I was coming to the office this morning and walked outside into the beautiful fall sun and gazed at with wonder at God’s beauty. I thought how wonderful to enjoy the earth we live in. All of His creation is designed for growth. This is also true of His church, the body of Christ. We exist to grow in Christ’s image and share Him with others. As I reflect on church growth, I want to share with you some principles I have learned over the years about what makes a church grow. Are you ready?
Whatever is healthy grows. That is so true isn’t it? In order for a church to grow, it must be healthy in all aspects. Think of your gardens. You must plant the seed, water it, sometimes fertilize it and then allow the sun to shine on it to bring growth of the fruit we enjoy from it. This is true of churches. God’s people must be healthy spiritually, if we are to grow numerically. How do we get spiritually healthy? By living close to the Lord; by reading His Word; by having a powerful prayer life; by being in church; and by ministering His love, forgiveness, mercy and growth to others.
Creating an atmosphere of acceptance. This is taken from Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Church”. I would like to quote from his book. “The right climate for church growth is an atmosphere of acceptance and love. Growing churches love; loving churches grow….To make an impact on a visitor; love must be expressed in a practical way…We must intentionally act in ways that demonstrate our love for visitors and for those who don’t know Christ.” Isn’t that true? Plants need the right climate to grow and so do churches. As Pastor Warren says, “The right climate for church growth is an atmosphere of acceptance and love.”
Meeting people’s needs. If you study the life of Christ, you will see that wherever Jesus went there were usually crowds of people around Him. That’s because Jesus met their needs – physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, and otherwise. His question to others was, “What do you want me to do for you?” A church who desires growth must take on the attitude of Christ…that of meeting the needs of others.
The Witness of our Worship. This is so true isn’t it? Our worship of God is powerful if God’s presence is felt when we bring praise to Him. In the book of Acts, worship was a powerful witness to unbelievers…so much that thousands came to hear God’s Word from the Apostles. When a church worships God in spirit and truth, it creates a desire in others to know God too.
These are just a few principles to chew on J. As the body of Christ, let us prayerfully continue to bring Jesus to others in our church and our community. If we are faithful to our calling, we will see God grow His church. Amen! May God’ richest blessings be yours!
Live for Jesus,
Pastor Rob