What causes a congregation to grow?
There’s been a lot of ink spilled in recent years on the subject of what makes congregations grow. Behind a lot of the discussion is an assumption that bigger is better. The assumption isn’t necessarily true. Bigger is not always better. It depends on what is growing and how it is growing. If a cancerous tumor grows bigger, it is hardly cause for joy.
When we talk about growing congregations, the focus is almost always on attendance. How can we get more people in the door and on the pew? Now I fully agree that evangelism should be a major concern. We need to tell the lost about Christ and do all we can to help them become reconciled to God. But it seems to me that, these days, true evangelism often takes a back seat to increasing the body count. Have you noticed how the terminology has changed? We used to talk about the “saved” and the “lost.” Now it’s the “churched” and the “un-churched.” We used to speak about sin. Now we hear about mistakes or poor lifestyle choices. Conversion has become an ugly word in a culture which emphasizes inclusion and tolerance. We hear more about the need of being sensitive to “seekers” than the seekers do about the need to repent. Dare I suggest that the strategy of growing a congregation bigger by adding unconverted people is not only unhealthy, but disastrous? May I also suggest that achieving numerical growth at the expense of spiritual growth is counterproductive? If a choice must be made between numerical and spiritual growth, I’ll pick spiritual growth every time.
Now that that’s off my chest, what are some of the factors which affect whether a congregation grows numerically or not? There are all kinds of answers to this question. Each church consultant will trot out his own pet stable of reasons. It seems to me, though, that much of what the consultants say applies more to the corporate world than to the Lord’s church.
For example, it’s common to hear that a congregation can’t grow because of inadequate facilities. It’s like saying that you need to open another assembly line to turn out more widgets. In the church context it’s the “Build it and they will come” mentality. This has just enough truth in it to cause many a congregation to start a capital-giving campaign. It is true that a given facility has a limited seating capacity. It’s also true that some rooms are easier to worship in than others. But seating capacity and beautiful surroundings do not tell the whole story. There are plenty of small congregations rattling around in facilities which are much larger than they can use.
Another limiting factor which is often mentioned is inadequate staffing. In the corporate world it’s equivalent to saying that the company can’t grow any larger until more secretaries are hired to shuffle the extra paperwork. But the assumption behind this thinking is that the church should follow the corporate model. I happen to be of the opinion that if a congregation follows the New Testament model instead of the corporate model, talk of staffing levels no longer applies – there is no staff in the corporate sense.
Another thing which prevents a congregation from growing, they say, is short ministerial tenure. What the consultants mean by this is that a congregation won’t grow very fast or large if it changes its Pastor too often. The analogy is that a company which changes its CEO every few years is probably in trouble. But should the church be organized along hierarchical lines with a so-called Pastor acting as CEO? I think not. That’s not how the early church was organized and the apostolic period was arguably the period of fastest church growth in history.
In my younger days, I thought that the biggest factor which prevented growth was the incompetence of church leaders. In a sense I was right, but in a different way than I thought. Here’s the problem as I now see it: Leaders are not matched to the type of organization they are trying to lead. On the one hand, a leader in the biblical pattern is ill-suited to lead in a congregation which is patterned after a secular corporation. On the other hand, if he is a secular-type executive, he won’t fit well in a congregation organized on New Testament lines. In practice what happens, all too often, is the worst possible combination: Leaders are neither following the biblical pattern of leadership nor are trained as secular executives, yet are placed in congregations which are neither organized fully according to the New Testament example nor do a good job of emulating the secular corporation.
There’s another notion floating around as well. While going through a bunch of old seminar notes, I was struck how speaker after speaker said that in order to retain the people you get to come to church you have to get them involved right away. Upon reflection something bothered me about what I read. Perhaps it was not the intention of the seminar speakers, but it came across like involvement meant participation in various programs and activities. I have to wonder what value an activity has if it does not engage the soul or spirit. Activity is not equivalent to ministry. In fact, busyness may eventually breed disillusionment and be a hindrance to spiritual growth.
