4 Reasons Why Some Churches Grow And Other's Don't
Why do some churches grow and others decline? Are there certain decisions or principles that help lead churches to be healthy and impact more people? Does God simply decide at random what churches will grow, which will remain stagnant, and which will decline?
While no churches can do much of anything without God's allowing or blessing, there are also practical things we can do and decisions we can make to better ensure our churches are faithfully accomplishing what God may have for us.
It's why I started the Practical Church Planting podcast, to help ministry leaders improve on the things we can control.
To that end, here are four key reasons that I have found as to why some churches grow while others do not. The more likely churches have these four things, the more likely they are to accomplish their mission and reach more people.
1. They have a realistic financial plan (and stick to it)
People that follow a personal budget are always in a much better financial position than those that don't. It's the same with churches. Churches that not only have a detailed budget but also stick to it are always better off than those who don't.
In my experience, a lack of resources is the number one reason churches close their doors. And because almost all churches have a very thin financial margin, it is even more imperative that it is prayerfully and wisely planned out.
This also means making purchases and plans "out of faith" that the resources will somehow show up is not wise. Certainly, there are times when churches have to take financial risks (even more frequently when the church is just starting out), but coupled with these risks should be a working plan of how the money might be raised and by when it is hoped to come in by.
This means having to say "no" to some wants and desires that would be beneficial to the church to have. At the same time, there are occasions where it means saying "yes" when you aren't exactly sure how it will work out, but these "yes" decisions should always be accompanied by reason number two.
2. There is seasoned leadership influencing big decisions
Regardless of what the leadership structure of a church looks like, churches that grow almost always have older and seasoned leaders giving input on big decisions (and the life of the church in general).
I was 26 years old when we started New City Church. That is anything "seasoned leadership." I am now 30 years old, which is still anything but seasoned leadership. However, from the beginning we have had what we initially called our management team comprised of myself and three other men who are all 50+ years of age.
I cannot tell you how helpful this has been to me and my church. I have lost count of the number of times where I wanted to do something and was told to slow down or not do it at all.
You can't rush experience, and the younger you are, the more important it is to have older and wiser council influencing decisions that you make. Churches that have seasoned leadership are much more likely to reach people over the long-haul than those who do not.
3. The staff is bought in to the mission
It doesn't matter how passionate the senior/lead pastor is of a church, if the staff and key leaders aren't bought in it will never truly thrive.
One of the many blessings that I have experiencing leading at New City is that our staff and key leaders have always loved Jesus and cared about our mission. Our staff has always looked for ways to go above and beyond which has translated into us impacting more people for Jesus and His mission.
Churches that hire too quickly or seek people to fill staff positions without examining their character and their alignment to the culture of the church will be held back from reaching their fullest potential.
It is always better to have fewer staff that love Jesus and that particular church than more people who are simply working a job. If the staff is bought in, their passion and energy will be passed along to others. In my opinion, it would be hard to find any growing churches that do not include a staff that is bought into what the church is trying to do.
4. They have relationships with other churches/networks/denominations
Whenever I see a church planter/a new church that is not connected to any sort of network, denomination, or any type of sending church my first thought is "they aren't going to make it." The reason being is because most new churches that I see close their doors within the first few years are churches and pastors that started out alone.
We all need wise counsel (see point number two) and authority over us speaking into what we are doing. Is the pastor ready and properly trained? Does the church have a financial plan that is workable? Do they have people on board and willing to join the mission?
It is always better to go slow in the beginning to ensure long term health and vitality. And oftentimes church planters plant without a network, denomination, or authority over them because they were told (or know they will be told) they aren't ready, but wanted to move forward anyway.
Churches that have relationships with churches and ministries outside of themselves are always much more likely to not only survive but thrive.
Check out Practical Church Planting for help
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