OUR CHURCH CAN GROW

INTRODUCTION:

1. This morning, and the next several Sunday mornings, I am going to talk about church growth.

2. How many of you would like to see this church grow to bigger and greater heights?

3. I believe with all of my heart that this church is going to blossom like it has never blossomed before. It is not going to blossom because of me; it is going to blossom because of God and because of all of us. If we all work together, with God on our side, there is no telling what we can accomplish. Amen!

4. From my ministry experience, and after reading some of the best church growth books on the market, I have concluded that church growth does not just happen. It is a well-thought out strategy.

5. If we want our church to grow, I feel that we must do three things:

a. Pray for it!

b. Plan for it!

c. Work hard for it!

OVER THE NEXT FEW SUNDAY MORNINGS, I WILL SHARE WITH YOU SEVERAL CHURCH GROWTH PRINCIPLES THAT CAN HELP US GROW TO BIGGER AND GREATER HEIGHTS.

I. FIRST, TO EXPERIENCE CHURCH GROWTH, WE MUST RELY UPON THE POWER OF GOD.

1. In (Mk. 16:15), Jesus told His followers to “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” When Jesus issued this task, there were only 11 apostles and a relatively small number of disciples.

2. However, we read that on the day that the church was established, on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, 3,000 people were baptized (Acts 2:41).

3. By the time of (Acts 4:4), the congregation in Jerusalem had grown to the point that there were 5,000 men in that one congregation.

4. In (Acts 5:14), the Bible says that “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”

5. All in all, the Jerusalem congregation, according to the estimates of various scholars, had a membership of between 50,000 and 100,000 members.

6. How did the early church grow so rapidly?

• (Acts 2:47) “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

7. Who added people to the church? God. It was God who ultimately helped the Church to grow! He is the one who makes things grow!

• (1 Cor. 3:6-7) “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

8. If we want our church to grow, then we must rely upon God for growth and not our own human strength.

9. We need to spend hours in prayer asking God to help us grow.

II. SECOND, TO EXPERIENCE CHURCH GROWTH, WE MUST HAVE A CHURCH VISION AND WORK HARD TO FULFILL IT.

§ “Where there is no vision, the people perish...”(Proverbs 29:18).

1. What is a church vision?

a. A church vision is an attempt to articulate, as clearly and vividly as possible, the reason why we exist as a Church.

b. When people walk into our doors, we would like for them to know who we are, why we are here, and what we can do for them.

I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE FOR OUR CHURCH TO HAVE THE SAME VISION THAT JESUS HAD FOR HIS CHURCH.

GREAT COMMISSION VISION:

• (Mt. 28:19-20) “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

• (Eph. 4:11-13) “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

• Possible mission or vision statement: We are a loving family of Christians devoted to Jesus Christ and are led by God’s word. Our commission is to help prepare you for your eternal home in heaven by leading you to Jesus, equipping you for a meaningful ministry in the church, assisting you to spiritual maturity, and encouraging you to share your faith with others.

a. The three components of this vision statement are:

(1) Evangelism (Leading lost souls to Jesus and encouraging these folks to also lead others to Jesus) (Mt. 28:19-20; Acts 8:4).

(2) Making disciples (Assisting people to spiritual maturity) (1 Jn. 2:6).

(3) Service (Helping equip people with the skills they need for a meaningful ministry in the church) (Eph. 4:1; 2:10)

2. Why should we have a vision statement?

a. The vision statement will reveal to others who we are, why we are here, and what we plan to offer them.

b. The vision statement will help us stay focused on our mission as a church.

(1) Some churches can get so wrapped up in dealing with less important issues, that before they knew it, they haven’t been evangelizing to the community in years. Satan tries to sidetrack churches so that they are not being effective.

c. This vision statement will help us stay busy and focused on:

(1) Evangelism (Bringing souls to Christ).

(2) Making Disciples (Assisting people to spiritual maturity).

(3) Service (Helping equip people with the skills they need for a meaningful ministry in the church).

3. How can we fulfill our vision statement?

a. Christian Education.

(1) We will offer a series of classes year round that are designed to educate people in our mission and develop their faith. Once we are all striving to fulfill the same mission, we will grow rapidly.

