Stunting Church Growth

Bovina Bulletin Board

I’m going to be upfront here. I think if we are pursuing church growth, we’re pursuing the wrong thing. It’s the trap of the business model to which we’ve succumbed. Church growth stems from the need to grow an organization, which has a budget that must be met. The more members a church has, the more contributions it will receive. The more the more the contribution, the more that can be done.

The New Testament says nothing about growing churches. Jesus taught, repeatedly, that the kingdom will grow, but its growth would be the natural product of kingdom living. Churches grew because people were spreading the gospel (Acts 8:4). Growth was the effect, not the pursuit. God is the one who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).

This being said, something is wrong if churches aren’t growing, including mine. I think many recognize this, so they pursue all sorts of gimmicks to fill pews. Sometimes the gimmicks work, but more often than not they don’t. Part of the problem, in my estimation, is that we’re pursuing the wrong things.

Nevertheless, there are some sure fire ways that churches are keeping themselves from growing. If God is the one who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6), and our churches aren’t growing, then I can’t help but think that God is looking at what we’re doing and holding back, as if to say, “Wake up!” The question is…Will we?

So this brings me to a bulletin board I saw Sunday at a small church in the rural community of Bovina, TX. They hosted a great youth rally on Sunday afternoon. We really enjoyed being there.

As we were registering, and kids were filing in, Tisha called me over to look at a bulletin board in the hallway of their foyer. On it was an overweight, devilish looking figure standing in front of hellish flames. The devilish figure is lecturing through a series of bullet points. The bullet points were:

• It’s not my job.
• Let the preacher do it.
• It never worked before.
• We might offend someone.
• We don’t have the resources.
• We’re fine the way we are.
• Let’s call a meeting.

At the bottom, in quotation marks, is “That concludes my presentation on time-tested, sure-fired statements that will stunt church growth. Any question?”

I’ve heard all of these statements before, interestingly enough, used in a number of different ways. I hope you’ll take some time to digest this bulletin board message. It speaks loudly and clearly about the mindsets of many Christians. Think about it. Over the next couple of weeks, I plan on writing about each of these bullet points.