What do we mean when we say, “Church Growth?” This involves several areas about which church leaders should be concerned. Congregations should be concerned about growth in: (1) Evangelism, growing in number, (2) Maturity – helping each member become more mature as a Christian, (3) Giving – we may not like the topic, but it takes money for a congregation to grow in some areas, (4) Benevolence – reaching out to meet the physical needs of members of the church and especially those in the community. By helping those in the community, it may lead to conversions – thus growing in evangelism. There are other areas where God expects us to grow. In this article we are going to discuss growing in evangelism.
The Biblical Principle of Growth
Christ has given the church everything she needs to grow. Paul stated, “He (Christ) gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). We have apostles and prophets through their writings (Ephesians 3:5) so that we can read to learn about church growth. We need men and women who will evangelize – teach the lost the gospel. Each church also needs those who will be shepherds (pastors) to oversee the souls of members by their ability to teach them (I Timothy 3:2; Hebrews 13:17). Through those offices the church can grow to become “a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Paul goes on to explain that every member of the church must contribute to that growth. “The whole body being fitted and held together by what every joint (member) supplies, according to the working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16). These same principles are taught in I Corinthians 12:14-31).
Not all members have the same talent and ability, but every member has something that the body (the church) needs. For the church to grow each member must decide what he or she has to offer the Lord through the church. Helping members find their place is part of the work of church leaders. The best leader does not do all the work or most of the work. He or she helps all members find and develop their strengths. Even if one can do the work of ten; he is better off getting ten to work!
Growth in Evangelism
There are countries in the world where converting people to Christ and biblical truth is very effective. It is being done through the printed page, through mass communication, through door-knocking – one-on-one Bible studies. For years, when I’ve taught in Africa where it is easy to convert folks, I’ve told the brethren to work hard at it because the day may come when those people will not be receptive. The United States was once very receptive to being taught, but not today. Just because people are not as receptive as they once were in the U.S. doesn’t mean we should quit trying to reach them. It is this writer’s belief that people expect to be served before they are willing to be taught. The church must show the community, we are here to serve you. When those people reach a point in their lives where they see the need for God, maybe they will remember those who served them. The church in Littleton, New Hampshire has been blessed in that two different groups of people came to do service projects in the community. We advertised that workers were coming to do service projects in the community and people called asking for them to come to their homes.
A true, but funny event. Recently when the church in Littleton, NH brought in people to do service projects in the community, someone saw our ad in the paper stating we had people here to do service projects for people in the community and called. In the conversation we had, the caller finally asked, “Who is doing this?” I explained that a group of Christians were here from Tennessee to work. She said, “‘I’m a died-in-the-wool’ atheist.” I said, “We are here to serve you.” She later asked, “Are you coming over here to preach to me?” I said, “No, ma’am, we are coming over to serve you.” When we finished our work, she was extremely pleased and continued to brag about our workers. The lost need to know that we are concerned about them physically as well as spiritually.
Bring-Teach-Keep
Chuck Anderson has a program which I think has a very good approach to evangelism. He calls it “Bring-Teach-Keep” and here is the basic idea. Not everyone is capable of doing everything necessary to convert someone and bring that person to faithfulness. He says that evangelists fall into three categories. Some people are good at bringing people – they have the ability to bring people to the worship services or to bring people to a Bible study, but they can’t teach people. Others are not good at bringing people, but are good at teaching people. Others have the ability to keep young converts faithful by associating with them – by encouraging them – by “checking-up” on them when they are not in attendance when the church meets.
To evangelize, the church needs all three kinds of workers. Each Christian needs to ask, “Which of those three kinds of people am I?” Leaders need to help members find their place in evangelizing. If the church follows this pattern, there will be a greater possibility that lost sinners can be converted and brought to maturity.
Conclusion
Evangelism is just one area where the church must grow. Let’s do our part of fulfill the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38). Our prayer here in New Hampshire is that workers will come, but in congregations who are large, maybe you already have workers, you just need to train them to bring, teach, and keep!
Wayne Burger