(2) Show overhead of baseball diamond.

(a) Many churches mistakenly assume that once a person is baptized, the sale has been consummated, and it is now up to the new believer to follow through with his commitment to grow as a Christian. This is nonsense. Baby believers don’t know what they need to do next. It is the church’s responsibility to take the initiative in assimilating new people into the congregation and to help them develop in their faith.

CONCLUSION:

1. To experience church growth, we must rely on God, and we must have a church vision and work hard to fulfill it.

• So far in our series on church growth, I have pointed out to experience church growth, we must rely upon God and we must have a church vision and work hard to fulfill it. This morning, we will continue in this series by examining point number three.

III. THIRD, TO EXPERIENCE GROWTH IN OUR CONGREGATION, EVERY MEMBER OF THIS CHURCH BODY MUST BE PUTTING HIS OR HER TALENTS AND ABILITIES TO WORK.

1. If we are going to prosper as the Lord's Church, every single one of us must be putting our talents and abilities to work in this church. We must all work together to accomplish the will of God.

• Napoleon once pointed to a map of China and said, “There lies a sleeping giant. If it ever wakes up, it will be unstoppable.”

2. I believe that our church is a sleeping giant. If we can ever awaken and unleash the massive talent, resources, creativity, and energy lying dormant in our church, we will explode with growth, not only numerically but also in personal growth as well.

3. Brethren, if we all start serving and using our talents and abilities in this church, there is no telling what we can accomplish for the Lord.

ILLUSTRATION:

There is a conservative church in Saddleback, California who grew from one family to over 10,000 in worship attendance in just fifteen years.

One of the biggest reasons why that church grew to such an enormous size, according to it’s Minister, Rick Warren, is because the majority of their members put their talents to work in that church.

If we all put our talents to work, we will prosper as the Lord’s Church!

I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO START GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THIS CHURCH.

WHY SHOULD WE BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH?

A. FIRST, WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT GOD CREATED US TO DO.

• (Eph. 2:10) “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

1. One of the most basic questions a person can ask is “What is the purpose of my life?”

2. Most people live their entire lives, year after year, with no idea of why they are here.

3. For most people, the purpose of life is the pursuit of happiness. Everyone wants to be happy. So some people spend their lives looking for happiness. That’s their purpose.

a. Some look for happiness by acquiring possessions.

4. The truth is that one’s possessions do not bring genuine happiness. In fact Jesus once said in (Lk. 12:15) that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

5. Real happiness comes from discovering what God's purpose is for our lives.

6. God has a purpose for each and every one of us and when we discover that purpose, true happiness begins!

• (Read Dt. 10:12-13).

7. One purpose in our lives is to serve the Lord, and when we serve the Lord and His people at this church, then we will be fulfilling one of our responsibilities as Christians, and this will bring us true happiness. Serving brings happiness!

B. SECOND, WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH BECAUSE WE LOVE JESUS AND HIS CHURCH.

1. Listen to statement that Paul made to the church of the Thessalonians.

• (1 Thess. 1:3) “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love…”

2. The motivating factor that prompted the Christians at Thessalonica to serve the Lord and His Church – was love.

3. If we love the church, the church that Jesus purchased with His blood, then we will serve the church.

4. One reason why we should participate in some of the churches ministries, like the visitation, evangelism, food, education, and other ministry areas is because we love the church.

ILLUSTRATION:

One time my sister called me on the phone and asked me to help her move from one apartment to another.

The first thing that came to my head was “I don’t want to help her move for the zillionth time. I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

The next thing that came into my mind was, “tell her you have to work that day and that you won’t be able to help.” See I began contemplating excuses that I could use so I wouldn’t have to help her move.

However, the words that eventually came out of my mouth were, “Sure Jill, I will help you.”

See the reason why I helped her is because I love her and she is family. Family will help family because of love and commitment.

5. The church should be no different. When the church needs us to serve in different ministry areas, instead of making excuses on why we cannot do it, we should do it because the church is our family and we love our family. Family will help family because of love.

