Step One

The church must decide if it really wants to grow.

 

If the church is to grow, there's a price: Change.

If the church doesn't want any change or can't tolerate it, it will not grow. Its that simple.

Is your church ready to grow, change, and transform? Let's test the waters, shall we...

(1) If your church were to burn down or be destroyed tomorrow, how would most church members respond?

(a) begin looking for a new church to meet their needs

(b) try to figure out who's to blame

(c) weep for all the memories that have been lost

(d) rebuild because of all the essential ministries that flow from it.

(2)    Assume an anonymous benefactor left the church approximately $1 million dollars in their will. What would most people in the church want to do with the funds?

(a) invest it in stocks, etc. to support the budget from the interest

(b) upgrade current worship facilities

(c) increase support of several overseas missions, schools, or medical facilities.

(3) The last major change in the church was...

(a) the color of the paint

(b) indoor plumbing

(c) video projection

(c) major property purchase or sanctuary expansion

>> Results

The first question is really about how the congregation sees itself and its purpose for existing. If most most people don't know why they are they or if no one would notice if the church was gone, well to be honest, it probably already is [gone I mean].

The second question is obviously about finances. Where your treasure is there your heart will be also. I know of a church that is sitting on approximatley $20million dollars that was given to it. For a church to have those kind of resources in the bank is a sin. I'm sure Satan is very pleased with the message of a church like this. But even to be somewhat financially conservative is a lack of faith.

The third question is a measure of stress tolerance. Most churches can't stand major, radical surgery and will simply reject the messenger who suggest we abandon the building and start over. But if you can introduce a culture of change through small incremental changes, the big changes will come. Remember most churches didn't get into the complacency mode over night and they won't come out of the warm, make-me-comfortable mode overnight either.

Final piece of advice: Pray alot, get a group you can talk to, and keep in your spiritual life alive.