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.

September 13, 2009

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The Elephant in the Room

by Kent E. Fillinger Describing the 66 medium-sized churches analyzed in this issue reminds me of the old fable of the blind men who each touched a different part of an elephant and then tried to describe what the animal looked like. The men disagree based on the part of the elephant they touched and their personal perspective.  For the last four years, 3:STRANDS Consulting has partnered with Christian Standard to conduct in-depth research of Christian church/church of Christ megachurches and emerging megachurches. For the first time, the same research survey was completed by churches with average worship attendances of

September 13, 2009

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: The 2008 List

  by Kent Fillinger/Ben Simms This is our first Medium-Sized Churches chart for churches that averaged 500-999 for worship. This listing of 66 churches includes church name, city, senior minister, Web site, average attendance for 2008, and number of baptisms. (This is not a complete listing of such churches; it is a listing of Medium-Sized Churches that participated in our survey.) The chart/pdf that is accessible below contains the entire 66-church listing. Click here to look at this chart of the 2008 MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES.         This listing is part of The 2008 Medium-Sized Church Report: Deluxe Edition, which is available as a

September 13, 2009

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: Fun Facts

  Compiled by Ben Simms A COMPARISON: The combined attendance of the 66 medium-sized churches we surveyed, 46,392, is smaller than the combined attendance of the four largest megachurches. OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBORS: It”s been said a Canadian church of 500 should be considered a “megachurch.” Hats off to the two north-of-the-border churches on the list: Churchill Meadows Christian in Mississauga, Ontario, and Bow Valley Christian in Calgary, Alberta.   DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE: The combined megachurch attendance roughly equals the population of Cincinnati, Ohio, while the combined attendance of the medium-sized churches that participated in our survey is approximately the

September 9, 2009

Christian Standard

Read the Report, Get the Deluxe Edition

By Mark A. Taylor Late last year when Kent Fillinger, Ben Simms, and I were planning our annual megachurch issue, Kent and Ben had a new idea. “Why don”t we do the same research with a group of smaller churches?” I thought that idea sounded interesting, and the result is the issue you”re holding in your hands. As is always true with projects of this kind, getting churches to send us their data is the most difficult part. For this issue, we invited churches in repeated printed and e-mailed announcements. Kent and Ben made several personal contacts. We fell short

August 30, 2009

Christian Standard

The Multisite Movement: Unexpected Complications

  by Darrel Rowland Unexpected complications and challenges are common in the multisite movement. Certainly not every expansion leads to a glowing success story. For example, Discovery Christian Church in Dublin, Ohio, tried to get a site going in a nearby Columbus suburb. It didn”t work. Journey”s Crossing Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, closed a second location in the Washington, D.C., area. Community Christian Church in White Marsh, Maryland (www.communitycc.net), was preparing to launch a second site near Baltimore this year, but those plans are now on hold. Community Christian, averaging about 750 in attendance, already was actively helping plant churches

August 30, 2009

Christian Standard

The Multisite Phenomenom: Here to Stay?

  by Darrel Rowland Terms to Know Multisite“”Commonly described as “one church meeting in several locations,” a concept often attributed to church growth guru Elmer Towns from the late 1980s. Typically each remote site has its own live services except for the sermon, which is shown on large video screens. The message usually is recorded in advance, although some use simulcasts. Each location usually has its own “campus minister” or “campus pastor,” but all are governed by the home church leadership. Multivenue“”A different style, setup, and/or music from a church”s main service. These can be held at remote locations or

August 30, 2009

Christian Standard

Seven Key Question for Jon Ferguson

  by Darrel Rowland Jon Ferguson, cofounder of Community Christian Church near Chicago (www.communitychristian.org) and director/cofounder of the NewThing Network (www.newthing.org) discusses the hows and whys of multisite.       Why multisite in the first place, especially vs. expansion at the original location, and vs. planting an entirely new church at the new location? At Community, we”re always asking, “Where is God at work?” or better yet, “Where may God be dreaming?” Our mission is helping people find their way back to God. Multisite and church planting have been our responses to where God is at work in our

August 30, 2009

Christian Standard

The Multisite Movement: Success Stories

  by Darrel Rowland The couple had a simple question: How much does it cost to join the church? That”s when the leaders of Rocky Mountain Christian Church (www.rmcc.org) knew they were hitting their target audience of unchurched people with their first multisite campus. “They said, “˜Don”t you have to pay a membership fee? Do you have to buy tickets? We”ve never been in church before,”” recalls Rick Thielen, who helped launch the new 30-acre site about 17 miles east of Rocky Mountain”s home campus in Niwot, Colorado. “When you start getting those kinds of questions, you”re starting to get

August 23, 2009

Christian Standard

They”re Putting Holes in Our Walls!

by TJ George Several years ago, the Christians at Capital Area Christian Church in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, worshiped in a very little building we had completely outgrown. We had used up every inch of life that building had to offer, and something had to be done.  Through a miraculous series of events, God dropped a 53-acre property into our laps selling for well below market price. Fifty-three acres, do you know big that is? Under the wise guidance of our eldership and after much prayer, we bought the property. From the start, our leadership”s intention was to develop the property in a

June 17, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Bob Harrington

By Brad Dupray Bob Harrington has had a front-row seat in the “simple church” arena””as described and advocated in the book Simple Church (Broadman & Holman Publishers). The church where he ministers (Harpeth Community Church, Franklin, Tennessee) has embraced the simple church concept. As director of Church Planting Networks with Stadia East and lead trainer with Church Coaching Solution”s church planter bootcamp, he has trained many church leaders in implementing simple church strategies. And as a student, Bob studied under Thom S. Rainer, coauthor of Simple Church with Eric Geiger. Bob completed his DMin at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in

June 17, 2009

Christian Standard

Congratulations Compass Christian Church!

