Church growth

What do you think of when you hear the words "church growth"?  What kinds of associations do you make? The question is an important one because the phrase has come to signify one of the most popular and, at the same time, provocative ideas in the recent memory of American Evangelicalism.  Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Western Meccas of suburban mega-churches, while others have, for one reason or another, decided to remain warily aloof.  But the importance of the church growth question lies not merely in developing an educated opinion about a current methodological fad.  Rather, the question of how we understand, value, and pursue growth in our churches has to do with the way we read our Bibles, what we think a truly converted Christian is, and what we think the local church should be doing.  In other words, our model of church growth strikes at the very heart of what we say we believe, and what we intend to do about it.  The way we define church growth will determine the way we measure it.  The way we measure it will determine how we pursue it.  How we pursue it will determine our effectiveness in achieving it.  And what it is that we actually achieve will determine whether or not our churches honor God's plans, goals, and values for the local church.  As you can well see, there is much more at stake here than initially meets the eye.

God warned Moses to build the tabernacle after the pattern he was shown on the Mount (Ex 25:9, 40; 26:30; Acts 7:44; cf. esp. Heb 8:5). Moses was not free to choose any pattern or method that suited his fancy or worked best with his culture.  God had a pattern for the tabernacle because He had a plan to inhabit it - Moses was to build it for God's pleasure, not man's.  We believe that God has a similarly normative blueprint for His New Temple, the Church.  Just like the tabernacle, the blueprint for the Church is tailored to the personal specifications of the Master Architect Who plans to move into it.  And that blueprint should serve as our normative guide for the way we go about building the New Temple - for the way we understand and promote growth in the local church.  From tools to design, from materials to the finished product and its intended use, God has a plan for the raising of His Church, and it is important that we know what that plan is, and how to put it into practice.

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God cares about numbers. 

• Many staunch critics of the mega-church movement cite the irrelevance of numbers in God's economy.  "God cares more about depth than breadth", they like to say.  There is certainly a measure of truth to this concern - even millions without maturity misses the mark. 
  
• Yet God does seem to be interested in numbers - even big numbers.  After all, the first command He gives to humanity is to Be fruitful and multiply [not just add!], and fill the earth (Gen 1:28).  And one of the last visions of heaven we have is of a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb singing praises to God (Rev 7:9).  Situated between the two is a whole book with the very title "Numbers"!
  


God commands multiplication of people and wildlife.

• God blessed [every living creature], saying, "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth" (Gen 1:22).
  
• Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" (Gen 9:1)
  
• Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands that they may bear sons and daughters; and
  multiply there and do not decrease" (Jer 29:6).
  

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God views abundance as a blessing.

• The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord; they will flourish in the courts of our God (Ps 92:12-13).
  

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God will cause the growth of His kingdom.

• The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed… and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches (Matt 13:31-32).
  
• Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number…the Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith (Acts 6:1,7).
  
• But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied (Acts 12:24).
  
• So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing (Acts 19:20).
  


God cares about the strength and maturity of His children.

• Some think that it is normal for Christians to remain in spiritual infancy for the duration of their lives.  As long as they have professed Jesus as Savior and Lord sometime in the past, they are satisfied, and think God expects no more of them. 
  
• But what kind of a father would want to have ten children and then not care about whether any of them grow to spiritual or physical maturity? 
  
• By the same token, what kind of Father would God be if He wanted to adopt so many children, but then didn't care whether or not they ever grew up?  God is not a deadbeat dad.  He is always working towards the spiritual growth of the members of His Church.
  


God cares so much about this growth that He expects it in His older children.

• And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.  I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.  Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly (1Cor 3:1-2).
  
• We have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil (Heb 5:11-14).
  


God cares so much about this growth that He commands it in His younger children.

• Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord (1Peter 2:2-3).
  
• Be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2Peter 3:18).
  


God cares so much about this growth that He causes it in all His children.

• The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows - how, he himself does not know.  The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.  But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come (Mark 4:27).
  
