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.

July 1, 2022

Matt Proctor

Can Our Churches Continue to Grow and Bear Fruit?

Can Our Churches Continue to Grow and Bear Fruit?

By Matt Proctor The movie Apollo 13 tells the true story of astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John L. “Jack” Swigert. On their way to the moon in April 1970, an explosion left them in a crippled spacecraft 200,000 miles from Earth—low on power, losing cabin heat, flight trajectories off. “Houston, we have a problem.” As John Ortberg relates the story in Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them, suddenly, these three astronauts needed a community of NASA scientists to save them, and these scientists were not your normal movie heroes—no chiseled good looks or superpowers. They were

July 1, 2022

Jim Estep

How to Measure Church Health

How to Measure Church Health

By Jim Estep I hate going to the doctor. The first thing they ask me to do is step on the scale. Then, they take all the standard measurements: blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and oxygen level, among others. Finally, they ask, “So why are you here? How are you feeling?” I describe my ailment (while trying not to sound like a whiner). Doctors evaluate a person’s health based on some very objective (quantitative) measures as well as verbal (qualitative) descriptions. A church’s health should be evaluated the same way. We need to remember the church is an organism, not an

July 1, 2022

Tyler McKenzie

8 Ways Church Growth Has Reached an Idolatrous Level (Part 1)

8 Ways Church Growth Has Reached an Idolatrous Level (Part 1)

By Tyler McKenzie I love the church. That’s why I would like to suggest that pursuit of church growth by some leaders has reached an idolatrous level. Growth has become synonymous with health and success. It’s why we invest so many resources in the weekend gathering. It’s why we platform the leaders we do. Having led a large congregation for a decade now, I’ve experienced some of the lusts and obsessions in my own heart.   Growth shouldn’t be the main thing. Tim Keller wrote in “Leadership and Church Size Dynamics,” Out of necessity, the large church must use organizational

May 1, 2022

Christian Standard

2021 Church Report

Let not your heart be troubled as you review our annual church survey report. Your congregation may not be in the church-size category where you expect it. For some churches, it may appear, at first glance, as if your attendance has declined over the last couple years, even if it hasn’t. It may look like some megachurches and emerging megachurches have suddenly vanished or that many of their regular attenders have dropped out. What’s going on? While Christian Standard reported combined in-person and online attendance numbers the previous several years (which was especially significant during the pandemic), our 2021 charts

May 1, 2022

Megan Rawlings

Megan Rawlings

You Can Get Young Adults Involved in Your Women’s Ministry!

By Megan Rawlings Women’s ministry has a nebulous reputation. Whenever I say those two words together, women’s ministry, I get different reactions depending on the audience. I despise overgeneralizations, but I will make one here. People in Generation Z (those born 1999–2015) and millennials (1981–1998) nearly gag when the mere idea of women’s ministry surfaces in conversation. Am I coming on too strong? Have a chat with a few women in those generations and see for yourself. I don’t think it needs to be this way. After studying the situation for the last few years, I have five suggestions that

May 1, 2022

Michael C. Mack

Online Attendance: The Exception or the Rule?

You may notice changes in our 2021_Church_Report. We’ll blame COVID-19—at least partially. It’s the fashionable thing to do these days . . . and the pandemic has had a huge impact. Before 2020 and coronavirus, online streaming of worship services was the exception rather than the rule for many churches. A 2019 Lifeway Research study showed that 22 percent of churches were streaming their services at that time. But within months of the start of the pandemic in early 2020, 97 percent of churches were providing some form of online services. The exception became the rule and vice versa. Before

March 1, 2022

Kent E. Fillinger

Kent E. Fillinger

Authentic Online Church

By Kent E. Fillinger Yogi Berra famously said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Since the pandemic started two years ago, there have been an endless number of “experts” making countless predictions about the future of everything—including the church. Plenty of churches offered an online campus or church online on various platforms before COVID-19. Broadcast methods varied by church; the main options were livestreaming, on-demand full service (worship and message), on-demand message only, and rebroadcast (simulated live). A 2018 survey by Vanderbloeman and Jay Kranda revealed the top three broadcast platforms were Churchonlineplatform.com, Facebook Live, and YouTube.

January 1, 2022

Jerry Harris

The Invisible Renaissance

What Independent Christian Churches Have to Celebrate . . . and the Challenges Ahead We live in a world of polls describing a hopelessly post-Christian culture in which the church is constantly losing ground. A 2020 Gallup Poll found the number of Americans now affiliated with a church is just 47 percent, a sub-50 percent number for the first time in 80 years. Cary Nieuwhof shared a recent Barna/Stadia Poll that stated 30 percent fewer people in Generation Z (those born 1999 to 2015) attend church than baby boomers (those born 1946 to 1964). Another Barna study informed us that

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