Assisting Churches Today for Tomorrow

Try Evaluation to check for Growth

Questions for reflection and evaluation are key tools to help us improve what we are doing in any area of life.  It is also true of ministry.  I want to share a few quick questions for you to ask yourself about your class to determine if your class is on track and improving in its ministry.  I would encourage everyone reading this to ask yourself these questions about your own class.  When you have personally evaluated your class take appropriate action to be of assistance.  If it is something that is personal to another member or leader I strongly stress the need to say something privately to them and NOT to others.  If it is something you personally can do to make a difference I urge you to volunteer to your class leaders and offer your help.

   

• Is there awareness each week in our class of members who are absent?
• Is the class warm and inviting to all who attend both members and guest?
• Do we treat a new attendee like a “visitor” or a “guest”?
• What is happening in our Sunday Bible Study class that would make someone unfamiliar with your church or SBS want to attend again?
• Is our Bible lesson presented with passion and a sense of urgency?
• Is there an expectation, spoken or implied, to members as a result of the lesson taught?
• Is there an intentional effort in our class to reach out to the absentee and potential member?
• Do our class members understand what the purpose of our SBS ministry is and how our class fits in with it ?

These are just a few questions to get you started in evaluating how your class is doing in fulfilling the mission and ministry of SBS.  I encourage class leaders to openly spend time with their class discussing the mission and work of the class.  I also feel self evaluation is essential to improving.

 

Why are our groups not growing?

Anyone who is even a casual observer knows that most small groups are not growing.  Indeed most churches are not growing either.  There are several reasons but chief among the reasons why most groups and/or churches are not growing is that their strategies are not designed for growth.  Today ministries are focused on all kinds of projects and good works except the mission which Christ, commanded us to be involved in as found in the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20. 

 ¹⁸And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.   ¹⁹"⁽Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

The truth is we have added so many activities and projects that are not aimed at winning people or teaching people or ministering to the needed that there is often not money, time or people to do the work of the Great Commission.  We have entered into the age of entertainment in the church and that has become unfortunately the focus of many of our ministries. 

We must refocus our efforts.  We must make a commitment that we will focus on the main thing.  Going, making disciples, baptizing and teaching these are the main things.  As important as other areas of ministry can be and as needed as compassionate ministry is Jesus made clear in this charge to the church that these were the main thing that the church should be focused on.

Turning things around!

Something I have observed in life and ministry is that nothing will turn things around like success.    I have a deep sense that a main reason churches are so quick to minimize their Bible Study ministry is that they have not seen the impact of that ministry in years.  We have let our Sunday Schools become so anemic and weak that they do not make a difference. 

However, when you work hard at training your leaders and members about the importance of this vital ministry and then help them to succeed you will find that people are quick to get on board.  Nothing trumps those who are critical or even indifferent like a successful ministry.  If you work at turning around your Sunday Bible Study ministry and people see new faces and some old ones return and lives changed you will find the support for your ministry.

Now I’ll admit there is a lot to “turning around your Sunday Bible Study”  and it is not always a quick fix but as sure as you are reading this article right now I tell you it can be done!  Contact me at bpritchett@churchassist.org and I will be glad to help you discover how you can see your ministry turn around.

Becoming a Great Commission Christian

A major part of any discipleship minded church program is the Bible study ministry.  Indeed the Bible study ministry often provides the “back bone” of the organizational life within the church.  The Bible makes it clear that it is important for us to study the Word of God.  Paul writes,  ¹⁵Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.   Earlier in the same passage Paul instructs Timothy to disciple others.  ²The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also2 Timothy 2:15, 2 – 3 (NASB)

Jesus commands the church to make disciples which is evangelism lived out and then to “teach them all things” which is discipleship.   When we “make disciples” we introduce the lost to new life through Christ.  Then as when we teach new Christians the Word we disciple them.  Matthew 28:18-20.  “…All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and I will be with you to the end of the age.”    Jesus set forth the expectation for His church.  He addressed not only the first church but also churches for all ages.  It is essential to the effective ministry of any church that the members become more Great Commission conscious.  If we want to have a strong effective discipleship ministry, we must share a vision of the organized Bible study being used of God to fulfill the Great Commission. 

