I sometimes get asked whether I think there’s an optimum church size to aim for. My response is usually to the effect that there isn’t an optimum size. Some people are happy in and with larger church gatherings. There are benefits to this. It means that a preacher can open God’s Word with a lot… Continue reading Church planting – is there a size not to aim for?
Tag: church growth
How big should you grow and at what size should you plant?
A friend recently asked this question on Twitter. Now, these kinds of polls are great at getting a quick reaction but often the answers need some detail and nuance. Often, we find ourselves responding with “it depends”. So, they work best when they generate further conversation and discussion. This, to my mind is one such… Continue reading How big should you grow and at what size should you plant?
Church Growth or a battle for market share?
Over the years I’ve come across a lot of material, books, seminars, blogs, podcasts talking about how to guarantee that your church will grow. Some of the advise sounds to me like practical wisdom, for example if you have a building that is 80% full then you have reached capacity. Some of it is good… Continue reading Church Growth or a battle for market share?
What should we make of an aging church?
John Stevens, National Director of the FIEC has recently shared a couple of articles looking at the most recent data for church attendance.[1] John notes two things, first that we’ve long argues that the percentage of born again believers has always been much smaller than the percentage of church attendees generally. Secondly that a key… Continue reading What should we make of an aging church?
Ministry nuts and bolts: Space to Grow?
The other day, I wrote about whether or not churches should expect to grow and if so whether pastors and elders are responsible for that growth. My view is that, Biblically we expect God’s kingdom to grow. That’s not the same as saying that every individual church will be growing all the time but it… Continue reading Ministry nuts and bolts: Space to Grow?
Don’t let your church try to rebuild Babel
I’ve shared a couple of articles over the past few days about giving space to grow and permission to grow to a church. However, I want to spend a bit of time here focusing on one of the downsides and risks with a focus on growing one single congregation. In Genesis 11, the descendants of… Continue reading Don’t let your church try to rebuild Babel
Space to Grow: What are the potential barriers to growth?
In my last article, I wrote that we can end up putting barriers in the way of a church doing what we might naturally, legitimately expect it to be doing. It is natural for churches as living, healthy entities to grow. So, what are some of the barriers or constraints that might be in place:… Continue reading Space to Grow: What are the potential barriers to growth?
Space to Grow – should we expect churches to grow and multiply?
Living things tend to grow. This means that I would generally expect healthy churches to be growing and as well as this being seen in spiritual growth as members are discipled in Christ, it should also include numerical growth as well. So, as you think about your local church context and look ahead, do you… Continue reading Space to Grow – should we expect churches to grow and multiply?
Gospel Maths should = multiplication
In Genesis 1, humans receive a commission, a mandate to multiply and to fill the earth. In Matthew 28, this is mirrored by the Great commission, a mandate to make disciples or in other words to spiritually multiply. It is worth noting that in Matthew 9 the problem identified is not that the harvest is… Continue reading Gospel Maths should = multiplication
Faithroots 