First UMC
Church Growth 101
2 Corinthians 4:1-6 NRSV
How does the church grow?
When the church...
1) sees themselves as stewards not owners.
2) chases truth not relevance,
Merchants sometimes “adulterated” (cf. NASB here) substances by mixing in something cheaper to cheat their customers; philosophers often accused professional speakers of doing the same, because they were more concerned about speaking ability than about correct content - Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament.
The cross not prosperity was Jesus’ destiny on earth.
3) persists in all seasons
4) proclaims one thing...Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The more the "church" is a local body of believers gathered in the name of Jesus, the greater the chance that it can respond to the movements of the spirit in its immediate context. from Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church by Luke Timothy Johnson
5) understands what she is up against, or more specifically, who she is fighting against. And it is a fight.
And this battle is won with surrender and weakness and foolishness not shock and awe and strength and wisdom.
You are on to me by now...growth is not about numbers!
When the bible talks about growth it refers to depth. Depth leads to width and not the other way around.
God is much more concerned about the strength of our faith rather than the size of our crowd.
My stated goal is to not grow a church...it’s not in Scripture. Equip the saints for the work of ministry so we might grow to maturity (Eph 4:12)...that is my job description and life's work.