Articles for tag: Church growth

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

January 1, 2016

Church Leadership

Counting the Cost of a Growing Church

By Eddie Lowen Before you decide you want your church to grow, let me tell you the price you will pay. After taking the staff and elders of a former church to a leadership simulcast in the late 1990s, I learned that I still had a lot to learn. For several years, Rick Warren”s book The Purpose Driven Church had been making a huge impact on churches applying its principles. The simulcast was a way for our leaders to catch this kind of vision. Our church was already growing in size and health, but I knew there was another level

November 22, 2015

Book Reviews Reviews

Leading the Church to Look Like Heaven

Review by Dick Alexander Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church: Seven Common Challenges and How toÂ Overcome Them Mark DeYmaz and Harry Li Zondervan 2013 Why would a person be interested in a book titled Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church? Most likely for the same reason Mark DeYmaz got interested in the subject””a growing burden, born of a prompting of the Holy Spirit, that the church on earth should look more like the church in Heaven. If that”s you, and if you”re seeking answers to complex questions and direction for the journey, DeYmaz can help. Biblical Principles,Â Practical Strategies Leading a Healthy

November 2, 2015

Church & Ministry Teaching

Lesson for November 8, 2015: Saved by Grace (Acts 15:1-12)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the November 1Â issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ Church growth can be a pain. It demands more space, time, effort, and personnel. For some people it”s a real threat, but most believers know that it”s eternally worth it. What is typically called the first missionary journey (Acts 13, 14) was incredibly successful. Here are

July 23, 2015

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Mark E. Moore’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed severalÂ influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is fromÂ Mark Moore, teaching pastor, Christ’s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona. ________ Don Wilson: Don founded Christ”s Church of the Valley 30 years ago. It has grown to more than 23,000 in weekly attendance, and there”s a very good reason. Don is one of the most driven and shrewd leaders I”ve ever met. His single life focus is to build the

June 16, 2015

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

June 2, 2015

Culture & Public Square

The Pew Report: What Should We Do?

By Mark A. Taylor In this space last week and the week before, I reported, evaluated, and shared comments about the Pew Research Center”s May 12 report on religion in America. It is a thorough and detailed study, full of implications for church leaders today. Especially interesting is the fact that Evangelicals are the only Christian group whose numbers grew between 2007 and 2014. The growth did not keep up with population growth, however, which means the influence of Evangelicals on the American scene is not growing. This is especially concerning when added to the fact that those claiming no

May 26, 2015

Culture & Public Square

“Fewer Christians in the U.S.” Good News?

By Mark A. Taylor News outlets across the country reported the Pew Research Center”s findings that fewer Americans than ever are calling themselves Christians. Most secular reports led with the summary statistic, that only 70.6 percent of adults in the United States identified themselves as Christians in 2014, compared with 78.4 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, the “nones,” those who claim no religious affiliation, increased by about 19 million. The Pew study projects that 56 million American adults, almost 23 percent of the total adult population, say they have no religion. Christian writers tried to find a positive spin in the

May 15, 2015

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),Â the magazine took a nod fromÂ national church growth writers and changed our definition ofÂ megachurch.Â Since that time, a church that averages 2,000Â 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 effortÂ each year to contact churches that average 1,000 or more in attendance, although some choose not to participate.

May 10, 2015

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 1, 2015

If Numbers Interest You

Here are some statistics gleaned from the 2014 CHRISTIAN STANDARD megachurch report. AVERAGE SIZEÂ 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 21, 2015

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

Heartfelt Leadership

By Mark A. Taylor When you go to a conference for church leaders, you expect to come home with a folder full of methods, strategies, and tactics for growing your church. This is especially true when a megachurch minister is the keynote speaker. What secrets does he know about growing a church? What”s working in today”s culture? What approaches are guaranteed to bring success? What techniques have been most effective where he serves? But when Aaron Brockett kicked off the Intentional Church Conference at First Christian Church, Decatur, Illinois, last week, he didn”t talk about methods at all. Or numbers.

March 21, 2015

New Testament Theology & Bible

Jesus Killed a Tree

By Tim Harlow I don”t fancy myself an extreme environmentalist. I”m not a “tree hugger,” but I do respect nature. I have cut down a few trees that were past their prime, and I once accidently killed a small one with a golf cart, but I do love trees. Where I live, the only trees are ones someone planted. So the story of Jesus “zapping” a tree is fascinating to me. Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it

March 3, 2015

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Something Special

By Mark A. Taylor It happened again, this time on the campus of Lincoln Christian University on a cold Friday night a couple of weeks ago. Mark Mittelberg, a best-selling author, widely traveled speaker, and well-known Christian apologist, was speaking to leaders about LCU”s initiative “Room for Doubt.” But before he talked about the materials he”s helping to develop for this ministry, he paused to speak about the movement of churches that will promote and use them. Mittelberg is something of a celebrity in general Evangelical churches; his rÃ©sumÃ©Â includes stints on staff at Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago and

January 25, 2015

What Makes a Church Healthy?

By Casey Tygrett If you go to Amazon”s website and type “church health” into the search field, I guarantee it will generate more results than you have time to explore. Church health is more than a topic; it is a market, because in many places churches are in crisis. Writing this article has required me to do some honest digging and soul-searching, because at the core of the question “What makes a church healthy?” is this reality: I am the church . . . you are the church . . . and we are unhealthy.Â And I have a harsh

January 22, 2015

Michael C. Mack

Mission & Evangelism

Want to Grow? Decide to Reach the Lost.

Tim Harlow, senior minister at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, Illinois (which ranked No. 52 on Outreach magazine”s fastest-growing church list in 2013, and which now ranks as the 66th largest church in America), talked about the turning points for the church, which averaged 150 per weekend when he arrived in 1990 and now averages 7,510. “Since 1998 we have grown an average of 21 percent a year,” he told Outreach. “I firmly believe that the reason Parkview is on any of these lists is because God looked down on a group of dedicated leaders who made one single

January 6, 2015

The First Answer

By Mark A. Taylor Is your church healthy? Unfortunately, our quest to answer that question may send us looking in the wrong direction. Our tendency is to consider symptoms, not causes, of church health. We analyze statistics about giving or growth or participation, externals that may indicate how we”re doing but don”t tell how to make it better. What can we do to make our church healthier? The best answer””certainly the first answer””is to look in (not out), to cast our gaze upon ourselves. The function of any individual part affects the health of the whole. A quick look at

December 7, 2014

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

In Praise of Pretending

By Eddie Lowen Few values have bigger buzzword status in the Christian community than authenticity. I”m glad. Sincerity is always in season. When churches and church leaders are genuine in motive and style, spiritual seekers find and follow them. Everything written about reaching young adults stresses the importance of “authentic community.” While the phrase now seems overused, the value can”t be overemphasized. It”s crucial. But I do have one caution concerning authenticity. In my own journey with God, growth has not always felt natural. Some of the progress I”ve made has been forced and awkward, rather than instinctive. So, I”ve

October 21, 2014