The following post is from September of 2017:
What should a church do in order to grow? Just what is church growth anyway? Is it limited to numbers or can a church grow in other ways? Should church growth be pursued at all costs? Should it even be our primary focus? Should a big church be considered a success while a small church is to be deemed a failure?
While on vacation I was given a rather fancy laminated advertisement for a local church. The key word highlighted was 'contemporary.' They wanted to make sure that the recipient of the invitation knew one thing...that their worship services were very....contemporary....nothing dull and boring here. I looked up the church's web site....it was very nice....very professional.....and yep.....it was contemporary all right. I read over the 'what we believe' section three times to see if the gospel of Jesus Christ was there. It wasn't. There was no cross...no sin...no resurrection....but there was a lot of....worship...discipleship....and ministry. I've seen many many church web sites over the years just like this that seek to grow with the gospel of 'come and worship with us.'
But enough of the user-friendly churches....what of the rest of us? Well, we do vacation Bible school....that's certainly good. We often go door to door....''A for effort there. We cheerfully welcome visitors....no problem with that. We do a lot of things right.
Growth of a Christian church through numbers is God's job. Whether there is one new baptized member a year or ten thousand new baptized members...that is not to be our focus. It's to be our hope....but not our focus. Our focus should be in having the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed from the pulpit each and every Lord's Day.....both for the benefit of the saved and the unsaved in the pews....and for both the church member and the visitor who comes through the front door. If we fail to preach Christ crucified then we move towards the contemporary church. If we preach only how to live then we move closer to the psychologist's couch. If we are ashamed of the cross then we may indeed build something...but it won't be a Christian church.....and if Sunday School lessons come from the pulpit then we will be nothing but a 501 (C)(3) Sunday school.
The church does not produce revivals or awakenings or reformation! They are produced by God in part for the benefit of the church and the world. Other than prayer we are not involved in God's 'timing' for revival's and awakenings and reformation. When they come we may think that our prayers have brought them when in fact God's Spirit moved both upon the redeemed with a great evangelical fervor and with regeneration upon the unredeemed who then came to faith and redemption.
There is a difference between motivation and fervor. Motivation breeds numbers only....fervor breeds that which God gave the fervor to breed....revivals....awakenings....and reformation. I do not sense a fervor today....only motivations....but I feel tremors that surely must precede fervors. I see the enemy all around.... but it must be as it was with Elisha in that "...those who are with us are more than those who are with them"....and that "the mountain (is) full of horses and chariots of fire...." It may very well be a good time to prepare for revival....for awakening....and for reformation....not to strategize for it....but to prepare for it.
What should a church do in order to grow? Just what is church growth anyway? Is it limited to numbers or can a church grow in other ways? Should church growth be pursued at all costs? Should it even be our primary focus? Should a big church be considered a success while a small church is to be deemed a failure?
While on vacation I was given a rather fancy laminated advertisement for a local church. The key word highlighted was 'contemporary.' They wanted to make sure that the recipient of the invitation knew one thing...that their worship services were very....contemporary....nothing dull and boring here. I looked up the church's web site....it was very nice....very professional.....and yep.....it was contemporary all right. I read over the 'what we believe' section three times to see if the gospel of Jesus Christ was there. It wasn't. There was no cross...no sin...no resurrection....but there was a lot of....worship...discipleship....and ministry. I've seen many many church web sites over the years just like this that seek to grow with the gospel of 'come and worship with us.'
But enough of the user-friendly churches....what of the rest of us? Well, we do vacation Bible school....that's certainly good. We often go door to door....''A for effort there. We cheerfully welcome visitors....no problem with that. We do a lot of things right.
Growth of a Christian church through numbers is God's job. Whether there is one new baptized member a year or ten thousand new baptized members...that is not to be our focus. It's to be our hope....but not our focus. Our focus should be in having the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed from the pulpit each and every Lord's Day.....both for the benefit of the saved and the unsaved in the pews....and for both the church member and the visitor who comes through the front door. If we fail to preach Christ crucified then we move towards the contemporary church. If we preach only how to live then we move closer to the psychologist's couch. If we are ashamed of the cross then we may indeed build something...but it won't be a Christian church.....and if Sunday School lessons come from the pulpit then we will be nothing but a 501 (C)(3) Sunday school.
The church does not produce revivals or awakenings or reformation! They are produced by God in part for the benefit of the church and the world. Other than prayer we are not involved in God's 'timing' for revival's and awakenings and reformation. When they come we may think that our prayers have brought them when in fact God's Spirit moved both upon the redeemed with a great evangelical fervor and with regeneration upon the unredeemed who then came to faith and redemption.
There is a difference between motivation and fervor. Motivation breeds numbers only....fervor breeds that which God gave the fervor to breed....revivals....awakenings....and reformation. I do not sense a fervor today....only motivations....but I feel tremors that surely must precede fervors. I see the enemy all around.... but it must be as it was with Elisha in that "...those who are with us are more than those who are with them"....and that "the mountain (is) full of horses and chariots of fire...." It may very well be a good time to prepare for revival....for awakening....and for reformation....not to strategize for it....but to prepare for it.
