We have recalcuated our church growth statistics at Liberty (see below).
Raw Growth for 2002-2007 (thru 3/14/07)
13% Biological Growth
45% Transfer Growth
42% Evangelistic Growth
Net Growth for 2002-2007 (thru 3/14/07)
20% Biological Growth
30% Transfer Growth
50% Evangelistic Growth
For fuller results. see:
http://www.libertychurchofchrist.org/yourti105973.html
The good news is that our recent baptisms and families that have been converted has pushed our percentage of evangelistic growth back above 42%. This is far above the norm. The bad news is twofold: 1) taking a kingdom perspective, sadly, most churches are not growing at all evangelistically; and 2) this growth rate does not come close to approximating the growth of the early church.
It is estimated that the early church grew at a rate of 40% per decade in the first three centuries--all evangelistic growth. As a movement, we have lost 20% in terms of our percentage of the US population over the last 26 years.
We have become so accustomed to our weak growth rate that we think that 20 baptisms in a year is very good. Indeed, we rejoice at those who accept Christ! But overall, we are failing to reach the lost in the United States.
How can we change this and regain the growth rate of the early church? What would have to happen for the church to grow 40% (evangelistically) this decade? What would it take for Liberty to do this?
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4 comments:
I'm sure some people would say that to reach that type of growth rate there would have to be a major calamity or persecution. I tend to think that that type of growth rate was necessary at the beginning of the movement to ensure its survival, and God is ultimately in control.
That obviously does not absolve us of the responsibility to reach others. Setting growth rate goals can motivate us to do more but can also set up a limit that we cannot surpass. Guilt about the lack of growth is one of the factors that causes people to complicate the message (set up the modern day Sabbath, with its extreme set of rules governing how it is to be observed). "If we are not growing, it is because the path to righteousness is too narrow for people." What we also have now (generally)is the reaction to that tendency by some to advocate "freedom" and to water things down too much. Conflict develops, (hopefully not at Liberty)usually over what we do in worship service, and that has collateral damage on our ability to retain people and grow.
Eliminating that conflict is one thing to do to strive for that type of growth rate.
Anonymous,
Thanks for your comments. Certainly God is ultimately in control, able to use all things to bring about his purposes. There are also many things that happen in the world that are not what God would want to happen. This is why we must pray for God's will to be done. God's overall will was for Jesus to go the cross, but that did not absolve those who struck him (or us) from their actions.
I'm not sure why God would want explosive evangelistic growth for three centuries, but would want extremely weak growth now. Does this not have more to do with us? Surely God would want all people to acknowledge him and come to salvation.
As to growth limits, shouldn't we set growth goals that are so big only God could attain them? All throughout the Bible there are stories of God doing the impossible (take Gideon, for instance). I don't know about guilt, but I think that it would be good if we had the burden of the lost more on our hearts. Paul said that he was willing to be lost in order for his Jewish brothers to be saved.
Are we willing to give a high percentage of our time, energy, and resources, both individually and as a church, in order to reach the lost?
I did not mean to imply that I think God wants weak growth for His church now. Looking back at what I posted, maybe it sounds like I was. I really wasn't trying to be critical of setting growth goals either.
I certainly believe that more devotion of time, energy, and resources is called for. My response to your question was trying to emphasize the focus of the time, energy, and resources which should be about loving others, meeting their real needs, and helping them to see only what they need - God and salvation through Jesus. I fall short if I spend my efforts trying to give them what I think they want or if I burden them with more than is necessary (so that if they don't reach faith, I have an excuse for why the church is not growing).
Boy, I don't know if this is clear at all either. I do appreciate your assistance with the expression of my thoughts on this subject.
Anonymous,
I like what you said here, that we ought to have more of an emphasis upon "loving others, meeting their real needs, and helping them to see only what they need - God and salvation through Jesus." This basically could be summed as love, service to others, and evangelism.
It is true that the church must go beyond merely market-driven methods, simply giving people what they want. Otherwise, we risk creating mere consumers and not real disciples.
In regards to worship, our worship does have missional and incarnational implications. A church in Africa will speak a different language, have a different style, meet at different times, have a different setting, mode of communication, etc. But worship ought not to take the place of mission--going out to where people are and being Christ to them.
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