One pastor blogger "friend" blogged about the issue of "When God's kingdom doesnt grow". He emphasized the point...
When people leave one church to join another church, God’s Kingdom does not grow.
Here is my response that I thought I would share with my readers about church growth. Half rant, half solid content. LOL
If all we are doing is "Sheep Shuffling" ...and we can all admit that most churches grow through the shuffling of sheep...then why do all our efforts look like an attempt to win over someone elses sheep?
It's like when a restaurant closes or is not doing a good job, the customers go to another restaurant. The American church has become that.
So....right from the start...we need to develop our programs with one thing in mind: Make disciples. Period. That is the template.
If a program doesnt have that as its core value....then it gets canned.
Fun is a means to an end.
Building programs are a means to an end.
Organization is a means to an end.
Great drama programs are a means to an end.
Cool church websites are a means to an end.
High tech is a means to an end.
Great programs are a means to an end.
Highly-credentialed staff from the best seminaries are a means to an end.
Great worship bands are a means to an end. (I tend to think that more worship should happen Monday thru Saturday. Our worship services are more like concerts and we measure their effectiveness by the number of goosebumps we get.
By no means am I saying the means are not essential. They are.
We need to stop focusing on the "means", but place our emphasis on the "end".
Here is the "end": Make disciples. Period.
It's only done through teaching the Word. Not books about the Word or ideas that mention the Word every couple pages.
Yes, I agree. Baptisms are THE proper metric. Baptisms show that people are converting and giving their lives to Christ.
Not attendance, goosebumps, or covered dish dinners. My benchmarks are listed below.
Remember the Jeff Foxworthy rant, "You might be a redneck if....."
Well here is my Church Growth rant...
You just may be a Disciple-Making Church if.....
1.) People bring their Bibles to church
2.) They read them the other six days.
3.) Church has a church-wide formal bible reading program.
4.) Church gives place to public reading of the Word in their worship services
5.) There is not a big difference between church attendance and sunday school/christian ed attendance
6.) People bring notebooks WITH their Bibles or write in the margins.
7.) People invite their friends, neighbors, and co-workers
8.) You have to keep making visitors packets.
9.) The media ministry is growing through tapes, cd's, DVD's, podcasts, etc
10.) People are getting fed and clothed. Widows and orphans are sought out and cared for.
11.) Young people are sensing a "call" to go to bible college, Christian college, or serve in the mission field.
12.)There is a ministry for everyone, not just "qualified" people.
13.) The church communicates clearly with all through newsletters, websites, webcasts, and email blasts.
Are you a Disciple-Making Church?
I ask myself that everyday.