Church Growth

Church Growth explores how congregations can grow in healthy, gospel-centered ways—both spiritually and numerically. Find practical, Bible-based articles on outreach, evangelism, discipleship pathways, assimilation, small groups, leadership development, and building a strong church culture. You’ll also discover guidance on strengthening ministries, improving communication, engaging your community, and measuring progress with wisdom and humility. Whether you’re leading a church, serving on a ministry team, or helping a congregation move forward, these resources aim to support sustainable growth that honors Christ and forms disciples.

April 23, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Who”s “IN” At Your Church?

By Michael C. Mack In November 2015, Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, reset its membership database to 0.  (All other parts of the database remained intact; only the membership numbers were cleared.) On November 8, senior pastor Dave Stone preached a message titled “I”m In,” asking everyone to commit for the first time or make a recommitment, and providing clear instructions for each category of people. For the five weeks previous to the “I”m In” weekend, Stone, Kyle Idleman, and others provided the five beliefs or core characteristics that describe what Southeast wants to be as a church. Why

April 19, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

All Growth Matters

By Mark A. Taylor Since 1997 CHRISTIAN STANDARD has been publishing annual lists of megachurches among the Christian churches and churches of Christ. In those 19 years, the megachurch phenomenon has exploded, not only in this fellowship but across the whole evangelical world. And with the growth has come criticism, cynicism, and complaint. Two years ago I interviewed Jud Wilhite, Dave Stone, and Don Wilson for our Beyond the Standard program. Each of them led one of the largest megachurches on that year”s list. I still remember what I wrote about that experience. These three “shared practical ideas and thoughtful

March 3, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Are You a Level 5 Multiplying Church?

By Michael C. Mack A number of behaviors (and corresponding behavioral types) affect a church”s capability for multiplying. In Becoming a Level Five Multiplying Church, Exponential director Todd Wilson and Community Christian Church lead pastor Dave Ferguson define five specific levels of multiplying churches, with Level 5 being the most aggressive. “Regardless of church size, growth rate (positive or negative) or behavioral type,” the authors say, “all churches will exhibit behaviors from all five levels; however, we can begin to define a primary level and create profiles for each of the five behavioral types.” Surprisingly, most large churches are Level

February 17, 2016

Christian Standard

The Limits of Relevance

By Jim Tune Relevance is a good thing. Relevance is about trying to communicate the gospel in an understandable way to a particular culture. It”s absolutely essential if we are going to reach people who don”t know Jesus. But relevance has its limits. In his new book Disappearing Church, Mark Sayers describes three cultures. The first is pre-Christian. The second is a culture that”s shaped by Judeo-Christian values. The third is post-Christian. To communicate the gospel to the first culture (pre-Christian), we need to find relevant ways to speak the gospel. The same also applies when we speak into the

January 14, 2016

Christian Standard

An Unlikely First Step at Expansion

By Jennifer Johnson Although Eastside Christian Church“s building in Anaheim, CA, is large””it”s a former Boeing Aerospace facility””the church knows that one location isn”t big enough to accomplish its vision of reaching tens of thousands of people. So when Eastside purchased and renovated the building a few years ago, it designed the site as a “hub” that could support additional campuses. “Four thousand churches close each year,” says Jill Gille, executive project director at Eastside. “I grew up in a small church, and I know the challenge to get past that critical mass to keep growing. There is quite a

January 7, 2016

Christian Standard

New Service Date Has Been Gift

By Jennifer Johnson When Suncrest Christian Church (St. John, IN) began to max out its three Sunday services, the church considered a variety of ways to accommodate more people. “Lots of churches do Saturday night services, and some do Sunday night,” says Greg Lee, lead pastor at Suncrest. “I was intrigued by churches like White River Christian in Noblesville, Indiana, that created a Thursday night service. We are a multisite with some video teaching, so the idea of doing something on Thursday was a great gift””we can record the message and have two days to send it to the other

January 3, 2016

Christian Standard

If You Build It, Will They Come?

By Tim Harlow On a recent trip to Malawi, my wife and I had a brief layover in London and were able to travel into the city for a spot of tea. We found a shop in the back of the sanctuary of a 900-year-old Anglican church. The place was incredibly beautiful and ornate, with lovely stained glass. However, it became painfully obvious the church wasn”t selling tea as a way to connect with the community, but because it was desperate for money. There was even a sign saying how much it cost to keep the building open. As I

November 19, 2015

Michael C. Mack

How to Respond to the Trend of ‘Churchless Christians’

By Michael C. Mack According to a Barna Group survey, the majority (62 percent) of churchless Americans consider themselves Christians. “Most of the churchless in America””contrary to what one might believe””do not disdain Christianity nor desire to belittle it or tear it down,” says the report. This graph provides a more detailed breakdown: How can churches make sense of these surprising findings, and more importantly, what can churches do in response to them? “I think a dissatisfaction with the institutional church is significantly responsible for the result,” says Mike Shannon, professor at Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian University. In The Rise of

July 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Better Together

By Jennifer Johnson More than 4,000 churches close every year, many because their dwindling attendance can”t support a senior minister or the rising costs of aging buildings. While simply closing their doors may be the best option for some, Creswell Christian Church made a different decision, choosing instead to initiate a merger with Mountain Christian Church.  Today the majority of Creswell”s families are enthusiastic Mountain members, working together to honor the past and build for the future in new ways that neither could have accomplished alone. This article tells how that happened. Creswell Christian Church a 55-year-old congregation in Bel

June 16, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Three Reasons Evangelical Churches Are Growing When Others Are Not

