Want to Grow? Decide to Reach the Lost.

Tim Harlow

Tim Harlow, senior minister at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois (which ranked No. 52 on Outreach magazine”s fastest-growing church list in 2013, and which now ranks as the 66th largest church in America), talked about the turning points for the church, which averaged 150 per weekend when he arrived in 1990 and now averages 7,510.

“Since 1998 we have grown an average of 21 percent a year,” he told Outreach. “I firmly believe that the reason Parkview is on any of these lists is because God looked down on a group of dedicated leaders who made one single decision that has impacted thousands of lives. He saw faithful leadership that trusted him. A time when the two spies outflanked the 10 and said, “˜We can take this land.” They decided to make decisions based on the impact of those outside of Christ instead of the impact on the ones who already have him, just like that shepherd in Luke 15 who left his flock in the “˜open field” to go find the one lost sheep. God honored that faith, and things have never been the same.”