Church growth ... real church growth

Well, here we go again. Don’t get me wrong I really do love my denomination. It was a choice I made for a variety of reasons. I’ve dedicated my pastoral career to making my denomination the best it could be, as well as an authentically embodiment of the Kingdom of God.

Over these many years the denomination has been in decline. Actually, it has been in decline since the 1890s, which is hard for some to believe. In the 1890s the Methodist Church was growing, but not as fast than the population of America was increasing … and it has only gotten worse.

Our response? We bring in one program after another and/or we play around with the organization. Today is no different. From my perspective, playing around with the organization, i.e. what committees/councils/boards we have, is like “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” It keeps us busy, but doesn’t keep the boat from sinking.

The secret to church growth cannot be found in the organization nor in some imported program that has worked in another situation. We have spent tons of money, brought in a score of experts, shipped off too many members to one seminar after another, instituted numerous statewide programs … all with the same result – nothing actually happens – no change – no growth – same-old-same-old.

Painfully, in too many cases there is the false assumption that if we hire the correct staff person, i.e. youth director, children’s minister, choir/music director, we will grow or if we only had the right pastor … then things would turn around and we will start to grow again. WRONG! Two of my favorite quotes are: “If you continue to do what you have always done you will continue to get what you have always gotten” and “Stupidity: doing the same thing, but expecting different results.” We simply do not learn the lessons from the past.

The percentages vary a little from study to study, but basically they are all very close … 1% growth comes via an evangelistic outreach; 6% as a result of small study groups and/or Sunday School; 3% because of the pastor, choir or some other kind of staffing; and then you have location, worship style, advertising, programming, mission outreach, etc. And, then you have 90% as a direct result of being invited to participate by a friend, neighbor, associate or relative. Growth comes through networking … one-on-one … people caring for others by direct involvement in their lives.

I think about my own life and it was a neighbor who asked my mother for permission to take me to church with her and her daughter who was my friend. The rest is history as they say. It wasn’t the organization, a program, nor the staff that resulted in my attendance and involvement, but friendship … being invited and taken to church!

So go ahead and play around with the organization – move around those deck chairs – and spend the money for some extra special summer evangelistic outreach … but really don’t expect anything exciting to happen. I’ve been there and done that … and I will try not to be too disappointed when the status quo continues.


Quote for today: The church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its non-members. William Temple