Articles for tag: Church growth

December 30, 2010

Christian Standard

Regrafting: A Matter of Motivation

Ken Swatman “Dying on the vine,” it seems to be the new catchphrase among leaders of struggling churches. Often I hear from these ministers and leaders that they do not want to “die on the vine.” Here are some key issues/questions that need to be addressed in order for a church to grow. I do not believe churches just die on the vine. Branches of a vine die because they are either diseased, malformed, infested with parasites, or somehow choked off from their source of nutrition and health. This is also true for churches. Churches wither and die because of

November 1, 2010

Christian Standard

Fun and Games

By Jennifer Taylor Sherwood Oaks Christian Church (Bloomington, Indiana) doesn”t usually offer midweek programming during the summer, but this year it tried something new””and discovered a program adaptable to any church at any time of the year. SOCC developed the approach around Tom Ellsworth”s new It”s Your Move books, which connect the fun of popular board games to Bible study and real-life application. Ellsworth, senior minister at the church, wrote the books for small group use but found the material translated well to a larger gathering. “We spent the first half hour or so playing the game together around tables;

October 5, 2010

Christian Standard

“Nondenominational” Wins the Day!

By Mark A. Taylor “We in the Christian churches are radicals,” Marshall Leggett told a group gathered for the daylong Congress of Elders hosted at Central Christian Church, Carmel, Indiana, October 2. “We are radically congregationally governed.” In his closing session message, he expounded on a long list of answers to the question, “What”s RIGHT with us?” The freedom enjoyed by independent congregations in our nondenominational family was one of them. Leggett said, “I don”t know anyone who wants to change that.” Indeed, it would seem that churches from many different backgrounds are walking away from denominational labels, if not

September 29, 2010

Christian Standard

White as Snow? Guilty as Sin?

By Darrel Rowland Some 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. pierced the church”s soul by pointing out that the most segregated hour in America was 11:00 Sunday morning. Things sure have changed in the five decades since, haven”t they? I mean, we gather at all sorts of hours other than 11 am Sunday these days. But about that other part . . . Let”s just ask ourselves a brutally honest question: Why are Christian churches and churches of Christ among the last bastions of society to remain predominantly white? Once we answer that one, we must tackle an even

September 28, 2010

Christian Standard

Christian Churches, Large Churches, Growing Churches

Mark A. Taylor Congratulations to Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, the fifth largest church and the 27th fastest growing church in America. Southeast was one of 17 congregations in the fellowship of Christian churches included in the two lists, published by Outreach magazine in September. The lists were based on self-reported February and March attendance weekend attendance averages in a research project involving more than 8,000 churches, according to Outreach. LifeWay Research conducted the study. Ten of the 100 largest churches in America are among the Christian churches, including two in the top 10. (The numbers here and in the

September 18, 2010

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: From Starter Church to Lifetime Opportunity

From Starter Church to Lifetime Opportunity By Kent E. Fillinger Perhaps you”ve heard about starter marriages. Some people these days enter their first marriage expecting it to be one of several short-term experiments rather than a lifetime commitment. Some ministers fresh out of Bible college view their first ministry with similar feelings. Perhaps no one calls them starter churches, but the minister”s mind-set often is to get some experience at his first congregation and then to move on to bigger and better ministry ventures. When Rod Nielsen graduated from Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College in 1981, God called him to serve as the

September 17, 2010

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: Walking Through the Wilderness

Walking Through the Wilderness By Kent E. Fillinger Faithfulness leads to fruitfulness, but this process requires patience. Ron Mobley and Northwest Christian Church, Acworth, Georgia, have experienced this truth over the last two decades. When Mobley arrived as senior minister in 1989, he found a very established, inwardly focused church that had alienated several ministers and many members of the community through the years. In spite of the church”s poor track record, Mobley saw potential for growth. Mobley spent his first five years establishing relationships and serving the church. There was an effort to build a family life center on the church”s

September 16, 2010

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: Preacher Paints Grace in a Fresh Way

By Kent E. Fillinger Preacher Paints Grace in a Fresh Way “We”re not great at anything, and everything here is a work in progress,” says senior minister Mike Gunderson. In spite of various internal challenges, Oak Park Christian Church in Grover Beach, California, was the fastest-growing medium-sized church last year, growing 42 percent and breaking the 200 barrier. Since 2008, Oak Park has grown 53 percent to an average worship attendance of 266. Oak Park is located near Pismo Beach in an isolated, affluent, and growing retirement community of 45,000 people. There are only two other small Christian churches in

September 15, 2010

Christian Standard

MEDIUM-SIZED CHURCHES: Measuring Growth at Medium-sized Churches

Kent E. Fillinger Some readers may wonder why there is an entire issue devoted to medium-sized churches with an average worship attendance of 250-499. This special issue featuring medium-sized churches reports on far fewer congregations than we had anticipated. There are obviously more than 32 Christian churches/churches of Christ that fit into the medium-sized church category. We hope to include many more of them in next year”s report! Despite its small sample size, this report still provides a one-of-a-kind, detailed snapshot of medium-sized churches that will serve as a sound starting point to develop in the future. If you are

September 12, 2010

Christian Standard

The Tourist Church

By Rick Grover People ask me the same questions they probably ask you: “Is your church seeker-driven, purpose-driven, missional, attractional, emergent, or traditional?” I always find it difficult to answer these questions without getting into lengthy discussions about the meaning of words and terms. And I also dislike the notion of being pigeonholed. Who doesn”t? When I think of labels for churches, I”ve coined one that I especially hope will never be used to describe ours: “Tourist Church.” Are you familiar with this name? You should be, because it is quickly becoming an unfortunate description of the American church. While