6. How many of us would refuse to help our biological families? But how many of us refuse to help God’s family.

7. If we truly love the Lord and His Church that love will compel us to be involved.

C. THIRD, WE SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE CHURCH BECAUSE THAT’S HOW THE CHURCH FUNCTIONS AT IT’S BEST.

1. If the church is going to operate and function properly, we must all be doing our part.

2. In (1 Cor. 12:12-26), Paul compares the church to a human body.

3. Paul’s major point in this passage is that everyone must be using his or her gifts and talents in the church, for the church to function properly.

ILLUSTRATION:

The organization I used to work for SuperShuttle, an airport ground transportation company that serves DFW airport, is one company that has many parts.

SuperShuttle has a:

Management team who makes sure the job is getting done.

Scheduling Department who makes sure that the drivers make into work on time.

Reservation Department who schedules passenger pickups.

Sales Department who generates business.

Maintenance Department who keeps the vans in good condition.

Personal Department who hires personal.

Drivers Training Department who trains the drivers.

Accounting Department. who keeps up with the books.

4. The only way for the company to function properly is for every department to be doing its job. If one department is not operating properly, the whole company suffers.

5. In the same way, if all parts of the church are not functioning properly then the whole church suffers.

• (1 Cor. 12:26) “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.,.”

6. The number one reason why many churches are not functioning properly is because of a lack of commitment on the part of some members .”

7. The simple truth is that in many churches only a small number of people are doing the majority of the work.

8. A Gallup survey discovered that only 10 percent of American church members are active in any kind of personal ministry in the church and that 50 percent of all church members have no interest in serving in any capacity.

9. The reason why many churches are not functioning properly is because 10 percent of the people are trying to do 100 percent of the work, and there is no way that can work.

ILLUSTRATION:

Dressed as a rag doll, Melody Schick, 24, sat with a teddy bear cradled in her left arm and staring into space from a revolving platform. Only her eyes moved. Then, five hours and 43 boring minutes later she rose slowly and tried to smile. Miss Schick was seeking to beat the world record for sitting still! The previous record was 5 hours and 32 minutes. The record attempt took place at a Dallas shopping center as hundreds of shoppers watched.

10. There are surely some saints in the church who could complete for that record. They have been sitting still -- metaphorically if not literally -- for years. They never become involved in the work of the local church. They criticize the church frequently, but they never participate in the program.

11. I do not want our church to be the kind of church that is sitting still.

a. We must be a purpose driven church.

b. We are a church on the move and we need every person doing his or her part.

12. Every member of this church body must be putting his or her talents and abilities to work if we are going to function properly.

ILLUSTRATION:

One day a man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man, “Come, I will show you hell.” They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible.

“Come, now I will show you heaven,” the Lord said. They entered another room, identical to the first—the pot of stew, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But there everyone was happy and well nourished.

“I don’t understand,” said the man. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything was the same?”

The Lord smiled. “Ah, it is simple,” he said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”

13. Brethren, if we are going to be successful as a body of Christ, we must all learn how to feed each other. We must all be serving one another.

CONCLUSION:

1. Once upon a time there were four men named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody . There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. But Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, and Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody and Nobody did the job that Anybody could have done in the first place.

2. Brethren, we will grow and be a successful church if “Everybody is doing Something.”

• So far in our series on church growth, I have pointed out to experience church growth, we must rely upon God; have a church vision and work hard to fulfill it; and everyone must be putting his and her talents and abilities to work in the church. This morning, we will conclude this important series by examining point number four.

IV. FOURTH, TO EXPERIENCE CHURCH GROWTH, WE MUST CONTINUE TO BE A FRIENDLY CONGREGATION THAT CARES ABOUT PEOPLE AND GENUINELY WELCOMES THEM INTO OUR FELLOWSHIP.

1. If people do not feel like they belong in our church family, they will not stay.

2. In the book, “Exit Interviews,” which focuses on why people are leaving churches, William Hendricks writes that one reason why people are leaving churches is because they do not feel like they belong.

ILLUSTRATION:

Mary and I after attending a church for three months left because we didn’t feel like we belonged. The people did not except us into their fellowship. When we walked into the door, people did not take an interest in us. They were cliquish and too busy talking with their own knit groups.