 

In his book Revitalizing the Sunday Morning Dinosaur Ken Hemphill said, “Simply put, Great Commission vision is Biblically based.  It focuses church growth on the Great Commission.   He further said “Great Commission vision ensures that our motives for growing the church are genuine.”.   Hemphill concluded the thought with this powerful statement.   “ Obedience to the Great Commission, not church growth, is the appropriate goal for any church.  Church growth results from obedience to the Great Commission.”  (p. 35, Revitalizing the Sunday Morning Dinosaur)

 

Churches that take seriously the challenge to disciple Christians to become Great Commision Christians will have a vital and ever growing ministry. 

Getting members involved in outreach today.

I recently had the privilege to attend a conference where the topic was about church growth.  The topic was actually centered around Biblical discussions on what is the most effective way to help a church grow.  The foundational thoughts were not taken from the latest marketing books in secular business but rather from the Bible.  In Matthew 22:1-14, the parable of the marriage feast and the instructions from Paul in Ephesians 4:11-13.

 

We talked about the message Christ delivers in the parable of the wedding feast, specifically what role the servants played.  We noticed that the servants were not responsible for how the wedding was going to be conducted.  Nor were the responsible for the food and wine to be served.  They had only one specific challenge or command from the Master, “Go into the highways and hedges and compel everyone you meet to come in.”  The Master was responsible for all the rest but the servants were responsible to invite people to come. 

 

The other passage in Ephesians is well known because of the direction the pastors take to “equip the saints” for the work of ministry. If their work in its most simple component is to be faithful inviting people into the wedding feast then church leaders should be certain they offer adequate training and opportunities for this to take place.

 

I think this is where the church today has gotten way off track even if well intentioned.  When the “mass evangelism” training programs such as Evangelism Explosion or FAITH came along most churches were not content to equip those who were ready for this but rather sought to make it a “mass production line” when maybe many if not most of those “shamed” into attending were not spiritually ready for this service.  Please, don’t take me wrong I believe every Christian is under direct commands from heaven to become an effective witness but like most everything else in life and the church I believe that training will have its greatest impact when those individuals led by God are ready to learn how to witness.  So that I am clear, I think every church should have one of these highly effective equipping ministries that train Christians how to be competent and confident in witnessing.  However, after three decades in ministry I do believe we may have unintentionally pushed or scared many immature believers from even inviting people to church.

 

What I do believe is that these two passages teach us that the masses of church members need to be trained and motivated to go into our highway and hedges today and invite all they meet to simply come to church.  It is the leadership’s responsibility to equip them and then have ministry programs and worship services that will produce fruit.

It's O.K. to look to your Small Groups for Growth

One observation I have noticed today is many leaders seem reluctant or afraid to look to their small groups for church growth. We are once again in an age (we've been here before) when church leaders seem to feel that it is either not honoarable or spiritual to look to their small groups for numerical growth but nothing can be further from the truth.

There is no question that worship is the high spiritual moment of church but gathering the church body in small groups for Bible study is the most effective strategy for growing the church numerically, missionally and spiritually. The main concern I have with church leaders today is the lack of understanding for using their small group ministry to grow the body of Christ.

When a church leader understand and embraces this stratgy of growth they will be off to an exciting new of ministry. Every pastor and church leader owes it to their fellowship to honestly review the purpose for their groups and recognize the tremendous value for growth--numerically and spiritually.

Strategies Not Designed for Growth

There are many conditions that will cause churches to not grow but one that seems to be most common in churches today is that they employ strategies not designed for growth.   Nearly every church have some strategies not designed for growth while other churches are literally bogged down with this condition. 

First, we can draw from the Bible that there are four types of growth which the church should experience, numerical growth in size, spiritual growth of believers, ministry expansion and Kingdom advance.  A church must have a strategy for each of these areas.  I’ll discuss these more in depth in a future blog.

Next let’s agree that there are some ministries which churches need to be involved in that are ministries of compassion and care that may not directly be aimed at church growth.  However, even those ministries which reflect the love of Christ to those in need are blessed by God and can lead to church growth as people are drawn to the Christ likeness seen in the members.

