I seem never to get enough of reading up on church growth strategies.
Such is probably due to the fact that many of the churches I know are
growing older or declining. We need people to fill some big shoes!
Perhaps growing a church can serve as a great ego boost to a pastor, as
well. So, my interest was sparked the other day when I came across an
entry on the “Vision Room” website called
“We’re All About the Numbers”
by
Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
When it comes to numerical church growth, Furtick asks,
“What else
matters? What else should we be about?” To add biblical and theological
credence to his thesis, Furtick adds that
Luke, in writing the book of
Acts,
showed an intense interest in emphasizing and quantifying church
growth. Indeed,
“The Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Furtick also points out that
John’s
vision in
Revelation included
“a great multitude that no one could count
(Revelation 7:9).” Furtick consequently writes,
“I don’t know about
you, but I don’t want to wait until I die to see this.”
Furtick’s points interest me from a pastoral standpoint, as I am
impressed with his presentation of the gospel and his expectation that
“thousands of people” would make a profession of faith in Christ during
each week’s worship service. Considering that such astounding numerical
growth may not be literally possible in some rural church across my
state, perhaps Furtick’s analysis and vision is shared by many pastors
and lay leaders today no matter the location. I do admire evangelicals
who fervently respond to the Great Commission and note that, as
Jesus
offered, the fields are white unto harvest. May I, however, add a few
words of caution concerning the uptick in numbers-driven evangelism in
our day and time?
First, churches are in danger when they measure success in what
Dr. T.B. Maston called
“worldly terms.”[1]
In fact, Furtick’s article may be indicative of something that can
easily lead a church and her leaders down a broad path rather than a
narrow way: the tendency to quantify ministry by the numbers. For
instance, I would like to ask Furtick if he and his ministry staff feel
like failures when a certain amount of people do not make professions of
faith in a week. Should not our greatness in God’s kingdom be measured
not by numbers of followers or church members but by walking as Jesus
walked?
Second, we ought to consider some other biblical examples of
so-called “church growth” in the Bible.
Saul slew his thousands, and
David slew his ten-thousands, but David’s kingdom collapsed.
Daniel
remained faithful but was thrown to lions and into a fire pit.
Jeremiah
never had a positive response to his sermons. In fact, he was derided by
his hearers, who nicknamed him “Old Death and Destruction.”
Jonah
helped an entire city to repent of sin but he then sat dejected and
depressed, angry at a merciful God.
Jesus, through whom we interpret the whole of the Bible, began his
ministry with great crowds. Yet, only a handful remained when he hung on
a cross, notably two of the most unlikely candidates for church growth:
a Roman soldier and a Pharisee named
Nicodemus. In fact, the crowds
seemed genuinely unimpressed and even a bit nauseated with his talk of
death. His message of repentance and justice almost got him killed
during his first sermon! Consider, too, that Jesus ministered to crowds
but invested more time in a small group of disciples. Also, it is
important to note that even some of Jesus’ closest friends needed some
intensive one-on-one help by the risen Lord himself in order to believe
and to be put in right relationship.
The astounding growth in the early church was not due to either
Peter’s mystifying preaching or the entertaining ministry of the
Apostles. The Apostles clearly did not press for numerical growth. They
pressed for the gospel, and with that they endured prison time,
martyrdom, racism, and a host of other problems that most of our
churches do not want to deal with these days in order to be truly
successful in the ways of the Kingdom.
Paul’s list of challenges remains astounding
(2 Corinthians 11). It
seems to me that God did not necessarily call Paul to “grow churches.”
In fact, in one of Paul’s most intense visions, the Spirit motivated the
great missionary and his team to go to Macedonia and “help” people.
Note that Paul usually began a church with meager success in worldly or
business terms. Oftentimes, Paul’s church starts involved painful trials
and rioting.
Isn’t it interesting that John’s revelatory vision came when he and his fellow church members felt most alone and in decline?
For the record, then, let’s answer Furtick’s question regarding
numbers of church members: “What else should we be about?” Maston would
likely say,
“Jesus’ disciples, and we claim to be in that company, were
and are to make other disciples of Him and then teach them what it means
to be a real disciple of Him. Here is evangelism and ethics tied
together in one bundle.”[2]
It seems, therefore, that church growth ought to be less about the
numbers of church members and more about us walking as Jesus walked and
teaching others to do the same.
[1] T. B. Maston, “Trends to Watch—Success Orientation,” Baptist Standard, April 23, 1975, 13.
[2] T.B. Maston, “Both/And”—Evangelism and Ethics,”
Baptist Standard, February 18, 1981, 11.