In a very fundamental way, though, all this talk of growth is based on a false premise. It assumes that growth is dependent upon human effort. But the Bible is clear that it is God who gives the increase. (See 1 Corinthians 3:6) It is perfectly possible to go through all the motions and programs that the church growth gurus say are necessary for growth without growth taking place. “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain...” (Psalm 127:1 NIV)
Assuming, then, that our priorities are right and we trust in the Lord, rather than our own wisdom and efforts to bring about growth, what factors will encourage healthy and biblical growth? I suggest the following:
1) A biblical Eldership. What I mean is that the Elders are truly servant-shepherds-overseers instead of the board of directors-business managers that they have so often become. As much as possible, the Elders leave the details of church business and benevolence to the Deacons so they can concentrate on spiritually nurturing the flock. Instead of relying on a “Senior Pastor” to provide vision and direction, the Elders are fellow servants who share the oversight of the body equally. Instead of relying on ministerial staff they, themselves, are actively involved in the teaching and speaking.
2) Biblical outreach. Most of the congregations I know suffer from a sort of schizophrenia. On the one hand there is a recognition that the purpose of the assembly is to feed the flock. On the other hand, the assemblies are used to preach to the unsaved. Preachers are hired to speak to the congregation and the congregation is urged to invite the unsaved to the assembly to hear the preacher.
In contrast to this, according to the biblical model, the church assembly is for nurturing and building up of the body. Taking the gospel to the lost is done outside of the church assembly. Preachers (or Evangelists, to use their biblical title) as a general rule, do not address the congregation during the assembly, but spend their time evangelizing the unsaved. They go out to the lost instead of expecting the lost to come to them. Instead of inviting the unsaved to church in hopes they will hear the gospel from a professional, the members of the congregation invite the lost into their homes, small groups or Bible studies in order to share the gospel with them in person.
3) Putting the doctrine of “The Priesthood of all Believers” into practice. Though we say we believe the doctrine, we are conditioned by training, culture and natural inclination to rely on the services of a professional clergy. My use of the term “professional clergy” will raise howls of protest from many but, in truth, that is what our preacher system has all too often become.
In contrast, we need to foster an environment where each member of the congregation actively ministers to each other. I do not mean getting people involved in programs. Programs and activities can often become smoke-screens which hide real spiritual needs. Active ministry involves at least two things: a) Mutual edification. People must have the opportunity and be encouraged to share their spiritual insights with one another. This can happen in a variety of ways, but the goal is to transform spectators into participants. b) Mutual caring. The support base for the people in the congregation needs to be within the congregation itself. They need to learn not only to rejoice with each other, but to also bear one another’s burdens. In short, our congregations need to act as family rather than acquaintances.
4) Multiply by dividing. Our natural tendency is to want bigger and bigger congregations. But the most healthy growth might result from learning to let go. I mentioned in another blog entry that we have a limited ability to process social relationships. A group loses its cohesion when it grows larger than about 150 people. Simple, natural and informal relationships and communication must be replaced by formal structures and systems before a larger group can function effectively. In order to retain simplicity and the feeling of family, a congregation must consciously plan to spawn off other congregations before it nears the 150 limit. A corollary to this principle is that congregations must also consciously prepare and train leadership for the new congregations they spawn.
No doubt, many who read this will want to know to what extent I’ve been able to put these principles into practice in the congregation where I serve. It’s a legitimate question. I confess that we don’t have all the answers and still don’t have everything we’d like in place. In some cases we’ve run up against cultural expectations and other problems which haven’t been easy to overcome. But I have no doubt that though it is sometimes hard to do, following the biblical model of church growth will result in a much healthier and long-lasting church. The siren-song of the corporate world is strong and hard to resist, but I think that choosing the hard way will eventually prove the best way forward.