September 11, 2010

Christian Standard

LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES: A Church Planting Hick from French Lick

A Church Planting Hick from French Lick By Kent E. Fillinger Jasper, Indiana, is not likely on your bucket list of places to visit. If you are like me, you need the help of MapQuest to even find it. And Jasper also isn”t the type of town a typical church planter or church planting organization would pinpoint for a new church. But Darrel Land is not your typical church planter. At age 26, he was confident God was calling him to plant a church in this small, rural community of 14,000 people in southern Indiana. Land grew up about 30 minutes

September 10, 2010

Christian Standard

LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES: Hope on the Road Less Traveled

Hope on the Road Less Traveled By Kent E. Fillinger “Need hope? Find it here.” That is the message on the LED sign at Twin Oaks Christian Church, Woodhaven, Michigan. The message of hope is needed in this southern suburb of Detroit, given the area”s depressed economic condition. Hundreds of new people have found hope at Twin Oaks since it relocated in 2007. The church”s average attendance has grown from 282 to 738 in three years””an increase of 162 percent. Twin Oaks is the fastest-growing large-sized church during this time frame from among the 75 churches profiled. And most of this growth is

September 9, 2010

Christian Standard

LARGE-SIZED CHURCHES: More to Discovery

By Kent E. Fillinger Shining a spotlight on challenges and successes at three churches . . . More to Discovery Did you grow up going to church? I did. Therefore, I don”t know what it feels like to walk into church for the first time as an adult with no church background. Toney Salva, senior minister at Discovery Christian Church, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, on the other hand has used his personal experience of not growing up in a church to design a church that targets people who do not like church, or who have no church background. Through some internal

June 20, 2010

Christian Standard

Some of My Best Friends Are Lost

By Arron Chambers This is an excerpt from the book “Eats With Sinners” by Arron Chambers. To some, Lost is a highly addictive TV show about the survivors of a plane wreck who find themselves on a deserted island””in the middle of the ocean””where nothing makes sense and they are not alone. Lost might be a zone where single socks, class rings, your favorite hat, sunglasses, my brother”s car keys, the Watergate tapes, and my six-toed cat (Sasquatch) dwell while waiting to be found . . . or not. Lost is how I feel listening to my daughter as she tries to

June 6, 2010

Christian Standard

God at Work in the Middle of the Week

By Barney Wells Fred turned off the highway onto the fourth of the eight streets that make up Harpersville. Seven of them are five blocks long, and the eighth, Main Street, runs out of town as a county road. The setting sun shone on the three things that rise above the treetops in town, the old grain elevator (now closed), the water tower (which has needed a coat of paint for 20 years), and the steeple of the Harpersville Church, Fred”s destination. As he drove down Main Street toward the church, he recalled the names and faces of the folks

May 2, 2010

Christian Standard

You”re Not as Bad as You Think You Are

By Mark Atteberry IS GUILT WEIGHING YOU DOWN? Christians everywhere beat themselves up over sins their heavenly Father has long since forgiven and forgotten. In Let It Go, seasoned author Mark Atteberry, with his customary mix of humor and heart, leads us to let go of inferiority, perfectionism, criticism, and shame””and hold on to abundance, grace, salvation, and joy. This article is an excerpt from this helpful, enjoyable new book. Price: $12.99 “¢ Item 021530610 “¢ Available May 2010 athttp://www.standardpub.com/detail.aspx?ID=4504 or your local Christian bookstore. You may not be as bad as you think you are! I know your natural

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Megachurches: Navigating at Compass

By Kent Fillinger Bedford Christian Church began in 1966 with 12 couples and has evolved into a church-planting church. In 1994, Bedford relocated and changed its name to reflect its new location. The church adopted the name of the adjoining subdivision and became Highland Meadows Christian Church. The church grew from 500 to a peak attendance of 1,500 in 2000. By the time current senior minister Drew Sherman arrived in 2002, however, attendance had been declining slightly for two years. Sherman realized many people in the church were hurting, so he gradually embarked on casting the vision for loving people

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Megachurches: A Mega Decade

By Kent Fillinger The 2000s were a turbulent decade. We went from Y2K to 9/11 to H1N1. We had a housing boom followed by an economic bust. As we came to experience the world in high-definition, the sights were often scary and unpleasant””wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, the Boxing Day Tsunami, AIDS, and global poverty. “Hanging chads” made one president”s election controversial, and then the first African-American president won by a clear majority. We went from watching Friends to drinking Starbucks to opening coffee cafés in our churches. We went from church in one location to one church in

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Megachurches: Repentance Leads to Real Life

By Kent Fillinger At age 28, when Justin Miller transitioned from the role of youth minister to senior minister at Real Life Christian Church (Clermont, Florida), the church was in the midst of a nine-month spending freeze. It was 2002, the church had no money, and Miller”s paychecks often came with a note attached: “Do not cash until . . . “ The elders hired him to be the solution to the church”s problems; they told him, “We”re putting our hope in you.” But Miller quickly realized God didn”t choose him for this position for any of the reasons the

April 11, 2010

Christian Standard

Megachurches: A Year in Review

By Kent Fillinger Studies, books, and articles that examine high-performing or fast-growing churches abound, and each one seeks to uncover the reasons for their success. The same is true in the business world. Successful companies frequently are profiled in an attempt to ascertain the secrets of their greatness. Recent research from the business world demonstrates that “the “˜great” companies . . . are mostly just lucky.”1 A study of 287 high-performing companies in 13 major success studies showed “that only about one in four of those firms was likely to be remarkable; the rest were indistinguishable from mediocre firms catching

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