“When will we grow?”
It’s a question that I’ve been asked much and thought about often in my 8 months as Pastor of FBC. It’s an important and understandable question, but is, unfortunately, also an
impossible question to answer. Because I’ve been thinking about it myself though, and because I know many of you have as well I thought I’d take a moment here to review a few
Biblical principles for understanding church growth.
First,
growth comes rarely, at least in America. You can’t read the statistics on church growth across our country right now without getting at least a little bit disheartened. Every year 4,000 churches close their doors permanently compared to just 1,000 new church starts, that’s not good. The simple fact is that in America today a church that is growing every year through conversions that equal or exceed population growth is
the exception, not the norm. Depressing way to open the article, right?
I don’t share this to discourage us though, but to remind us that God has nowhere promised us that church growth will
be easy. After all, when we commit to the process of becoming an effective and growing church we commit to
go to war, and not against mere earthly powers, for we struggle “…not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the ruler of darkness.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Sadly so many churches in our country are not growing because the members have elevated their preferences above Gods mission.
This makes for a comfortable church experience, but it is one that cannot be sustained. Because growth comes rarely we must embrace the hard way, the way of self-surrender, the way of the cross. We must together commit to always elevate Gods mission above our preferences, and be willing to roll with the punches when changes are made that we may not immediately like.
Second, growth comes unexpectedly. Do you remember the words Jesus used to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation when He spoke with Nicodemus?
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” -John 3:8
That’s right, Jesus compares the movement of God in salvation to the blowing of the wind:
mysterious, powerful, and unpredictable. It is humbling (and sometimes frustrating) to embrace the truth that no matter our level of planning, no matter our level of excellence, no matter our level of prayer, we cannot ultimately cause the salvation of anyone, only God can for, “Salvation is from the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9) A
complete and utter dependence upon God and Gods timing for church growth can be frustrating, like waiting for the breeze to blow on a steamy hot day, but it is Gods way, and we know His way is good.
Finally,
growth comes assuredly as all healthy living things grow. You don’t have to coax a plant with good soil, and plenty of sun and water to grow, it will grow naturally.
In the same way it doesn’t take rocket science to see church growth, but will instead happen naturally over time as a church pursues gospel health.
I close with this principle to encourage us, that even in dry seasons where we aren’t seeing the full fruitfulness we’re praying for we can be confident that
we are on the path toward growth so long as we are pursuing health. What does church health look like? Well that’s another question for another newsletter, but for now I can say without hesitation that I believe it looks like what we’ve seen over the last eight months.
The path toward growth looks like more hands raised in worship on Sundays, more power in prayer, and more enthusiasm about the work of God to be done in our community.
So when will we grow? Only God knows. Growth comes rarely and unexpectedly, but it does come assuredly. Jesus Christ makes no promise He cannot keep, and it is in His promise that “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18) that we place
all our trust.