Comments
Growth Factors
In 1991 a few families, in the area where I live, made a decision to leave a congregations which was following the pattern which you have discussed. We had seen and heard too much from the 'professional clergy' and the results were devastating to the church were we were fellowshipping. Protecting the image of the "Leader' and his salaried position became more important than the truth. Sadly, that 'Leader's' family and the congregation he labored in was dealt a blow from which neither has fully recovered.
In our search for what the New Testament church truly looked and operated like we simply searched the scripture without the bias of needing someone to "Lead' the group. Instead we turned that role over to its rightful owner, His name is Jesus. Knowing that He had died for the church we quickly made a decision to place His name over the door, thus we to this day humbly refer to ourselves not as 'Joe's church, Pete's church, the church of the Living Word, Faith church, etc, etc., but simply 'Christ's church'. He bought it with His blood, we believe that He is simply honored, by those whom He came to save, acknowledging that He paid for it. The pattern we began to follow was found in Acts 2:42, those four things, "Apostle's teach, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer, we believed, would still work today the same way they did in the early church.
Since none of us had been trained, in any formal way, we again looked to the scripture to determine the pattern we should follow. All those men who had some ability to teach and speak agreed to do so and we began a method of teaching and speaking which continues to this day. The women followed Paul's admonishment to them; and began to teach the children and younger women. Many of those early messages where probably pretty bad in the ears of the hearers, however, it is not the preacher who touches the heart, it is His Word. That was another thing that we determined, preach the Word not the world's view of politics, saving the whales, Global warming, etc. Our goal was to reach the lost with the Word and let "God provide the increase." To proclaim the message of Salvation is the only reason for living, is it not? We have attempted, as best we can, to keep it simple. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:1- 11, we have brought the Good News, "we preach and so you believed." As a result, whether in the assembly on Sunday morning or 'from house to house', many have come to realize that they needed to "be born again" and the congregation continues today by His grace, He has provided the increase and we have not had to be concerned about how fast the growth has occurred.
Within a few years of the congregations beginning most of the original families moved from the area, some clear across the country leaving only a couple of families in the group. The main ministry at that time was centered in a Bible study held at the city jail, that continues to this day. The people we were reaching out too, were those who were incarcerated for all kinds of crimes against the society. Many had long term (25-30 years) drug or alcohol problems, domestic violence issues, driving violations, theft and burglary convictions. Many had no drivers licenses, some had just never bothered to get one and others had had theirs revoked for so many violations. Not a group many people wanted to minister too. But it was where He had put us so we carried on. Today the church has grown in ways that none of us could have seen. Nine people made a decision for Christ and have been immersed in just the month and a half. No, we are not a mega church, only about 30-45 attend the main assembly, but what has amazed us is the growth of the individuals and their families who have come out of the 'jail ministry'. They are now the root of the congregation and there are many testimonies to what God can do. The sin of 25 year drug habits, alcohol abuse, family abuse, homelessness, etc. has been given up for jobs, driver licenses, reunited families and the hope of Salvation. He has chosen how fast His church has grown, we have just had to learn to be His servants and do what we can to touch those who the world was passing by. And now the momentum is increasing and there is a strong base of families who are inviting others to come and see and in recent months we have been truly amazed to realize how He has been building this base for many years but know seems ready to have it grow to levels we would not have thought possible years ago. Men and women who have been convicted of many hideous crimes are now learning to live by faith and His grace. We do not know where this will go, nor how but we do know that He has done this with many who had no hope, no direction in life and no reason to even go on living. Praise Him for this!
Growth comes in many ways but as you said Jon, sometimes it’s not how big the congregation is but how big the 'spiritual growth' is in the hearts of those who fellowship there. This group now has a church home, they meet in a warehouse, many need help getting to the fellowship with gas money or bus fare, some are not pretty, some are not too cultured but they have one thing in common, they love Jesus and His church and how big it gets is not important to them. What is important is how big He becomes in their hearts and those of their families and friends. We are now bathed in His love and grace. and for many years now have been able to help other ministries all over the world, not too bad for a bunch of criminals and their friends. Isn’t God good?