• What then is Apollos?  And what is Paul?  Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.  I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.  So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth (1Cor 3:6-7).
  
• May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you (1Thess 3:12).
  
• We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater (2Thess 1:3).
  

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If God cares so much about this growth, we should care too.

• Pastors should care about the continued spiritual health of the sheep under their care, not just how many are in his flock.  No good shepherd neglects the health of the sheep God has entrusted to him.  Good shepherds are faithful to graze and guard the flock.  
  
  • "Thus says the Lord God, 'Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves.  Should not the shepherds feed the flock?… Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them'" (Ezek 34:2-4).
    
  • I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.  He who is a hired hand…sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches and scatters them (John 10:11).
    
• Members should care about their own continued spiritual progress, as well as that of the other sheep in the flock.
  
  • As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine…; but speaking truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (Eph 4:14-16)
    

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Godliness grows as we believe the promises of God.

• Godliness does not grow as we remain passive when we feel tempted beyond our ability to resist. It grows as we believe the promises God gives us and as we use them to escape the stains of worldliness. (Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You [Ps 119:11]).
  
• Godliness does not grow as we try harder to obey God's perfect law in our own strength. It grows as we believe and use God's promises to proactively imitate His character (2Pet 1:4). 
  


Godliness flowers as we imitate the character of God.

• We are to supply certain character traits to our faith if that faith is to mature in godliness.  Mature people are morally pure, Scripturally knowledgeable, self-controlled, persevering, godly, kind, and loving. 
  
• There is no true growth in godliness or maturity in Christ without the development of Christ-like character.  Maturity into spiritual adulthood only develops as we proactively cultivate these habits and character traits in our own hearts and relationships.
  


Godliness comes to fruition as we become useful in the knowledge of God.

• The knowledge of God has a purpose - in its mature form it is supposed to be put to the use of bearing fruit that others can eat and appreciate. If our knowledge of God is not useful or fruitful, we may rightly question whether that knowledge is mature, and may even be wise to question whether it is saving (cf. James 2:14-26).
  
• The character traits listed in 2Peter 1 are the things that make our knowledge of God useful and fruitful.  If these qualities are in us and are increasing, we are useful to God in the building of His church and the spreading of His kingdom.
  
• This is the Biblical pattern for spiritual growth.  As Christians who have been called into saving fellowship with God, we must believe God's good promises, using them to kill the weeds of sin and cultivate the character of God in our hearts and in our local churches.  It is in this way that we will bear fruit for God's kingdom both individually and corporately, and prove to be mature adults in the family of God.
  

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A lack of individual growth in godliness suggests a false conversion.

• This is not to say that genuine Christians are always perfect Christians.  We know that indwelling sin is tenacious - even in the most mature believers - and that we will not be completely freed from the presence of sin in our lives until we are glorified with Christ in heaven.  This significant remainder of indwelling sin is why the Christian life is characterized by Paul as a battle (Rom 7:14-25; Eph 6:12-18).
  
• But it is to say that the most reliable indicator of true conversion is the Spirit-produced fruit of an increasingly godly lifestyle.  God's purposes in us are purposes of holiness, of increasing conformity to the image of His son.  This increasing conformity to the image of Christ is our biblical destiny as truly converted Christians - it WILL happen (Rom 8:29). 
  
• So if we are not able to discern increasing conformity to the character of Christ, then we have reason to examine whether or not God has even commenced the work of conformity in us by truly converting us. In other words, our failure to grow in godliness suggests that we may never have been truly converted at all, because increasing godliness is the destiny of everyone who is truly converted.
  

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The church is the primary means of maturity (vv14-16).

 Of course, God works in different people's lives by different instrumental means - God does not wield a cosmic cookie cutter.  But again, according to Ephesians 4, the primary instrument He uses to develop spiritual maturity in His people is the local church.

 How, specifically, does God use the local church to develop maturity in His people?

• Truth spoken in love (v15) - We "grow up in all aspects into Him" by "speaking the truth in love" to one another. 
  
