Church Growth = Sacrifice
Hey Friends,
Church growth is near to my heart because the Bible is clear that healthy churches grow. In the book of Acts the churches grow “unhindered.” This is a passion for me and I know it is for you or you would not be reading this blog. I believe it is the heart of Jesus to see His Bride grow. He said, “I will build My church.”
If this is the case and we know it is, then why are 90% of all churches in America not growing? This is a complex question and has a complex answer, but let me give you just a thought. Most churches do not grow because it is the most selfless thing a church can do. It is also the most difficult thing a church can do. To grow means more work. It means giving up certain things, like knowing everyone. It means adding services, servants, and treating everyone like family. It means giving up some of the things we have come to love.
This past weekend we had a powerful visitation of the Spirit of the Lord. As you know, we have 7 services. At the 11:45 service the Lord moved even more powerfully than in the other services. Near the end of the service people just started toward the altar. People were weeping and others were laying on hands and praying for them. You could cut it with a knife. What are you to do when God is working and 300 kids are waiting to be picked up? What about when 800 people are waiting for the next service? I could go on about so many other costs to growing, but what about the alternative? Not growing? What about just enjoying it ourselves? What about the lost that are hell-bound? What about the ministry that goes undone and the captives that remain chained? I could go on for days.
Where do you stand? I am laying my life down on the altar of impacting the Kingdom of God for the maximum effect on lives. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is people! How do you see it?
Yours to count on.
Pastor
7 Comments
Growth and change are important individually and corporately in the Christian life. I’ve learned that from Faith Promise main service and small group. I’m grateful that Faith Promise church works to stay contemporary in communication and worship songs and to be committed to growth in numbers and outreach (and individual growth). I was also happy to learn not too long ago that Faith Promise is also looking to become a “multi-site” church in fall of 2010 (see http://blog.faithpromise.org). Growth doesn’t mean making a mega-church… birthing, opening, and supporting new churches (with money and effort) is also growth.
Andy Kercher.
@ Andy Love your heart. PC
Wow…great questions in today’s blog. These are some of the very questions I struggle with today as I look around at the world. I try to see the world through Jesus’ eyes.
What is truly is the role of the church in the needs of the world?
How do I match what I read in Matthew, James etc…with the needs of growing church? One day we will all stand accountable and folks I have to tell you that excite and scare me, we will be accountable for how we lived but also how we spent our money both personally and collectively as a body.
When we pray…does tell us to build bigger and better…to put TV’s everywhere, to build waterfalls, or state of the art this or that. Is Jesus really telling us to spend 10’s of millions of dollars and even hundreds of millions on buildings that won’t last?
How do look at a child in need and say sorry…we needed to build another building that’s why we couldn’t feed your village and your loved ones perished?
Sorry Pastor, I know you needed money to continue to reach your fellow Koreans but we needed a bigger parking lot instead.
It is estimated that of the 6 billion people in the world today, 1.2 to 1.4 billion have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.
•More than 840 million people in the world are malnourished — 799 million of them live in the developing world.
•More than 153 million of the world’s malnourished people are children under the age of 5.
•Six million children under the age of 5 die every year as a result of hunger.
I love the church!! I need the church!!
How do I stand in front of Jesus at the end of my life and say we chose buildings, parking lots, tv’s and our comfort over the needs of those He came to die for and spoke so often of.?
I am not a member of FP, but I love that fact they have 7 services instead of renting bigger buildings. Is it a sacrifice…one that is bigger then I can begin to realize but I think each of you.
The world needs us…to serve…to go…to sacrifice
Did it ever occur that we are placing too much emphasis on growing churches in a traditional sense and not enough emphasis on growing people to be Christ Followers? Perhaps if we focused more on living and I truly mean living the Christian ideas, then we ourselves (through our actions) would become individual churches. Church growth can be good if it is filled with honest, servants of the Lord and His son Jesus, or it can be a cancer, where everyone says they are “Christian,” but their pride and selfishness prevent people from glorifying God.
Let’s look at Jesus. There were no Christian “churches” during his life as we know it in a traditional sense. But it was Jesus and his words, actions and deeds that that layed the foundation. He and his disciples made a sweeping change, not a big glorious temple with rich trappings and royal visitors. The worth of our lives should be measured in the amount of service we render to God and our brothers and sisters, but not be measured by the amount of time we spend at church services. That is one of the most sinister tools the enemy has at his disposal. We feel that if we go to a big church and it has grown, we’ve done something good. What is the value of a big church built on a foundation of sand and who’s timbers are rotting and ignored?**
**Please note, I don’t believe FPC is built on a foundation of sand.
@ Rob, love your heart bro
I grew up in a church where growing was not an option. Not only did the church not grow in numbers but i did not grow as a christ follower either. Since coming to FPC i have grown more than i can express. I think what we are all a part of is amazing.
I was at the 11:45 service on Sunday and it was so amazing what I felt in that room and when those people started walking up to the stage tears started rolling down my face it was awesome to see people moved like that.