By Mark A. Taylor The votes are in, each round of balloting has finished, and the winner in our first-ever Church Branding Competition has been named. Congratulations to Compass Christian Church whose logo rose to the top and garnered the most votes in each of four face-offs. The competition began the week of April 19 with 16 church logos (see list below). Eight were eliminated the first week, and four more the second week, leaving the top four vote-getters. The third round of voting determined the final match-up: Parkway Christian Church (Surprise, Arizona; see below) vs. Compass Christian (a multisite

May 31, 2009

Christian Standard

Simply Courageous: Churches Cut Clutter in Order to Focus

  By Krista Petty In the early 1970s, McDonald”s had 13 menu items. Today, there are about 50. Thirty years ago, the city of Houston had five television channels. Today, there are more than 185. America is home to more than 1 million SKUs (standard stocking units, aka bar codes); according to marketing guru Jack Trout, an average supermarket has 40,000 SKUs but the average family gets what it needs from only 150. “That means there”s a good chance we”ll ignore 39,850 items in that store,” writes Trout.1 All this illustrates the explosion of options available to the average person.

May 31, 2009

Christian Standard

Clearing the Clutter: An Honest Conversation with a Church in Process

  By Krista Petty What”s it like to be in the middle of the Simple Church process? Matt Bortmess, senior associate minister at Rochester (Illinois) Christian Church, is reading and discussing Simple Church with staff and leaders. They are halfway through the book and already seeing that the tough work is not reading the book, but applying its principles and taking action.     What is it like being in the Simple Church process? Matt: We are learning we have more focus now than five years ago. However, the focus has not been clearly refined or defined. We have a

May 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Interview with Kurt Ervin

By Brad Dupray As executive pastor of church expansion at Central Christian Church in Henderson, Nevada, Kurt Ervin is overseeing one of the most innovative forms of evangelism and discipleship the church has ever seen. While Central has expanded to seven physical campuses, the campuses with the potential to turn the world upside down have no physical locations. Central”s online and Facebook campuses have eight different weekly services and reach attendees around the world. The church”s goal is to have 300 new campuses or churches in the next 10 years, and the online campuses are key to fulfilling that vision.

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Megachurches: Church Unique

  By Kent. E. Fillinger Church Unique is the title of a great book released last year by Will Mancini, and it is also a good description of the 117 megachurches and emerging megachurches profiled in this special double issue. While there are significant trends and key stats that can be gleaned from studying these churches collectively, the strength is in the unique stories of the churches represented and how God is using each one to change people”s lives for Christ. Innovation””or Imitation? A unique vision is not limited to these 117 profiled churches; in reality, every church has a

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Megachurches: An Interview with Three Megachurch Ministers

  By Kent Fillinger A SWOT analysis is the classic model for strategic planning. It examines an organization from the standpoint of its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats it faces. We asked three lead pastors of megachurches to comment on their individual congregations and on megachurches in general using the framework of a SWOT analysis: “¢ Jud Wilhite, 37, has been  senior pastor since 2003 of Central Christian Church (Henderson, Nevada), which has an average weekend worship attendance of 12,822. “¢ Scott Enyon, 47, has been senior pastor since 1994 of Community Christian Church

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Megachurches: Sustaining Ministry in a Shrinking Economy

    By Kent E. Fillinger Rising unemployment rates. Crashing stock markets. Falling consumer confidence. Decreased spending. Skyrocketing personal and national debt. Freezing credit lines. Collapsing banks and bankrupt companies. Mounting numbers of home foreclosures. A deepening recession. People fearing a depression. These are the dominant headlines of our day. What is the impact on the church? Prognosticators and pundits are attempting to predict when this economic downturn will either reach the bottom or start to turn around. Until resurgence occurs, how can churches sustain ministry in a shrinking economy?   Put the economy and giving into perspective. The recession

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Megachurches: By the Numbers

  By Kent E. Fillinger and Ben Simms   Fastest-Growing Churches in 2008:  “¢ The Crossing, Quincy, IL, 27% “¢ Crosspointe, Cary, NC, 22% “¢ Compass Christian, Colleyville, TX, 22% “¢ Central Christian, Mesa, AZ, 22% Fastest-Growing since 2003: “¢ Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, IL, 183%  “¢ Real Life Ministries, Post Falls, ID, 172% “¢ Crossroads Christian Church, Grand Prairie, TX, 101% Fastest-Growing since 1997:  “¢ Christ”s Church of the Valley, Peoria, AZ, 477% “¢ Northside Christian Church, New Albany, IN, 371% “¢ Central Christian Church, Henderson, NV, 307% What  is “AVERAGE”? The 54 megachurches” average size: 4,116  The

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Megachurches: The Value of a Brand (Web-Only Feature)

  By Kent E. Fillinger “Christianity has an image problem.” This is the first sentence in UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity . . . And Why It Matters. The book chronicles the negative perceptions and skepticism that Americans ages 16-29 have of all things Christian: the faith itself, the people who profess it, the church, the Bible, and even Jesus.  Authors David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons summarize the most common points of skepticism and objections raised by outsiders into the following six broad themes: hypocritical, too focused on getting converts, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental.

April 19, 2009

Christian Standard

Megachurches: The 2008 List

The annual list of megachurches is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD’s most popular features. Megachurches average 2,000 or more in weekly attendance and emerging megachurches average 1,000 to 1,999. This chart lists statistics from 2008. Click here to look at this chart of the 2008 Megachurches.

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