• Individual growth happens as we talk with each other about God's Word - His Truth - and its implications for our lives. Spiritual growth is therefore a function of relational involvement, not rugged individualism.  We grow by pursuing the joy of purposeful relationship with one another - by deliberately and lovingly talking with each other about God's truth over meals and walks and car trips and plane rides. 
  
• Conversely, if we neglect to do this, then our lives will evidence that neglect in perpetual immaturity - and God will hold us accountable for it.
  


The proper working of each part (v16) - The body "builds itself up in love" by the "proper working of each individual part." 

• Corporate growth happens as we each serve in the ways God has called and gifted us to do so as individual members of His corporate Body.  Spiritual growth is therefore a function of investing ourselves fully in a local church, not remaining aloof or anonymous.  We grow by pursuing the joy of working together for the building up of the local church. 
  
• Conversely, if we neglect to do this, then our local church will evidence that neglect in stunted growth and perpetual corporate immaturity - and God will hold us accountable for it.
  

A lack of individual growth in godliness suggests a false conversion.

• This is not to say that genuine Christians are always perfect Christians.  We know that indwelling sin is tenacious - even in the most mature believers - and that we will not be completely freed from the presence of sin in our lives until we are glorified with Christ in heaven.  This significant remainder of indwelling sin is why the Christian life is characterized by Paul as a battle (Rom 7:14-25; Eph 6:12-18).
  
• But it is to say that the most reliable indicator of true conversion is the Spirit-produced fruit of an increasingly godly lifestyle.  God's purposes in us are purposes of holiness, of increasing conformity to the image of His son.  This increasing conformity to the image of Christ is our biblical destiny as truly converted Christians - it WILL happen (Rom 8:29). 
  
• So if we are not able to discern increasing conformity to the character of Christ, then we have reason to examine whether or not God has even commenced the work of conformity in us by truly converting us. In other words, our failure to grow in godliness suggests that we may never have been truly converted at all, because increasing godliness is the destiny of everyone who is truly converted.
  

 

A lack of corporate growth in numbers may suggest a spiritual problem. 

• Since numerical growth is no sure sign of a work of God in a local church, its presence or absence may or may not indicate spiritual vitality or fatality. 
  
• It may be that a pastor is called to a work in a local church that will not enjoy rapid or substantial numerical blessing, even though there is no discernable sin in the pastor or in the congregation for which the Lord is withholding it.
  
• It may be that a pastor is called to work in a local church that will not enjoy rapid or substantial numerical blessing because there is sin in the congregation for which the Lord is withholding it. 
  
• Jeremiah is a prime example.  He faithfully preached his whole life to a rebellious people, and preached them right into numerical atrophy and exile because of their rebellion against the Lord!  They rejected his warnings, burned his writings, and threw him into prison.  And they rejected him most clearly at the very end of his ministry to them. 
  
• As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!  But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths (Jer 44:17). The numerical decline happened because of Israel's rank, rebellious sin.  The decline and exile of Israel was a means of God's discipline of His people.
  
• It may be that a pastor is working in a local church that will not enjoy rapid or substantial numerical blessing because there is gross sin in the pastor for which the Lord is withholding it. The pastor needs to repent of his sin, seek accountability from other men in the church,  and believe the gospel for forgiveness and change.
  

 Read 1Peter 2:1-3.  What is Peter's hope for these Christians?  What does he mean by "grow up" in salvation?

 Some people believe that "church growth" means only growth in numbers.  Read Acts 2:41.  Why do you think the number of converts was recorded?  Now read the rest of chapter 2.  Would the great numbers of converts have been glorifying to God if they had not also been growing in holiness?  Why or why not?

 Weeds can have bad effects on the plants around them.  In what ways can undisciplined, sinful church members negatively affect the growth of Christians around them?  How can good influences in a church be tools in God's hand for growing His people?  Can you think of some examples in your own church?

 What are some ways that God is glorified by a maturing church?  How many of these things do you see consistently in the life of your church?