Growing Our Church

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Growing Our Church
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A Healthy Church

• All living things grow
• Growth is automatic provided that it is healthy
• Hindrances to growth need to be removed (unsafe
  environment, poor nutrition)
• A Healthy Church GROWS. Our Church is a living
  body - if it doesnt grow, it is dying.

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What the Bible says about Church Growth
1 Corinthians 36-11

• I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but
  God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor
  he who waters is anything, but only God, who
  makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the
  man who waters have one purpose, and each will be
  rewarded according to his own labour. 9For we are
  Gods fellow workers you are Gods field, Gods
  building.
• 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a
  foundation as an expert builder, and someone else
  is building on it. But each one should be careful
  how he builds. 11For no one can lay any
  foundation other than the one already laid, which
  is Jesus Christ.

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What the Bible says about Church Growth
Acts 2 42-47

• They devoted themselves to the apostles
  teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking
  of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled
  with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs
  were done by the apostles. 44All the believers
  were together and had everything in common.
  45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave
  to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they
  continued to meet together in the temple courts.
  They broke bread in their homes and ate together
  with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and
  enjoying the favour of all the people. And the
  Lord added to their number daily those who were
  being saved.

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What Drives our Church ?
Tradition ?

• Weve always done it this way
• The goal is to perpetuate the past
• Stagnation interpreted as stability
• Bound together by rules and regulations, not
  sense of purpose or mission

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What Drives our Church ?
Personality ?

• What does the leader want ?
• Agenda driven by the leader, with all his/her
  background, needs and insecurities.
• Agenda may not reflect Gods will or the needs of
  the people
• What happens when the leader leaves ?

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What Drives our Church ?
Finances ?

• How much will it cost ?
• Good stewardship and cash flow are essential for
  a healthy issue . but .
• Finances should never be the controlling issue.
  The Church does not exist to make a profit
• Not How much did we save ?, but Who was saved
  ?

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What Drives our Church ?
Programs ?

• Creative Activities, Sunday English Classes,
  Pathfinders, Youth Programs, New Start, Womens
  Program, Singles Ministry etc.
• Programs are often Driving forces in the Church
• Focus is maintaining and sustaining Church
  programs
• Drive may shift from developing people to just
  filling positions
• Does the program still work ? If results are poor
  it may not be that you are not working hard
  enough. What is the purpose of the program ?

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What Drives our Church ?
Buildings

• Paying for and maintaining the nice new church
  is the focus. Fund raising to pay off the
  mortgage is the drive.
• Ministry suffers as fund are diverted. The tail
  wags the dog
• OR, A church lets the size of the building limit
  the scope for future growth

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What Drives our Church ?
Events ?

• Event driven Church ?
• A full calendar keeps everyone busy. Something is
  happening every night, every week.
• A lot of activity, but not necessarily
  productivity
• What is the purpose behind the activity ?
• Meetings Ministry

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What Drives our Church ?
Seekers ?

• What do the unchurched want ?
• The needs of the unbelievers become the driving
  force
• We need to be sensitive to the needs and
  interests of these seekers and it is important
  to design evangelistic activities that targets
  these needs
• BUT This should not drive the whole agenda of
  the church

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What Drives our Church ?
Seekers ?

• Our society is very market driven give the
  customer what he/she wants
• The Church however has a higher calling. It
  should be seeker sensitive but not seeker
  driven
• We can adapt our communication style to our
  culture WITHOUT adopting the sinful elements or
  abdicating to it.

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What Drives our Church ?

• Tradition
• Personality
• Finances
• Programs
• Seekers
• Buildings
• Events

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A Purpose Driven Church
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The Importance of being Purpose Driven

• Nothing precedes purpose
• Why do we exist ?
• Until we know why
• We have - NO Foundation
• - NO Motivation
• - NO Direction

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What is our purpose ?
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Christs Ministry on Earth
Matthew 5 14-16

• 14You are the light of the world. A city on
  a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people
  light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead
  they put it on its stand, and it gives light to
  everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let
  your light shine before men, that they may see
  your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

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Christs Ministry on Earth
Matthew 9 35-38

• 35Jesus went through all the towns and
  villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching
  the good news of the kingdom and healing every
  disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds,
  he had compassion on them, because they were
  harassed and helpless, like sheep without a
  shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, The
  harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
  38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send
  out workers into his harvest field.

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Christs Ministry on Earth
Luke 4 18-19

• The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
• because he has anointed me
• to preach good news to the poor.
• He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
  prisoners
• and recovery of sight for the blind,
• to release the oppressed,
• 19 to proclaim the year of the Lords favour.

