All tagged church growth
An overlapping quartet of books made it through my reading list over the past year. The lessons in these books are applicable for individuals but also for churches, as both people and organizations go through life cycles that require adaptation to changing circumstances.
For those who still struggle with isolation and battle a never-ending sense of loneliness, I encourage you to find community, more specifically a small community. Find a community where simply showing up, checking a box, and leaving isn’t an option because your community won’t allow it since they love you too much. This is a defining characteristic of the Kingdom of God and of the church.
When churches preach Jesus Christ, call people to discipleship, welcome all to community and shared life, practice hospitality and care for others, then churches continually find opportunities to live into a simple Christian witness.
I will leave you with this encouragement: God is pleased with your faithfulness, not a human-perceived outcome.
When it comes to churches, does sustainability or fruitfulness matter more? Is it more important for a church to have a long life? Or is it more desirable that a church be productive?
It could mean that small teams of pioneering Christians would leave their church buildings and go where non-church-goers gather. They would build relationships, meet real needs, and slowly share about Jesus.
Rather than focusing their attention on improving worship, the sermon, or their meeting hall, the Church of Scotland hopes to train members to start new forms of Christian communities in their backyards, on hiking trails, or in their garages.
Churches that live in the presence of the gospel are paying attention to spiritual vitality, passing and forming the Christian faith in people, and practicing hospitality to the world.
Simply put, we need new ways of thinking about church and outreach. We need a new imagination for what it means to be God’s people.
Summarized responses from 15,278 congregations and 80 denominations or religious groups resulted in the largest national survey of congregations ever conducted in the U.S.
Rather than rush from one thing to another, healthy churches live with meaning and intentionality, doing what they do with excellence.
True growth comes not from questions of defense, but questions about how to reach a dark world with the light of Jesus.
These reasons for growth transcend simply being at the right place at the right time.
The Church Growth movement rests upon building churches of people who are alike. It leans into a principle of homogeneity.
Reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated, to say the least. By contrast though, predicting success in any church venture is impossible. There simply is no surefire recipe for growth.
