Trinity Baptist Church

I recently heard a preacher preach a sermon which he entitled, “Why Churches Don’t Grow.”  The main point of his sermon was that some churches don’t grow because they are preaching the true word of God, and people don’t want to hear that.  I think he was wrong.

While preaching is the central activity within a healthy church, there are a number of other factors that enter into the equation of why churches do, or do not, grow.

Volumes of books can be, and have been, written on church growth, but what I wish to say in this short article is that I believe most churches grow, or do not grow, based on whether or not they really want to.

People sometimes have the attitude that they like their church just the way it is, and they know that a steady flow of new people coming in will change it.  They are right, more people will cause a local congregation to change, but do we have the right to say when a church shouldn’t change anymore, or that it is big enough?  If we prefer a small church, do we have the right to keep a church small, just because that’s our preference?  Those are rhetorical questions, and the obvious answer is, “no.”

The first century church, as presented in the Bible, knew nothing of stagnation, plateau, or decline.  Sadly, those conditions are the norm for multitudes of churches, today.

Many people criticize the idea of a “user friendly” church, however, we need to understand that while the message of a healthy church doesn’t change, the way that message is packaged may very well need to change, and the methods by which we attempt to attract people to us definitely need to change.  The spitting, stomping, sweating, and shouting method of preaching doesn’t capture the ears of people, as it did fifty years ago.  It’s not that there’s anything wrong with that style of delivery, but it’s not the way people listen today.  Today, people have shorter attention spans, and the preacher who doesn’t realize this is not nearly as effective as he could be.  Think of the difference in the way televisions programs, and their commercials are presented.  There was a time when programs had one sponser, and a talking head would hold up a product and talk about it for one to two minutes none-stop.  Today, there are more sponsers, shorter viewing segments and much shorter commercials, presented with a lot of action.  Before you say, “Well, that’s the world,” let me remind you that it is the world we are trying to reach for Christ.

Churches that are too inwardly focused will not grow.  For instance, Sunday School classes are great units of close fellowship, but that’s not their primary purpose.  Sunday School is also the growth arm of a modern-day local church.  It has been determined that the majority of people who attend a Sunday School class as much as six times are very likely to become members of that particular church.  On the other hand, people may attend the worship service for months and months and never become members.

New Sunday School classes grow much faster than older established classes.  I believe a Sunday Class that is 3 years old, or older, has become as large as it will ever be, unless it reorganizes itself for new growth.  This reorganization usually requires multiplying the class into two classes, then becoming involved in a definite plan for growth.

The reason churches don’t grow is really not because people just aren’t interested in church.  They are just not interested in the kind of church they have been offered.  There is a hunger in the heart of people for knowing God and for being a part of something that they believe to be totally worthwhile and relevant to their present-day life situation.