April 11, 2010
Megachurches: The First 100 Days
Gene Appel’s early leadership at Eastside Christian Church helped spark renewed vision, compassion outreach, baptisms, and 39 percent worship attendance growth in 2009.
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 7, 2010
It”s About More Than Just Size
Mark A. Taylor reflects on megachurch growth statistics and encourages smaller churches to see opportunity, not inferiority, in their own growth and baptism potential.
March 7, 2010
God Intends Church Growth
By Stephen Bond “I will build my church . . .” (Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:18) God intends church growth. We know this because there are still people who have not yet embraced God”s grace through faith in Christ. Those people face the specter of eternal separation from the Heavenly Father. Jesus came to seek and to save these lost people. This is not the only message Jesus brings, but it is one of the most important. At the age of 21, I opened the Bible for the first time and discovered a world of truth I had never known.
December 2, 2009
Interview with David Bycroft
David Bycroft reflects on how Tyro Christian Church grew in a town of 250 through long-term leadership, volunteer ministry, rural outreach, and a steady focus on reaching the lost.
September 13, 2009
MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The Elephant in the Room
Kent E. Fillinger compares medium-sized churches with megachurches and emerging megachurches, highlighting growth, baptisms, multisite ministry, church planting, giving, debt, and outreach trends.
September 13, 2009
MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2008 List
Kent Fillinger and Ben Simms introduce Christian Standard’s 2008 Medium-Sized Churches chart, featuring survey data from 66 churches averaging 500-999 in worship attendance.
September 13, 2009
MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: Fun Facts
A collection of notable statistics from the 2008 Medium-Sized Church Report, including attendance comparisons, fastest-growing churches, baptism totals, Easter attendance, and senior minister age trends.
August 30, 2009
The Multisite Phenomenom: Here to Stay?
Darrel Rowland explores the rise of multisite and multivenue churches, examining how Community Christian, North Coast, Seacoast, and Southeast Christian expanded through video teaching, varied worship venues, and strong campus leadership.
August 30, 2009
Seven Key Question for Jon Ferguson
Jon Ferguson explains why Community Christian Church pursued multisite ministry, how campuses share the BIG IDEA, and what churches should consider before launching additional locations.
August 30, 2009
The Multisite Movement: Success Stories
Churches in Colorado and Pennsylvania use multisite campuses to reach unchurched people, adapt ministry to local communities, and create new opportunities for leadership and service.
August 26, 2009
Interview with Todd Wilson
Todd Wilson discusses multisite churches, leadership strain, church planting, and why the next movement may depend on churches learning to release and send disciples.
June 17, 2009
Interview with Bob Harrington
Bob Harrington explains how churches can simplify programs and structures around discipleship, leadership development, and the mission of making disciples in relational environments.
May 31, 2009
Simply Courageous: Churches Cut Clutter in Order to Focus
Krista Petty looks at how two churches simplified ministry programming, clarified discipleship pathways, and found that fewer options can lead to greater focus, stronger alignment, and deeper community impact.
May 31, 2009
Clearing the Clutter: An Honest Conversation with a Church in Process
Matt Bortmess of Rochester Christian Church discusses applying Simple Church principles, clarifying ministry focus, reducing clutter, and building a clearer discipleship process.
May 27, 2009
Simply Appealing
Mark A. Taylor considers the appeal of simplicity in church life, drawing from David Browning, Simple Church, and the need for congregations to focus clearly on God’s priorities.
April 19, 2009
Megachurches: Church Unique
Kent Fillinger highlights survey findings from megachurches and emerging megachurches, urging leaders to pursue unique vision while learning from growth, recession, and baptism trends.
April 19, 2009
Megachurches: An Interview with Three Megachurch Ministers
Kent Fillinger asks three megachurch pastors to assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing their congregations and large churches in general.
April 19, 2009
Megachurches: By the Numbers
Kent E. Fillinger and Ben Simms report 2008 growth data from megachurches and emerging megachurches, including fastest-growing churches, attendance averages, baptisms, state totals, and overall growth trends.
April 19, 2009
Megachurches: The 2008 List
Christian Standard’s 2008 Megachurches chart lists churches averaging 2,000 or more in weekly attendance, along with emerging megachurches averaging 1,000 to 1,999.
April 15, 2009
Interview with Gene Appel
Gene Appel discusses megachurches, multisite ministry, Willow Creek’s Reveal study, discipleship, and why churches of every size should pursue the Acts 2 model.