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Christs Ministry on Earth
1 John 1 5-7

• 5This is the message we have heard from him
  and declare to you God is light in him there is
  no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have
  fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we
  lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk
  in the light, as he is in the light, we have
  fellowship with one another, and the blood of
  Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

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Purposes of the Church
1. Love the Lord with all your heart

• WORSHIP
• Matthew 410
• Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
• Worship comes before service
• Not out of duty, but because we enjoy expressing
  our love to God

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Purposes of the Church
2. Love Your Neighbour as Yourself

• MINISTRY
• We exist to minister, to demonstrate Gods love
  to others
• To meet others needs. To Share. To be the Light
  of the World
• Faithfulness is not just about attendance.
  Faithfulness must include SERVICE.

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Purposes of the Church
3. Go and Make Disciples

• EVANGELISM
• We exist to communicate Gods word. We are
  ambassadors for Christ
• We have a commission
• 5 commissions in the New Testament

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Purposes of the Church
3. Go and Make Disciples

• Matthew 28 19-20
• Mark 1615
• 15He said to them, Go into all the world and
  preach the good news to all creation.
• Luke 24 47-49
• John 20 21
• Acts 1 8

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Purposes of the Church
3. Go and Make Disciples

• What would you do if you discovered a cure for
  all cancer ? A cure for SARS ?
• We have an even greater knowledge
• We have the Gospel of Eternal Life to share
• As long as there is ONE person in the world who
  does not know Christ, our church has a mandate to
  keep growing

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Purposes of the Church
4. Baptizing Them - Fellowship

• Part of the command to make disciples
• Why is Baptism so important ?
• Fellowship Identification with the Body of
  Christ. To belong to Christs family and be
  members of his body
• A symbol of salvation and Fellowship.
• A common purpose

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Purposes of the Church
5. Teaching them to Obey

• DISCIPLESHIP
• The process of helping people become more like
  Christ in their thoughts
• Begins when one is born again and continues
  through the rest of his life.
• The Church is not just for the Seekers but also
  for helping Christians to mature

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Purposes of the Church
5. Teaching them to Obey

• Ephesians 4 12-13
• to prepare Gods people for works of service,
  so that the body of Christ may be built up
  13until we all reach unity in the faith and in
  the knowledge of the Son of God and become
  mature, attaining to the whole measure of the
  fullness of Christ.

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What is our purpose ?
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Purposes of the Church

• Worship
• Ministry
• Evangelism
• Fellowship
• Discipleship

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Matthew 22 37-40 Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind. 38This is the first and
greatest commandment. 39And the second is like
it Love your neighbor as yourself. 40All the
Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments.

• Matthew 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, 20and
  teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
  you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
  end of the age.

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Purposes of the Church

• Worship
• Ministry
• Evangelism
• Fellowship
• Discipleship

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Church Growth Our Mission Statement

• Matthew 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, 20and
  teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
  you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
  end of the age.

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Applying Our Purpose

• Who are our Targets for Church Growth ?
• Mark 2 17
• On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is
  not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
  I have not come to call the righteous, but
  sinners.
• Matthew 15 24
• (Jesus) answered, I was sent only to the
  lost sheep of Israel.
• Galatians 2 7
• (Paul) On the contrary, they saw that I had
  been entrusted with the task of preaching the
  gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to
  the Jews.

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Community
Crowd
Congregation
Committed
Core
Lay Ministers
Maturing Members
Members
Regular Attendees
Non church goers
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Applying Our Purpose

• The goal of our Church is to more people from the
  outer circles to the inner circles.
• From low commitment and maturity to high
  commitment and maturity

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Applying Our Purpose When ?

• Inside Out approach ?
• Teach and Discipline the Core first ?
• Takes time and often results in losing contact
  with the community
• Small Churches Often all core and nothing
  else
• The same 50 come every week. Weve all been
  Christians for so long, we have few unchurched
  friends to witness to.

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Applying Our Purpose When ?

• Inside Out approach
• Newcomers are afraid to break into or join in the
  group as it is so closeknit.
• The core group planning a new church spends so
  much time in the small group stage that it
  becomes comfortable with it and loses the sense
  of mission
• Fire of evangelism dies

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Applying Our Purpose When

• Outside In Approach
• Start with the community not the core
• Move the community to our crowd (worship), then
  the crowd into the congregation (fellowship),
  the congregation into the committed
  (discipleship), and then the committed into the
  core (ministry)
• Send the core back out to the community
  (Evangelism)
• We can and should do this NOW

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Community
Worship
Evangelism
Crowd
Fellowship
Congregation
Discipleship
Committed
Ministry
Core
Lay Ministers
Maturing Members
Members
Regular Attendees
Non church goers
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Applying Our Purpose How ?

