Tag: The Church

Woman writing in a journal beside a historic stone church and cemetery

Do You Even Want It?

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“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Other than the month of July, for the past seven Fridays we have been talking about different factors than contribute to church growth. None of them are guarantees. None of them in isolation from the others are likely to accomplish very much. Together these do not form an exhaustive list. I’ve read books on church growth before. Some of these things have been mentioned in those list, some of them have not. What this has been is a list of things that have contributed to the season of growth my church is currently experiencing. There are more we could probably talk about, but these have so far been the six that came to mind first. At the end of the day, though, real and sustainably growth happens because God directs it. Today we are going to end this series by talking about one last critical factor for any church thinking about growth: Do you really even want it?

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Community gathering with food, live music, and kids' activities outside St. Jude's Church

Community Rhythms

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“So the word of God spread, the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly in number, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

The neighborhood church is making a comeback. There’s just something good about a church that is an integrated part of its community. People know the church, and the church knows the people. When a need arises, everyone works together to meet it. Neighborhood churches aren’t necessarily big, but they are impactful. And they grow. It has been a few weeks, but today we are continuing with the fifth part of our conversation about the things that are contributing to the growth we are seeing happen in real time at my church, let’s talk about community rhythms.

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Children and adults participating in a Sunday school activity with crafts, books, and a guitar in a bright room

Pick Your Ministries Well

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“Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Sometimes a thing isn’t obvious even when it feels like it should be. Or maybe I should put that like this: Sometimes a thing that should be obvious is, but we don’t do it anyway. For the last month we have been talking about how to grow a church. Well, that’s not entirely true. We have talking about things that have all contributed in some way to the growth gay my church is currently experiencing. Yes, there are things like preaching that have hopefully played some small role, but the list we have been working through have all played a bigger one. Today, let’s talk about item number four on the list: ministry focus.

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Man dressed as Jesus warmly greeting young children with backpacks outside a school entrance

Opening Gospel Doors

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“Jesus said, ‘Leave the little children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'” (Matthew 19:14 CSB – Read the chapter)

For the last couple of Fridays now we have been talking about various things that have resulted in the church I pastor being in the position that it is. We are growing. There is life and momentum and excitement everywhere you look right now. New families are connecting regularly, and most of them are young and with young kids. It really is a fun season. But it isn’t a season that has arrived overnight. Things have been slowly building in this direction for several years. There have been several decisions the church has made along the way that have contributed in important ways toward what we are experiencing. Exploring some of these with you is why I’ve started this series. We have looked at two so far – eating together and clarifying our identity – today, let’s take a look at a third one: getting into our local school.

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People of various ages and backgrounds sharing a meal at long tables in a church community dining room

Unpacking a Growing Church

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“For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body – so also is Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:12 CSB – Read the chapter)

Across the country right now the average church is not growing. It is plateaued at best. Many are stagnant as a prelude to dying. I have a member who travels regularly for work all across the state, but never more than day trips. He has returned several times with stories of seeing more and more churches with for sale signs in their front yards. Over the last 10-15 years, one of the fastest growing interest movements within the church is the church revitalization movement. A big part of the reason for this is that a whole bunch of church leaders have realized all at about the same time that the church isn’t in great shape. There are some significant signs of life in recent days, but many churches are still limping along at best. It seems worth noting, then, when a church is experiencing the opposite of all of this. Well, my church is experiencing the opposite of all of this right now. I thought we might spend at least this Friday exploring some of why I think this may be.

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