Are you feeling frustrated and discouraged by your church’s ability to attract new people? Do you want to see your church move forward with power? Three essential elements must be in place for a church to grow.
Imagine the church growth process as three connected pipes moving water from a river into your swimming pool. One pipe draws from the river, another carries water from the river to your yard, and the final pipe channels water into the pool. If any one of these pipes is missing, the water flow is disrupted. Similarly, your church needs three vital phases of growth to effectively bring people from the community into active membership. Here are the vital areas needed for success.
Contact with the community
Your church must have a clear strategy to connect with people in the community who are interested in studying the Bible and knowing Jesus—let’s call them “seekers”—and you must establish personal contact with them. This is often where many churches falter. Either they lack a plan to connect with their community, or their community outreach efforts are not focused on identifying and spending time with seekers.
There are several proven strategies for finding seekers in your community, including Discover Bible School online advertising. This is one of the most effective ways to find seekers today. Setting up and running a Discover Bible School for a year can cost as little as $2,000, with the conference covering 80 percent of this cost. Contact the Voice of Prophecy at 970.622.2999 to learn more about setting up a Discover Bible School in your community, and feel free to reach out to my office at 785.478.4726 for support and tips to ensure success.
Education and discipleship
Your church needs a system for personal education and discipleship, whether one-on-one or in small groups. This can begin with delivering Bible studies to the door and progress to personal Bible studies in homes. The process is most effective when the church hosts a weekly small-group Bible study. These groups can meet during the week, on Friday nights, or Sabbath mornings. Beyond personal contact, Sabbath school and church services should be environments where new attendees learn how to build a friendship with Jesus. Teachings should be Christ-centered, focused on our distinctive doctrines, and free from strange ideas, political agendas and negative or combative attitudes.
Mission integration
The elders, pastor, church board and nominating committee must work together to integrate new members into active service within the church, contributing to its mission. New members should be intentionally mentored into becoming faithful, dedicated workers and leaders in the local church. Without this final step, the work of the first two phases will be in vain.
With constant attention to these three phases of church growth, rooted in a love for Jesus and bathed in constant prayer, your church will see forward movement, growth and new life. Please call my office anytime for counsel, encouragement or to schedule a training seminar to help make your church a dynamic powerhouse of God’s grace and power, teaching Bible truth in your community!
Virgil Covel is ministerial director for the Kansas-Nebraska Conference.
