box exercise; it is a pastoral prompt. Churches were coached to respond warmly and proportionately—with a phone call from a familiar voice, a handwritten card, a visit arranged in advance, or even a simple offer of help.
The tone matters, leaders said. “This is not a summons, but an invitation back into relationship, carried out prayerfully and gently.”
The Importance of the Local Church Clerk
A major emphasis of the training was the often unnoticed and unappreciated ministry of the local church clerk.
Clerks are known for managing minutes, membership transfers, and statistical returns. But in the RMR model those same records become maps for ministry. Up-to-date information helps church leaders see who is present, who is participating from a distance, who is elderly or housebound, who has moved away, and who may have slipped away during a difficult season.
When clerks work hand-in-glove with pastors and elders, the church can follow up with compassion and direct people toward appropriate support, whether that means joining a small group, arranging transportation to services, offering home communion, paying a bereavement visit, or simply providing a listening ear.
Good Data Is Good Pastoral Care
Far from being bureaucratic fussiness, good data has a real pastoral impact.
When contact details are current—addresses, phone numbers, preferred methods of contact—communication can become clearer and kinder. Ministries can plan more effectively, matching real people to real needs. Leaders can identify members’ spiritual gifts and invite them to serve in ways that fit their talents and stage of life.
Limited resources such as time and finance can then be directed to where they make the greatest difference. And when the conference reports are compiled, they reflect the living reality of congregations, not an idealized memory of years gone by.
Using Technology Responsibly
The Adventist Church Management System (ACMS), the system used within that territory, remains the authorized repository for membership information. Secure and structured, it helps steward data responsibly.
“Churches were encouraged to keep ACMS records current, to invite members to confirm their details, and to reduce the administrative burden through proactive updates,” leaders said. “The point is always pastoral: the database supports relationships; it does not replace them.”
A Whole-Church Effort
While pastors and clerks anchor the work, RMR is not their sole responsibility. Elders contribute relational history that helps ensure that conversations are tailored to the individual person and in turn are received well. Deacons and deaconesses are alert to practical needs that might otherwise be overlooked. Personal ministries and small groups provide everyday discipleship where people belong, serve, and grow. Youth and children’s ministries keep the church attentive to families, navigating study, shift work, and tight budgets. Communication volunteers ensure messages reach people in ways that suit them, leaders explained.
“Even the quietest member has a part to play—by praying, writing a card, sharing a meal, or offering a ride. When every part of the body contributes, the result is not just a tidy roll but a stronger fellowship,” they said.
Gratitude and Next Steps
NEC leaders called for members’ and pastors’ continued partnership. “Work with your local pastor, clerk, elders, and ministry leaders so that together we can reach those who may feel forgotten and equip the church to be more effective in its mission,” they said. “In the end RMR is not about spreadsheets; it is about souls.”
The original version of this story was posted on the North England Conference news site.