By Mark A. Taylor Why are Evangelicals the only growing Christian group in America? The fact of dramatic decline among mainline Protestants and Catholic churches in the U.S. is certain, documented by a Pew research report released last month. But answers have varied among those seeking to explain why Evangelicals are holding their own. I asked about that when I spoke with three ministers of growing churches in last month”s episode of our monthly online interview program, Beyond the Standard. These fellows””Brian Kruckenberg, lead pastor with New City Church in Phoenix, Arizona; Bo Chancey, senior pastor with Manchester (NH) Christian

May 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Annual Megachurch Lists

In 1997 CHRISTIAN STANDARD began publishing an annual listing of churches in our fellowship that averaged 1,000 or more in weekly worship attendance during the previous year. Beginning with the 2005 list (published April 9, 2006), the magazine took a nod from national church growth writers and changed our definition of megachurch. Since that time, a church that averages 2,000 or more in weekly worship attendance is considered a megachurch, while a church averaging 1,000 to 1,999 weekly is considered an emerging megachurch. We make a concerted effort each year to contact churches that average 1,000 or more in attendance, although some choose not to participate.

May 12, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Weighing the Numbers

By Mark A. Taylor Don”t tell a numbers guy you”re not interested in numbers! You may risk seeing the seething side of a fellow you thought was a mild-mannered researcher! Maybe I”m exaggerating, but it was quite clear to me from correspondence with Kent Fillinger, compiler of our annual “numbers” report, that he wasn”t happy. At issue was the decision by more than one Christian church or church of Christ not to participate in this year”s survey. Their stated reasons sound lofty. “We don”t want to compare ourselves with others.” “Our ministry is about so much more than numbers.” But

May 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Explode Those Old Scoreboards

By Dave Ferguson Growing up in Chicago, I remember a couple famous scoreboards. There was a scoreboard at the old Comiskey Park where my White Sox played when I was a kid””I loved it! Every time someone hit a home run, the scoreboard would explode with fireworks. And then there is the scoreboard at Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs. It”s one of two remaining scoreboards that are still hand-turned. It was installed in 1937 and is still waiting for its first World Series win! Another scoreboard I remember is the one on the sanctuary wall of the little rural

May 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Megachurches and More: The 2014 Lists

Our annual megachurch listing is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s most popular features. This year 347 churches participated, including 64 megachurches (those with 2,000 or more in weekly attendance) and 70 emerging megachurches (1,000 to 1,999). This chart also includes listings for scores of large churches (with average attendance of 500 to 999) and medium churches (250-499) Click here to view and download the 2014 Charts, or click on them individually: “¢Â 2014 Megachurches “¢Â 2014 Emerging Megachurches “¢Â 2014 Large Churches “¢Â 2014 Medium Churches As a bonus, we have searched through the lists to determine the average size of megachurches and emerging megachurches in

May 3, 2015

Christian Standard

We Got Booted from the List!

By Mont Mitchell I turned my numbers in to CHRISTIAN STANDARD for the attendance list today. For the last bunch of years we have been on the emerging megachurch list . . . you know, churches with an average attendance more than 1,000 (but less than 2,000). However, for the last several years, our church has been going through some challenges and changes and transitions. (I”ll get to that in a bit.) The result: We”re bumped from the list. Westbrook Christian Church, Bolingbrook, Illinois, used to be an emerging megachurch. Today, we are just a large church. Now, don”t get

May 1, 2015

Christian Standard

If Numbers Interest You

Here are some statistics gleaned from the 2014 CHRISTIAN STANDARD megachurch report.   AVERAGE SIZE  Megachurches: 4,622 Emerging Megachurches: 1,354 Combined average weekly attendance: 390,436   GROWTH RATES Megachurches: 3.5 percent (down from 5.6 percent in 2013); overall, 68 percent of the megachurches grew (down from 73 percent in 2013). Emerging Megachurches: 5.4 percent (up from 2.4 percent in 2013); overall, 65 percent of emerging megachurches grew (up from 52 percent in 2013). Large churches: 4.9 percent (up from 4.7 percent in 2013). Medium churches: 3.1 percent (up from 0.9 percent in 2013).   FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES New City Church, Phoenix,

April 8, 2015

Christian Standard

Measure Up?

By Jim Tune In church circles, we talk about the three B”s: budgets, butts, and buildings. I get it. These are standard ways of determining success in most ministries because they are tangible and easy to measure. I”d like to suggest some additional metrics we might apply to our effectiveness. Let me pose them as a series of questions: “¢ Are people”s gifts and talents being drawn out of them and used to extend grace and encouragement to others? “¢ Are we pursuing justice and standing on the side of the oppressed? “¢ Are we increasingly willing to give a

April 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Ideas for Reaching Mom”s Family on Mother”s Day

Did you know churches see the third-largest attendance of the year on Mother”s Day (see graph)? Do you know why? It”s not because more moms are there. No, attendance swells on Mother”s Day because family members who love the moms choose to show their love by attending on that special day. That means Mother”s Day is a great day to reach many unchurched people with the message of Christ. So instead of (or, perhaps, in addition to) doing the traditional Mother”s Day message and handing out roses to moms, it”s time to strategically love on those whom these moms love.

March 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Four Post-Resurrection Sunday Ideas

By Michael C. Mack Resurrection Sunday has been a big deal all over the world ever since the first one! But it”s what happens after Resurrection Sunday that can make the most impact. Here are four tips from Outreach magazine that you can use to keep the momentum going. 1. Celebrate. Capture all the stories and all the “wins” from Easter Sunday and celebrate them. Share the stories and successes with staff, volunteers, and the congregation on subsequent Sundays. Publicly champion all the people who stepped up to serve. Brag on all the behind-the-scenes people who rarely get much attention.

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