Church Growth 101

I am preparing to get out of the office for a Church Growth workshop in Indianapolis tomorrow and wanted to share a pre-workshop observation…we’ll see if I change my story after the workshop. It doesn’t matter what programs the church tries, or what the leadership says, or what workshops one attends…if the people do not want the church to grow it will never happen. We certainly cannot do it on our own…in the Book of Acts we clearly see the power of God working thru the people to add to their numbers, so I know God has to be in it…but I also know that God wants to be in it! It’s the (church) people who can throw a wrench in the process. In Acts 2:47 a little phrase jumped out at me today: “Everyone liked them and each day the Lord added to their group others who were being saved.” Do you suppose they liked them because the believers were merely friendly? I’ll bet it was because they loved them. I wonder what the outcome had been if no one had liked them? Do you suppose the Lord could still have added to their number? Once again, I see evidence supporting the fact that we must first surrender to God if we ever hope to accomplish His will. We must develop the same burden that Christ had for sinners if we expect to point them to Him. Oh, I know God can/will attract some people to Himself, regardless of what we do or don’t do…but how many more souls in our world would come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior if we loved them as Christ loves them?