Principles of Church Growth | God is My Source!

…from [Christ] whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.Ephesians 4:16

This month I want to address my message to pastors and church leaders on the subject of church growth. Growth is one of the principles missions of the church. Jesus gave us the commission in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples; he told us to grow! All healthy organisms should be growing. And the same thing can take place in your church. I have the opportunity to visit many churches. Most of them have lively worship services and good biblical preaching. But I do not often see what these churches are doing to reach out to those who do not know Christ. So I want to encourage pastors and leaders to begin thinking how they can mobilize their congregations for enlargement.

The Foundation

First, before a congregation can reach out, it needs to look within and take stock of itself and establish the right foundation and create an environment for growth. One question to ask, “Is the congregation being feed the word of God?” Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,’” Matthew 4:4. If you are a pastor or a teacher then it is important that you devote several hours each week in your own personal study of God’s word. This is because it is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Study the word of God for yourself and then God will give you the messages and insights that you can share with your congregation.

And there are others factors to consider for establishing the foundation for growth. Are the members of the church open and friendly to the new persons who come to the services or do they treat them as outsiders. If your church is to grow, it needs to have a desire to welcome all who come. What about the worship services? Do they repel or attract those visitors? I got some stories about a few churches I do not want to go back to. There was one church whose singers and song leaders were not so good, but then when the pastor stood up and began to shout that really made it worse. It was not a blessing to the hearers, it was a curse. In another church the worship was lead by a group of young people who played their music so loud it was distorted and not understandable. How is God praised by this kind of worship? But many church leaders in Latin America feel that the sound system is suppose to overwhelm the voice of the congregation. That should not be; music is an aid to worship and should not be a hindrance. And neither is it healthy. Any ear doctor will tell you that listening to excessively loud music will diminish one’s hearing over time. Now, in some of these congregations I have met members who complain about the loud volume of their church’s music which tells me that it is likely that there some people do not attend church because the music is too loud. So in this case, the solution is simple: turn down the volume and more people will come.

Still there are other factors need to be dealt with. If there are lots of young children running around and distracting people during the service, then perhaps maybe the church could offer some classes for the children during the service that will minister to them on their level. Then they will stop being a distraction. Yet, if children are left to be a constant distraction, the anointing of God’s Spirit on that service will be hindered. Or maybe the services are too long. I am use to worship services that last less than two hours in length. But here some services last three or four hours. It turns into an endurance test. Such a long service makes a person weary. Do you think some people would rather stay home than go to a long worship service? Yes they do. Yet, if the leaders would aim for a service that lasted about two hours I’m sure everyone would be happy with that. And there would be plenty of time for God’s Spirit to move, you just do not need to sing the same song twenty times. Or perhaps there is not space or seats for all who attend. If visitors encounter this problem, they are not likely to come back. It is important for a church to recognize that when it is utilizing more than 85% of it space, it is time to make more space available. To continue growing, it must find a bigger place to meet or have multiple services.

Finally, our foundation is not complete without the realization that all the members of the congregation are a part of the church’s outreach. Paul tells us in Romans 12:4, 6, “For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members don’t have the same function…Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith.” Everyone in the church needs to recognize they have all been placed there by the Lord and supplied with different gifts and abilities to minister to the needs of congregation and the community. It is everyone’s job to be involved in reaching out to others and they do that through the gifts and empowerments that God has given them. Some are teachers, some are evangelist, some are givers of mercy and others are helpers, some are givers of aid and resources and some are administrators. So a church needs to ask itself, “How can we include as many people as possible in plans for outreach?”

Yet, maybe you are a leader and you understand that your members should be playing a greater role in the church’s outreach but you know they are not interested in reaching the lost. Well, then you must work on discipling them; that is teaching them what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It they are committed to the Lord Jesus, they will want their church to grow.

Developing Purpose

Now, if you have a good foundation then we want to go on to having a shared purpose and vision for the church. The people of the church need to sit down and discuss the general goals of what they want to attained; what are the needs of the people around them and the needs of their community. How can the church best meet those needs? Once the church has reached a consensus on these questions then they can move on to coming up with specific actions plans. Of course, in this process everyone needs to be involved in prayer, asking God for specific guidance for its outreach. And as objectives and plans are made and people assigned responsibilities a sense of excitement and unity will grow. You will have a congregation ready for increase.

