Here is a lesson our adult Sunday class went through on November 11th. We've been exploring the biblical and sociological reasons for why and how a church grows numerically. These are some of the reasons:
A. Scriptures regarding the growth of Christ’s New Covenant church
Acts 2:41 – So those who received his word were baptized,
and there were
added that day
about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:47 - ...praising God and having favor with all the
people. And the Lord
added to their
number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 5:14 - And more than ever believers were added to
the Lord, multitudes
of both men
and women
Acts 6:7 And the word of God continued to
increase, and the number of the
disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and
a great many of the
priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and
Galilee and Samaria had
peace and was being built up. And walking in
the fear of the Lord
and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it
multiplied.
Acts 11:21- And the hand of the Lord was with them, and
a great number who
believed turned to the Lord.
Acts 12:24 - But the
word of God increased and multiplied.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the
growth. So
neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God
who gives the growth.
Colossians 2:19 …and not
holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body,
nourished and knit together through
its joints and ligaments, grows
with a growth that is from God.
From these verses, what can we conclude about the source for true
church growth?
B. Some historical observations and notes
"It’s clear from the New Testament story
that numbers and quantitative
growth never became a means for measuring success
for New Testament
churches, even in those that were relatively large. Though “numerical growth”
and “spiritual
growth” were certainly not mutually exclusive, there was a major foundational
criteria for discerning spiritual growth in these churches that clearly emerges
from the biblical record. This is what
this study is all about. From these
measurements, we’ll look at the supracultural principles that can guide us
today
in both evaluating our churches spiritually – regardless of size – and
helping us
produce communities of faith that reflect the life of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
(Gene Getz; The Measure of a
Healthy Church; pp. 15-16)
Rodney Stark (of Baylor University) in The Rise of Christianity studies the
growth
of Christianity from a
sociological perspective. Some things
that he highlights
which are worthy of
consideration:
1.
For many
centuries, the vast majority of church growth happened in the
larger
cities. In fact, there were so few
Christians in rural areas that the
“term paganus or ‘countryman’ came to refer
to non-Christians (pagans).”
(p. 10)
2.
He points
out that the mathematical probability based on data collected
from various
sources, the probable rate of growth of the church was 3.42
percent per year or
40 percent per decade.
a. By 100 AD,
the church was only .0023 percent of the total Roman
Empire’s population; and
by 250 AD, it was 1.9 percent or only 1,171,356
million. Even in the large city of Rome, by 200 AD
there were only 7,000 Christians or 1 percent of the total population.
b. Something
remarkable occurred between 250 and 300 AD – the population
of professing
Christians in then Roman Empire increased to 10.5 percent,
and then to 56.5
percent by 350 AD!
c. Most of the
growth happened in cities of the Eastern portion of the Empire,
such as Asia
Minor (Turkey), Egypt and North Africa.
d. The growth
in Egypt is also intriguing. By 239 AD
the percentage of
Christians was immeasurable (no records or evidence
available). By 274
AD the church was 2.4% of the population. By 315 AD, it was 18 percent
of Egypt’s
population (concentrated mainly in the large cities).
3. Stark’s
studies reveal several things:
a. That
the growth of the church in the first four centuries was very slow and
small,
but steady. That flies in the face of the typical claims
that we should
be like the early church
and grow large and fast.
b. The
Church grows at various rates in certain populations and during
particular
times. In
other words, there is a mysterious ebb and flow, or as
Stark calls it “bumps
and lumps
in the growth curve.” The early church
grew
more rapidly during the first generation
in Jerusalem and Antioch, but then in
Rome thereafter. As the above statistics
show, the tiny church in Egypt was
insignificant for four generations. Imagine
the level of frustration over the lack
of growth we would have experienced had
we lived in Egypt at that time and
compared the church growth in our home country
to other places?
c. Stark
has also compiled historical and archaeological facts regarding the
Church since
its inception. In general, the church grows within a culture to a
saturation
point, after
which it typically reaches a numerical ceiling. In most
cases, the growth of
the church
in a particular place at a particular time will
level off and remain relatively unchanged for a
generation or two. At that point
the church may experience a burst of growth for about ten years, but then
level
off again; or it may begin to decline.
d.