• We need to
• Define who is our target
• We cannot be all things to all people. No
  single church can reach everyone.
• Ensure that EVERYONE here is involved.
• We are a small church, we have limited people
  resources at present.

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Acts 2 42-47

• They devoted themselves to the apostles
  teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking
  of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled
  with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs
  were done by the apostles. 44All the believers
  were together and had everything in common.
  45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave
  to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they
  continued to meet together in the temple courts.
  They broke bread in their homes and ate together
  with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and
  enjoying the favour of all the people. And the
  Lord added to their number daily those who were
  being saved.

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Applying Our Purpose How ?

• Our Target
• Demographically
• Young families, Young families with children
• Geographically
• Local families within the Epping Community

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Applying Our Purpose How ?
Evangelism - Attract New Members from the
Community

• Meet the community, be involved in the community
• Identify and meet the needs of the community
• Work to our strengths - Target Young families
  They need to be aware that Epping Church exists
  and what we offer.
• Raise our profile within the community e.g.
  letterboxing pamphlets, local papers, community
  radio stations

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Evangelism - Attract New Members from the
Community

• Adventurers / Pathfinders
• Outdoor activities camping, fishing,
  bushwalking
• Vacation Bible School Vacation activities /
  crafts
• Family Movie Nights
• Health Workshops Asthma, COPD, SARS,
  Hypertension, Back Injury.

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Worship - Moving the Community into our Church

• How do we meet the Spiritual Needs of those
  seeking Christ?
• Simple straightforward services that addresses
  issues relevant to the non church goer. Gods
  plan for your life, Questions you always wanted
  to ask God, Gods family and your family
• Services given in a practical interesting way as
  Christ did.
• Childrens Ministry. Introducing children to the
  concept of a loving caring God.
• Engaging our Youth in Church based activities
  e.g. website development, video ministry. Youth
  involvement in Childrens Ministry

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Worship - Moving the Community into our Church

• What attracted large crowds to Jesus ministry ?
• He loved them (Matthew 9 36)
• He met their needs (Matthew 15 30, Luke 6
  17-18)

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Worship - Moving the Community into our Church

• Loving unbelievers like Jesus did
• Creating an atmosphere of acceptance. Do I feel
  welcome here ?
• Accepting without necessarily approving

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Fellowship Becoming Part of our
Congregation Inspiring Commitment

• Small cell groups which addresses and discusses
  personal needs on a more intimate basis. Small
  group bible study.
• Commitment required
• No point being an inactive or non-participating
  member
• Growing into spiritual maturity
• Using individual talents

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Discipleship Achieving Spiritual Maturity

• Active or leading out in small groups
• Childrens Ministry
• Addressing the needs of Young Families
• Learning to minister to others
• Skill building and leadership training
• Pastor plays a very important role here

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Ministry The Core Group Realising Gods Purpose
for our lives.

• Lead and serve in the ministry
• Lay ministers, Lay evangelists
• Deacons, Sabbath School Teachers
• Run Evangelistic Programs
• Pastor needs to help nurture, train and sustain
  this group

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Community
Worship
Evangelism
Crowd
Fellowship
Congregation
Discipleship
Committed
Ministry
Core
Lay Ministers
Maturing Members
Members
Regular Attendees
Non church goers
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Where do we want to be in 5 years ?

• A Balanced Church Soul winning, worship,
  fellowship, bible study and teaching all
  prominent
• A growing church
• A large core group active in the ministry and
  evangelism
• A larger group of committed members
• A established presence in the Epping, with a
  reputation for fulfilling the needs of the
  community.

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Where do we go from here ?

• Work from Outside In. We need to do it soon.
• Feedback on this proposal
• Where are you willing to help ? What are your
  talents and skills ?
• Discussion Paper to be circulated
• Forum for feedback to be held within a month

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1 Corinthians - Chapter 12

• 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up
  of many parts and though all its parts are many,
  they form one body. So it is with Christ.
• 18God has arranged the parts in the body,
  every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
  19If they were all one part, where would the body
  be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one
  body.

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1 Corinthians - Chapter 12

• 27Now you are the body of Christ, and each
  one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church
  God has appointed first of all apostles, second
  prophets, third teachers, then workers of
  miracles, also those having gifts of healing,
  those able to help others, those with gifts of
  administration, and those speaking in different
  kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all
  prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
  30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in
  tongues? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire
  the greater gifts.
• And now I will show you the most excellent
  way.