Becoming Familiar with Church Growth and the Message Behind it
Church growth is one of the most debatable topics amongst ecclesiastical organizations. There is a fine line among church growth according to Gods will as well as growth according to the human being will. Several queries have been raised about what church growth really means.
Does it mean just a increase in numbers or is this the growth of each person, spiritually? To answer this we will need to go to the Word of Lord. Jesus and his apostles went about teaching and preaching the Gospel and getting the numbers to the church, Acts 2:47 "And the The almighty added to the religious organization daily such as must be saved". But they also emphasised the importance of developing personally, Heb 5:13-14 "For everyone which uses milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: with regard to he is a babe. But strong meats belongs to them which might be of full age".
Several groups have felt that increasing the amount of members in the church is unnecessary however what about the fee of Christ? Matthew 28:19 "Go for that reason and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inside name of the Papa and of the Kid and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey exactly what I have commanded you." The Gospel is for every person.
The church isn't a super exclusive golf club that has a very limited clientele. Churches which have certainly not added to their numbers have just become extinct or faded directly into oblivion due to lack of people. But the church, one's body of Christ, is not only the building but the people. It is the people who make others into the entire body of Christ.
Several churches do not increase drastically in figures but the members themselves could be growing and living a Christ centred life that keeps the church in existence. They are constantly hitting new heights spiritually. Lower numbers do not mean that they are stagnant. Large congregations that are spiritually dead are much less acceptable than scaled-down congregations that are alive within the Lord.
God offers given different gifts of people to the church. He has given evangelists (the planters of the seeds), teachers (to h2o the seed) as well as prophets to exhort and encourage the body of Jesus. Each of these people have a purpose to be fulfilled inside the church and no function can be ignored. There has to be a balance within the development of the church.
Does it mean just a increase in numbers or is this the growth of each person, spiritually? To answer this we will need to go to the Word of Lord. Jesus and his apostles went about teaching and preaching the Gospel and getting the numbers to the church, Acts 2:47 "And the The almighty added to the religious organization daily such as must be saved". But they also emphasised the importance of developing personally, Heb 5:13-14 "For everyone which uses milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: with regard to he is a babe. But strong meats belongs to them which might be of full age".
Several groups have felt that increasing the amount of members in the church is unnecessary however what about the fee of Christ? Matthew 28:19 "Go for that reason and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inside name of the Papa and of the Kid and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey exactly what I have commanded you." The Gospel is for every person.
The church isn't a super exclusive golf club that has a very limited clientele. Churches which have certainly not added to their numbers have just become extinct or faded directly into oblivion due to lack of people. But the church, one's body of Christ, is not only the building but the people. It is the people who make others into the entire body of Christ.
Several churches do not increase drastically in figures but the members themselves could be growing and living a Christ centred life that keeps the church in existence. They are constantly hitting new heights spiritually. Lower numbers do not mean that they are stagnant. Large congregations that are spiritually dead are much less acceptable than scaled-down congregations that are alive within the Lord.
God offers given different gifts of people to the church. He has given evangelists (the planters of the seeds), teachers (to h2o the seed) as well as prophets to exhort and encourage the body of Jesus. Each of these people have a purpose to be fulfilled inside the church and no function can be ignored. There has to be a balance within the development of the church.