It will be important to get people involved in praying for the outreach of the church. James tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is very effective. If we want to be effective in reaching others for Christ, we need to have our prayer warriors interceding both individually and in groups to under grid the church’s outreach ministry.

Your Prospects

Now who are you going share the gospel of Jesus Christ with? Who are your prospects? These may be people who are drawn to visit your church or they are people who are friends or family members of your congregation. Or you may have a special activity or perform some service for the community that will bring your church in contact with them. If they visit your church, how will you find out who they are and where do they live? One simple method is to give them a visitor’s card. A visitor card will prompt them to write down their name, address and phone number. During the church service take a moment to recognize the visitors, then pass them a visitor’s card and a pencil. Ask them to fill it out and then drop it in the offering bag.

Go Visit Your Prospects

With this information people from the church can visit the prospect and share gospel with them. Always call the prospect first, to let them know you are coming, and to insure that they will be home. Take time to pray before you leave to travel to the prospect’s home.

When visiting a prospect it is not difficult to share the gospel because they already know that you represent a church. At the beginning of your conversation, get the prospect to talk about him or her self, their family and job, etc… Listen for the spiritual needs they may have. At some point, you can shift the conversation toward spiritual things; ask them about their involvement with any churches. Then ask to two questions to help them see what their spiritual condition is. First ask, if they were to suddenly die, do they know for certain if they would go to heaven? Most people would say they hope so. But next we can find out what it is that they think God requires to enter heaven by asking, “Suppose you did die and you stood before God and he were to ask you why he should allow you to enter heaven, what would you say to him?” Those who have not received God’s free gift of eternal life will say either they have lived a good life or that they attend church or they were baptized as a baby. And some may say they would not know what to say.

At this point your prospect will usually be interested in what you have to share, so do not be hesitant. Tell them that you have some good news about how one can be certain about going to heaven when he dies. Share a brief testimony with the prospect: what your life was like before you became a Christian, and how your life has changed for the better since receiving eternal life. Next you can explain what the Bible says about receiving eternal life:

God want us to have a meaningful and satisfying life here and in the future with him in heaven. John 3:16; 10:10.
Sin however separates us from God and keeps us from experiencing that life; we are all sinners and do not deserve heaven: Romans 3:23; 6:23.
God overcame our problem with sin by sending his Son to die for us: Isaiah 53:6;1 Peter 3:18.
All we have to do is to repent of our sin (tell God we want to change our direction) and receive God’s gift by faith: Acts 3:19; Ephesians 2:8, 9
Read Romans 10:9, 10 and explain how he can receive God’s gift of eternal life by expressing his faith in Christ as the one who died for our sins and who was raised from the dead and now is the Lord over our lives.
Ask the prospect if he understands these points. Explain anything that the prospect does not understand.
Go for a commitment: ask if there is any reason why he could not ask God right now for his gift of eternal life. If there are no objections, lead the prospect in praying to receive eternal life. If there are objections, try to deal with them, but not everyone you share with will be ready to receive eternal life.
Assurance of salvation: share with prospect 1 John 5:13 and John 14:1-3, that he can know for certain that he possess eternal life and will have a home in heaven.

Once you have succeeded in leading a person to Christ you will want to help him understand and grow in his Christian life. Obtain some materials for discipeling new Christians for the new believer. Encourage him to come to church and encourage the members of your congregation to be supportive and help the new believer feel a part of congregation.

What I have described is just one avenue a church can use to reach out to those who do not know Christ. Another method is the use of a flyer. This is great for tool for starting a conversation with some one you have just met. When I lived in Belize I developed a flyer for the church I attended. It was the size of a half of a sheet of paper and it contained a black and white picture of the church and along with its address the time of the church’s meetings and it’s slogan. I carried these flyers with me all the time and then when ever I meet someone new I would ask him if he heard about this church I was a member of. Then I would give the person a copy of the flyer to keep. I would ask him if he went to church anywhere. Then I would begin the presentation of the gospel by asking if he though he would go to heaven when he died…

And when sharing the gospel let us not forget to deal with the needs we encounter. Some people have medical or emotional needs and we must pray for them. Others have financial needs. We need to be ready to help such individuals or get them in touch with the resources that can help them. We must be ready to demonstrate the love of Christ to those we encounter.

So with the proper foundation, a purpose, some methods and the motivation of God’s love in your hearts you and your church can certainly make a difference in this world: helping people, sharing the gospel and bring people to know the Lord Jesus. This is the recipe for growth.