Our church has been the same size for over fifteen years (about sixty in attendance). The church doesn’t seem all that concerned about our lack of growth and I find this disturbing. What can we do to get out of our evangelistic rut?

             Wendel M. Belows suggest that churches which grow must first intend to grow. Having surveyed more than 200 growing churches throughout America, he concludes:

“The church and its’ leadership together develop a strategy for growth. They intend to grow.” I would have to agree. Many churches stagnate simply because they lack a vision for growth. While they may give a certain amount of lip service to growth, their actions betray them.

In many ways it is easier for a church to die than to grow. Reaching people takes time, effort, and money – the three things people are most unwilling to give. There must be a price paid in sweat, toil, and tears.

Some Pastors will never lead a growing church because they are not wiling to make the necessary sacrifice. The Pastor of a growing church must be willing to spend many hours every week in visitation and soul winning. No church will rise above the Pastors example. No church will be a soul-winning church if the Pastor is not a soulwinner. A church should see growth simply from the souls that the pastor wins. Then, as the church begins to grow, the pastor may be forced to devote more time to pastoring, but he should never completely forsake being a soulwinner.

To have a harvest of souls a pastor must focus himself and his people on two things: prayer and sowing spiritual seed. If you sow abundantly and water the seed with prayer, you will then reap an abundant harvest.

(from IBC Perspectives – Volume 2 – Issue 4 – page 6)