However, in most churches there are many activities that are aimed at making the members good, entertain ourselves or are aimed at blessing the members. This could lead one to ask if they are not focused on the wrong people.  A church may have many ministries that take time, people and resources that are not wrong in and of itself but are not mission focused.

Additionally, we must keep all ministries in focus and set priorities.  The primary task of the church is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to develop mature believers that will pass the Good News to others.  Without any doubt if you search the scriptures there is a dominant message to the church of the New Testament to carry the message of salvation to every nation.  When a church keeps the “main thing” the main thing it will result in church growth. 

Churches can fall into the trap of being busy about many “good” things and failing to carry forth the primary task of the church to advance the Kingdom of God through witness and then discipling those brought into the Kingdom.  Understand I am not talking about doing ministry that looks like decades ago in style but I am talking about keeping our priorities straight as we adapt to changing styles and technology.  For years I have emphasized that while methodology must change our theology must NEVER change.

Finally, our churches need to continually evaluate our over all ministry strategy to make certain the “main” thing is still the MAIN THING. This will enable the church to be good stewards of our people, time and money so that there are plenty of resources for fulfilling the Great Commission. 

A Church Must Determine to Grow

This may sound a bit redundant but if a church is going to have a strong growth pattern it will rarely happen if there has not first been a determination that it is God’s will for them to grow.  The same holds true for any Sunday School class or small group too. The growth I am speaking about here is in the context of growing the Kingdom of God.  The church does this by making disciples as we are charged to do in Matthew 29:18-20 . 

I realize that there is no doubt there often will be growth in the early days of spiritual renewal whether on a personal level or corporately as in the church at large.  When God is moving in us there will be a desire to share with others and a desire by others to get in on something good.  This like all spiritual principals applies to both the individual and the body of Christ.  In the context of this article I am going to speak directly to the church from here on. 

However, for most of us the spiritual fires quickly turn to a flickering flame and often a church or individual doesn’t even realize what is happening.   What often happens to a church body when God is moving is that we get involved in so many ministries that we loose sight of the primary task of reaching people and witnessing to the lost around us.  Soon without realizing it a church may have so many activities going on that no one has time for the “main thing”.  When this happens a church can become satisfied with just lots of noise and activity and even downplay that there is no numerical growth.   It is like going to one of those restaurants that have all the rocking chairs out front, there may be lots of motion but the people aren’t going anywhere.

This is what I mean that a church must determine to grow.  A church must determine that it is their primary charge to reach people and witness to people bringing many into the family of God.  Only as we win others to Christ, will we truly make a difference in our world.  The church needs to make priorities then based on what they feel is the primary task God has given to us.  Jesus, himself, said in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  There are many important ministries but none should take the place of reaching people for Christ.  If we determine to grow then our strategies and priorities will point to this clear decision to grow.

The age of designer church

As I continue to work with church leaders and discuss with both lay leaders and staff members I have identified one of our current issues in seeking to establish or determine what are effective church growth principles.  It seems we live in an age of the "designer church" style.  By this I mean it seems that rather than organizing our work around key foundational principles we all throw in a "little of this and a little of that" from our own experiences and from the experiences of others and organize our ministries.  This is especially true of our Bible study ministries where we nearly have an attitude of "lets try it, it might work"!  We then step back and say "Why, isn't it working to grow the Kingdom?"

I am not saying we should be afraid of trying new ideas or concepts in ministry but I do believe we should not hazard to do so without observing principles that have been the foundation of effective Bible study ministries for many years.  It would be like taking a football on the field of play and ignoring all that is fundamental to the game and try to score a touchdown. 

We must rediscover and apply key foundational principles that work and then be creative in their application.

Foundational Principles of Church Growth

After 38 years in ministry on the local church level I remain amazed that there is a general lack of an understanding of foundational principles for church growth.  Principles that once were followed are now either unknown or dismissed as archaic and irrelevant.  Instead we face a church world of numerous church models.  There are nearly as many church models to follow as there use to be denominations. 

I was taught foundational principles of church growth early in my ministry and I have applied these principles for 38 years with a deep conviction and understanding of how they work  I have seen them work---if you work them!  Of course all our work and efforts will remain fruitless without God’s blessings.  In the coming weeks we will explore these tried and true foundational principles