The layers of church growth

Following his time as Senior Minister at KT in London, Mark Ryan is now Elim’s ‘Project Lead for Church Growth’ – a new role created to encourage churches to break into their next level in God

As Donkey reminded Shrek that he was like an onion, in that he had many layers, so too when we come to the issues of church growth, we must see it as a layered and multifaceted issue.

One of our important transitions is to stop using one dimensional language to describe all churches and move to a grace conversation about the values and worth of all churches, no matter their size.

Although some might think that having a larger church is an idol to a few, most pastors of larger churches will tell you that people are people no matter the size of church and all the attendant joys and frailties of pastoring still apply!

Churches rarely grow like a sales graph in straight lines – there is a precious story and journey to all churches, and so let us to see more of a biblical picture when thinking of growth issues.

The Bible does not really ever talk in terms of big, small or mid-size, but rather it speaks more in terms of fruitfulness, effectiveness, faithfulness and flourishing. We need to stop the language of pressure and comparison and move to a more biblical way of expressing our good desire to see the work of God prosper.

The first mandate upon us was the Genesis commission to be ‘fruitful and multiply, fill and subdue,’ (Gen 1:27). This was a mandate for expansion with authority to govern. The New Testament follows this theme for us as the church in describing the gospel as ‘bearing fruit and growing all over the world... so that you may walk worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work,” (Col 1:6-10).

Jesus repeated the idea of the creation mandate and both commands and promises us that we are to be fruit bearers as we remain in him, (John 15:1-5).

This whole idea of fruitfulness is expanded to become flourishing as Psalm 92, the song for the Sabbath day tells us: ‘The righteous flourish… they thrive in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age,’ (See Ps 92:12-15). Scriptural language is clear that we are to expect expansion, and this will at times include numbers but will not be limited to this.

Some might want to see this fruit as only character traits, but even the famous passage on the fruit of the Spirit is infectious and evangelistic when one sees that being loving and joyful and all the other aspects of this fruit is so attractive and inviting to the watching world.

We cannot just cast any of the fruitfulness that the Bible calls for as internal character and maturity attributes – fruit is also visible and measurable.

Let’s begin to have a kind and grace-filled conversation about the value of all churches and the biblical expectation for them to flourish in all ways without resistance to expansion.

God will enable us to be effective in our context through the story he is writing in our situation.

Let’s change the language… and see the fruit! Let’s begin to believe for fruit and pray for seasons of flourishing.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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