A Cynics View of Why Churches Grow

Orginally published on Thursday, May 11, 2006 at 8:39 AM
by Todd Rhoades

This is from Pastor Tom Datema... I think it's a good read.  Thanks to my friend, Mike, for the link.  Tom writes...

Every one wants their church to grow… Well, now that I’ve said that I have to say I suppose there are some who don’t want their churches to grow but that is another issue. If you are a pastor you are bombarded practically every day with information on how to make your church grow. Over the years I have paid less and less attention to this information, which probably means I missed some good stuff but I also saved myself some time.

Anyway, here is my list of why churches grow. These are basically off the top of my head so I will readily admit that there are probably a lot of factors I left out. But here goes.

1. Pastors who have great communication skills.

Some pastors are just fantastic communicators and they draw a crowd. I think it is interesting that these folks often try to draw attention away from their speaking skills but if you look closely you will find the truth. These guys often write articles in magazines proclaiming all sorts of reasons for their church’s growth giving the impression that anyyone can apply their principles and grow a church, but that’s usually not true. Their program isn’t what is doing it. They are just darn good communicators and people go to hear them.

2. Pastors who have great communication skills and are exceptional leaders.

This is similar to the first but adds a leadership component. Again, these guys do a lot of writing and often have conferences that aim to dissiminate their skills. The problem here is that while their are aspects of leadership that can be learned some guys are just born with it. They know what makes people tick and they are just exceptionally gifted. The thing that makes them different can’t really be taught.

The guys in these first to categories are great pastors. One mistake that is often made is to try and turn every pastor into one of these super-pastors. I might also add that although most of these guys are sincere there are a few who use their ability to fleece their flock, and they get away with it because of their giftedness. Growth doesn’t always mean that God is in the picture. Several other religions also experience growth.

3. Serendipity.

Sometimes churches grow because they happen to be at the right place at the right time. There might be a sudden housing boom in their neck of the woods. There might be some event that causes an infusion of new folks into their church because the right people happened to have moved into their neighborhood or maybe the church next door experienced a split. The mix of all these factors creates a situation where the lucky church happens to be THE church to be at.

4. A Move of the Spirit.

I imagine there are a lot of people would not be happy that I took so long to get around to this but it is closely related to attraction. Just like some people are attracted to a church because the pastor is a good speaker some are attracted because they see a movement of the Spirit at work. It is infectous and people just want to be a part of it.

It is frustrating for the church who finds their own church currently in a “wilderness� time because it appears that activity is the key and not necessarily the Spirit. The result is the church tries to start more programs because they think that means that something is “happening� at their church. Sometimes this does attract new people but it is often shallow growth.

5. A Church Has The Cool People

Remeber in high school when everyone gravitated to their “group� at lunch. Everyone wanted to be with the cool kids and if you were accepted in that group it was great. If not everyone gravitated by default to a group of kids they had an affinity with. It’s not that they had any real desire to join these default groups. It is just that that’s where they ended up. That’s why some campus ministries used to target the cool kids. If they could get them they knew they could get everyone else.

I think this happens in churches too. Sometimes churches just have people that others want to be around. When someone decides to go to church they go to where the cool people are.

6. Great Facilities and Programs.

I already spoke about this a little in reason #4. But the fact is that some people just are attracted to the church with the shiny new building and the thriving kids programs. The facility is comfortable and convenient and they feel that the kids programs are taking care of their parental responsibility for their kid’s spiritual well-being so they feel relieved. These are the consumer oriented churchs. They give people what they want whether it’s what they need or not.

7. People Being Saved.

This is another factor that some would say should have been mentioned earlier but I think this reason is very rare. Just look at the overall church statistics in this country and it is obvious we are losing ground in this area. I’m not saying that people aren’t being saved. They have to be or churches would be declining much faster. Unfortunately I can only name a few churches that are actually growing because people are being saved.

Disappointed? Yeah, I know I should have mentioned all the other factors that research claims is what causes churches to grow but I think they make things a lot more complicated than they really are. I’m not saying it has to be this way though. Things can change and I hope they do. However, when I talk to people or read an article on some new discovery as to what makes a church grow I’ll probably just nod my head and move on. Chances are they are not giving credit where the real credit is due.

FOR DISCUSSION:  What do you think?

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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.

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