Church Growth
Goal:
Offers a perspective on chruch growth and its affect
on congregations.
Scripture
Basis:
Eph 4:1-15
Reference
Materials:
J.
I Packer. Knowing God
Introduction:
In this paper I shall
address two questions. First, "Is
church growth good and even essential?" and secondly "Is numerical
growth something to be tracked and used as a measure of ministry
effectiveness?" Before I start I would just like to say that I do not find
much controversy in the evangelical community surrounding the idea that God
wants the body of Christ, his Church, to grow. However I do see a lot of
anguish and arguing over the methods of ministry that are attributed to
producing growth in local congregations. It seems many people want to be apart
of a group that is growing and want to find the methods that achieve it. Yet
there are also an abundance of believers who feel these new methods of ministry
create numerical growth instead of spiritual growth. They often see them as
compromise based and therefore worldly. I wonder, perhaps both are needed.
Relative to the
question, "Is church growth good
and even essential?", I have often found it interesting that certain more
controversial spiritual gifts are just not seen at all in some churches and
denominations. Some may point out that
this is because they are not real gifts and are therefore only seen where
falsehood abounds, but I believe differently. I believe that God only enables
them where their exercise will not generate conflict. I think that the Spirit enables them where they will not damage
unity while building up the body. In places where the gift's use will became
more of an issue then it's purpose, we seldom see the real thing. Ephesians chapter 4 begins with a call to
unity and then and only then broadens into a discussion of the purpose of
gifts, their diversity and their ultimate purpose to enable growth in the body
of Christ. Now this paper is not about spiritual gifts but I think the
principle illustrated here is important when thinking about the methods of
ministry that enable evangelism and local congregational growth. The way I read Ephesians 4:1-15, God wants the people to grow within the Body
of Christ on all fronts that we might all be built up "unity" and
"maturity" in the faith. I also think that God knows that people begin their Christian
growth in immaturity and that their rate of internal spiritual growth depends
on their growth settings. If this were not true then why would Paul admonish us
who are more mature in Rom.15:1 to be careful in how we exercise our freedom
lest we cause a brother to stumble. For some, a church must be large for them
to grow, for others it must be small. I know many men who thrive on a Promise
Keepers convention, but I shun them for I dislike being in large crowds. I much
prefer a small Bible study and a small church setting where I can serve, yet my
wife finds the polish of a large church organization key to her growth and
worship. I think people have different needs to when it comes to church size
and growth rate for them to grow spiritually. They need a church setting and
size that is relevant to them and meets them "where they are" too.
When asked why one should have a certain gift as compared to another, a good
friend of mine once responded, "Some do better with it and others do
better without it.". Is think this is also why some churches grow and
others don't. Is church growth good and even essential? I think the better questions are, "Is
your church about to destroy unity over growth?" or "Does your church
need to grow for the sake of the growth of those in it?". I one heard it
preached that in his old age the Apostle John seemed to settle into a single
pattern of preaching simply encouraging the believers to love one another.
While this seemed "simple" and "aged" to me as a young man,
the older I grow the more I see John having simply reached a
"maturity" in the faith. I believe Church growth is only essential
when those in the congregation need it to grow themselves.
Before I state my conclusions
on whether numerical growth something to be tracked and used as a measure of
ministry effectiveness, I feel it
necessary to share what I believe about the nature of the Great Commission in
Matthew 28:19-20. I believe that
evangelism and discipleship are key missions of the corporate church and I also
believe we as individual members of the body of Christ are given commission by
our Lord Jesus to spread the gospel and use our God given gifts to do it. Two parables, the Parable of the Talents in
Matthew chapter 25 and the Parable of the Shrewd Manager from Luke chapter 16
are two of my favorites. While Matthew chapter 25 clearly enjoins us to invest
or spiritual gifts for the growth of the kingdom Luke 16 additionally makes it
clear that God wants people to be
forgiven. It further points out that if we are shrewd, we will recognize that
in applying ourselves to helping people find forgiveness we are building for
ourselves for the future. 1 Corinthians 3 even tells us about rewards
associated with building on the foundation of JesusChrist. However I also believe that all ministry,
all conversions and all growth within the body are by the actions and power of
the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:28-29 tells me that not one of the Lord's elect will
be lost because we foul up a program, an outreach or a message. Were it not for
the Holy Spirit, there would be no followers of Christ save those who met Him
personally (John 16:7-15). Were it not
for the Holy Spirit, there would be no scripture (2 Tim 3:16). And were it not for the Holy Spirit, none would
believe. There would be no faith.(John 6:65)
J.I. Packer writes "It is not for us to imagine that we can prove
the truth of Christianity by our own arguments. It is the sovereign prerogative of the Holy Spirit to convince
men's consciences of the truth of the Gospel."2. I
believe the "full number" of Gentiles mentioned in Romans 11:25 will
"come in" before the Lord returns.
Perhaps by our willingness we can make it take more or less time, but I
even wonder about that. Now these two biblical principles combine to answer
the question, "Is numerical growth
something to be tracked and used as a measure of ministry effectiveness?".
I believe the answer is no. I believe
we are called to go to the lost and to give testimony to Christ , but it is the
Holy spirit that is responsible for all conviction and the one that enables
belief. It seems we are simply called to go and vibrate the air with the
message of Christ. This is clear in Matthew 10:14 where Jesus tells his disciples
to speak and then leave if none will listen. It seems obedience to the call is
what the Lord wants, yet it is He who owns the results, He who is responsible
for the growth. For should we grow and our methods are found to be the cause we
will put on pride. And if we fail and our methods are found to be the cause we
will put on shame. Both of these are sin.
Is numerical growth
something to be tracked and used as a measure of ministry effectiveness? I
believe we should not measure effectiveness of outreach with numbers of
conversions or by growth of church members.
We should only evaluate whether we are going and proclaiming. If we need
to measure our health as a church I think we should be measuring our
performance to Christ in terms of obedience not in terms of results. Are we
going to the lost? Are we proclaiming the gospel message of forgiveness in
Christ, and do we love. These I find a better metric of church health against
the Great Commission. For with these as
goals we should not find ourselves arguing so much about our methods.
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SELECTED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
J. I Packer.
Knowing God
Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1973