It should
also be noted that over the centuries the birth, growth and then
decline of the
church has repeated itself over and over again.
It started in Jerusalem, spread west to Turkey, then Rome, down to
Egypt, then up to
Europe. Some progress was made into Russia and northern
India. Afterward,
it spread to the north American continent. From there it has spread to Korea
and
China. At the same time, and pretty much
for the first time, the church is
rapidly growing in Africa and South
America. For the past hundred years
Church population levels have remained low and are deteriorating in what
was
once the region of the Roman Empire, and Europe.
C. Philosophical
and methodological ideas
Biblical church growth views discipleship as the
process of finding and winning
the lost, folding them into a local church, and
building them up in the faith.
(Biblical Church
Growth by McIntosh; p.68)
Growing people demonstrate a ministry mind-set, which is
seen in the light of the
Great Commission. Thus the sixth principle for
biblical church growth is that a
church must have the right people: effective ministers.
Simply stated, life-giving
churches
are empowered by worshipers who
willingly invest their lives in
life-
giving ministry. (McIntosh, p.110)
People win people. Programs do not reach people; people
reach people.
(McIntosh, p. 111)
If a church has fewer than 27 percent of its people
serving in ministry roles, the
result
is a large numbers of consumers who
absorb a significant amount of energy
from
the small number of volunteers.
A church in this situation usually finds itself in
decline with limited potential for growth. (McIntosh, p. 113)
When you think about it, it is possible for the church
universal to reach everyone,
but impossible
for a local church to reach
everyone. That is why there can be no
one model for ministry and no one method for evangelism. It takes a
multitude of
models and
methods because there are
multitudes of different people who
need
to be reached. (McIntosh, p.148)
Church, he stressed, comes out of mission, not the other way around. "We
need to plant the Gospel and let church come out of that." (Alan Hirsch)
Most
of the churches in the U.S. that are numerically growing have these things in common:
1.
A contemporary
web site with a special section for members and a blog.
2.
Church
conveys the story, vision and mission regularly through various means.
3.
Intentionally
structure multiple ways for people
to interact in the church and to
form social ties.
4.
Assumes
people in our society do not know each other nor will they make the
effort if
left on their own, so there is a strong intentionality to encourage people
to
get involved and connect, especially through community groups.
5.
Music is
upbeat, joyous, exciting, inspirational.
6.
Music
includes drums and an electric guitar with other modern instruments.
7.
Worship is
inspirational, thought-provoking and filled with the sense of God’s
presence.
8.
There are
designated people who greet and extend a welcome to all.
9.
There are
designated people who greet and make sure new people are accommodated and
welcomed.
10.
There are
designated people who offer hospitality to visitors and guests.
11.
People are strongly urged to invite others,
and more than 50% of the people
do invite others. Note: 75-90% of those who are in churches are there
because
a friend or family member invited them.
12.
Sermons are biblical,
filled with personal or firsthand experiences, have illustrations from
contemporary media, and always call for commitment.
13.
There are
viable, coordinated ministries to the local community in which people can be
involved.
How
Our Church Might Grow Numerically
1.
If God wills
it
2.
Members must
have a sincere desire to grow numerically, invite and incorporate
new people.
3.
Our church
must diligently and consistently pray for witness, outreach,
discipleship and
growth.
4.
Members must
be intentional and proactively network within their own spheres
of influence:
engaging, serving and/or inviting people to appropriate church-
related events or ministries.
5. Develop and
utilize multiple entrance points within our church for new people.
6. Designate
specific funds to local outreach.
The mission of the church is to go into
the world and make disciples by
declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the
power of the Spirit and gathering
these disciples into churches, that they
might worship the Lord and obey his commands now and in eternity to the glory
of God the Father. We believe this
is the mission Jesus gave the disciples
prior to his ascension, the mission
we see in the New Testament, and the
mission of the church today.
- Kevin DeYoung
