For eleven years I traveled weekends with a part-time gospel quartet. We would be in as many as four churches in a weekend. We went out into the rural communities, as well as the suburbs and the cities, ministering in all protestant denominations, from the smallest churches to the mega-churches. Many of the churches would call us back annually or every-other year. So we were able to observe some of the same congregations over several years. We noticed that some churches were increasing in attendance, building new buildings and expanding their ministries, while others seemed to be stuck in a time-warp. And it didn't seem to matter whether it was a rural or an urban church. We found examples of healthy growing churches in every denomination and community, while the opposite was also true. There was no constant pattern based on demographics or affiliation.
During this time I established many friendships with a number of pastors, since I was the manager of the quartet and the contact person who made the booking arrangements. Often I would be in conversations with pastors about the history of their church, their personal philosophies and what they felt were the strengths and weaknesses of their church and ministry. Also, I wanted to know the greatest needs of the congregation so our music ministry could address the issues that were troubling the pastor or the church.
Something I discovered almost without fail is that the pastors of the successful growing churches did not really know why their churches were doing so well. Of course, many of them had dynamic pulpit ministries with superb music ministers to back them up. But to be able to express just why their church was growing was very difficult for them to do. For one thing, most pastors are modest people, who do not want to take credit for what the Spirit is doing in their midst. But the fact of the matter is that the atmosphere they established with their leadership was providing fertile ground for the Spirit of God to function.
But some of the pastors had come from other churches where they were unable to see any growth. In fact, a few were ready to leave the ministry when they were reassigned or called to their current church. So it was apparent that the pastor was not necessarily the common denominator in church growth.
During his earthly ministry, even Jesus was not always able to inspire congregations to become believers and followers. This was especially true in his home community. I believe that the Lord himself had to suffer rejection in this manner, among other reasons to be able to share the burdens of the local pastor who has been unable to make headway with a seemingly difficult congregation.
So we have to recognize that not every pastor can be effective in every situation, that sometimes there is a personality issue or "chemistry" on a human level that prevents or interferes with his ministry among a particular group of people.
The other side of this coin is something that we must recognize and acknowledge, because the lessons of the Early Church show us that Satan also goes to church. In fact, in some instances he is so entrenched in the congregation that nothing short of a divine "exorcism" could clear the spiritual air. This is the situation that sometimes calls for "Shaking the dust from your feet" and moving on to a more receptive audience.
All of this being said, we still have not addressed the question of why churches grow. Personally, and from my experience and study, I believe there are clear "formulas" for church growth. And these concepts are based on Scripture, rather than some psychobabble. To begin, we need to go back to basics and consider the purpose of the church. Jesus Christ established the church.
Matthew 16:17-19 (New International Version, ©2010)
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.”In this sometimes contested scripture we see that Jesus states that He will build His Church. Protestants and Catholics have debated whether Peter was the rock upon which the church would be built. Or was Jesus referring to himself? Actually, the issue is not about Peter. The fact is that Jesus says HE WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH! We know that Peter was an important part of the formation of the Early Church. But the builder was God Himself.
Another portion of this scripture reference that is not often correctly understood is the line, "The Gates of Hades (Hell) will not overcome it.", or as it says in the king James Version, "Prevail against it.". Often, we as Christians imagine the image of a bunch of beleaguered believers huddled together in the church while the Gates of Hell plummet the building with earth-shaking blows.
But this is not the perception Christ wants us to have. Gates are for defensive purposes. The early cities were enclosed with walls, the only access being through the city gate. When at war, the gate would be closed and bolted. The advancing enemy would attempt to breach the gate with battering rams. When the gate was torn down, the city would be over-run and captured.
In the same way, the Church is the battering ram that is aggressively pounding on the Gates of Hell, the stronghold of Satan and the demons of Hell. In this scripture, Jesus is telling us that the Church is a victorious army, for which the enemy had no effective defense!
This is where I will leave us today. In my next blog I will continue the series on how Churches grow.
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