THE CHURCH GROWTH SPIRAL

By: Tim Massengale

Thank the Lord! There is hope! Despite sobering statistics flooding in from many sources across America, the true church is still “on the grow.” Apostolic churches in all parts of the country are seeing a mighty river of revival. But then again, why are others not? Why do two churches, often in the same city and with much the same conditions, show such vastly differing growth rates? Is God partial?

No! The reason why one church is bursting at the seams and the other is fading into oblivion lies in their application and faith in God’s basic law of growth: “Whatsoever thou sowest, so shall you also reap.” You will never reap any more than you sow.

Growth comes as the result of sowing the Gospel seed. If you sow it abundantly, your harvest will be abundant. But the adverse of that is true also. Meager sowing brings meager results. The key lies in a pastor being able to motivate his people to sow seed (the Word of God) on a regular, consistent basis.

The word “consistency” is the true focus here. It has been said that a leaking faucet will put out more water than a fire hydrant . . . if the faucet drips all year long and the hydrant is turned on full blast for only an hour. Too often we sow seed by the “fire hydrant” method.

A big push.
A great revival.
A Sunday School contest.
Wham! Bang! Then it’s over.

When we stand back and look at the results, we become disappointed.
All that work for so little return! Isn’t there a better way?

WHAT IS OUR GOAL?

Growth is best understood as it relates to a goal. Growth, by definition, means progress toward a goal. A goal provides the target
and a way to measure progress. It is important that we confront the question, “What is the goal of the Church?” Your response to this question, to a very large extent, determines the potential growth available to your church.

Scripture bears clear testimony: God’s unswerving purpose is that lost mankind be redeemed and brought into His church. Christ’s birth, crucifixion, and resurrection were for the purpose that mankind might be born again of the Water and Spirit. This primary focus is both the motivation and power that lies behind the explosive growth within some churches. Their eyes are fixed, their goals are set: souls must be brought into the protection of the church. This “purpose for being” or “reason for existence” is nearly always the difference between declining churches and growing ones.

“Nothing can take the place of an all-absorbing purpose.
Education will not, genius will not, talent will not, industry will not,
will-power will not. The purposeless life (church) must ever be a failure.”
– Orison Marden

OUR GOALS ARE SOULS

The Church Growth Spiral is a goal setting tool. It shows a church, according to the basic law of averages, approximately how much work must be expended to have a given result – this meaning – how much spiritual seed must be sown for someone to be saved.

This type of tool is not new. Similar ones have been used by American industry and business for years. If you want a given level of
production (your yearly goal) and these are the methods by which the goal is obtained (your plan of action), then the question is “How much of your ‘methods’ are needed to see your goal obtained?”

The basic steps of goal setting, as explained in the previous chapter, are these:

1. Set your goal.
2. Break that goal into progression points.
3. Work out a “Plan of Action” to reach that goal.
4. Enlist the resources needed to reach your goal.
5. Evaluate your results periodically.
6. Talk and testify of your goal.
7. Pray and fast for your goal.

Take one of the sample Growth Spirals provided at the end of this chapter and study it closely. The Growth Spiral takes you through the above seven steps one by one. A churches goal for people to receive the Holy Ghost is placed in the center box of the Spiral labeled “This Years Goal.” In this case the sample being referred to is 24. This number comes from the last section of your “Five-Year Numerical Goals” worksheet (explained in the previous chapter). This goal is divided into four “progression points” or steps. These progression points are placed in each quarter of the year. A slight “progressive progression” is used to give you a little higher goal each quarter. For example: a yearly goal of twenty-four, instead of being broken into four equal parts of six, it is divided “5 – 6 – 6 – 7” which adds up to twenty-four. This provides a slightly increasing challenge during the year. Next, dates are set upon each quarter (remember, a goal is not a goal until a date is set upon it) within the boxes labeled ‘Beginning Date’ (Beg. Date) and ‘Ending Date’ (End. Date). The three month time periods need not be the traditional yearly quarters. You may start the
first three month period “any time – any month.” You now have fulfilled the first two steps of good goal setting: setting your goal
and breaking that goal into dated progression points.

YOUR PLAN OF ACTION

There are many methods we could employ to reach people. From door knocking to mass city wide crusades, Pentecost has tried them all. The real question is “What methods are the most effective?” Time is running out. What we do for God must be done quickly. It is imperative that we are good stewards of our time and talents. These gifts must be used wisely and in the most effective manor.

All will agree that people win people, not programs or activities. The concept that the more programs you have and the more outreach methods you have, the more people will be reached, is a myth. The truth is, the more thinly we are spread and the more divided our focus, the more ineffective we become. A church does not need fifty outreach ministries to reach their city. It is not important that a church does “everything,” but that it does what is most productive and effective. It is better to focus on a few areas and do them well than to attempt to do everything and do it poorly.

It has been said you can cut down a tree with a chain saw or a pocket knife. Both do the job, one just does it faster than the other. Which would you rather use? A pocket knife? Not hardly. If the chain saw is available for use, why not use it?

It is for just this reason that your methods of evangelism must be continually evaluated to see if they are being effective. If a certain outreach program or ministry is not helping you draw closer to your goal of reaching your city, if it is only tying up people, time, and money and not bringing results, than it should either be revamped to make it productive or abandoned all together. Marry the message, my friend, but never go steady with a method!

There are four methods of reaching people with the Gospel that have been more effective than any other. Research has proven this. All work from the concept that is commonly called “Oikos Evangelism.” Oikos Evangelism refers to the two Greek works “oikia” and “oikos,” which are interpreted as “house, household, or home.” In the greater sense, oikos means an individuals family, friends, and associates. Recent research, conducted by the Institute of American Church Growth, shows that the majority of people in church today were brought to the Lord by the testimony or invitation of family, friend, or associate. After interviewing 8,000 people throughout America who were faithful church members and asking them the question, “How did you come into the
church?”, The following results were obtained:

4-6% – were walk-ins. One day they decided they needed to go to church, so they did.
6-8% – said the minister was the reason. His personality or reputation brought them to that church.
2-4% – said they were supporting members of their church because they were attracted by its outstanding program and facilities.
1-2% – said it was because someone visited them or knocked on their door.
3-6% – revealed that it was because of the Sunday School that they were saved.
.0001% – said that it was through a mass city-wide crusade, radio, or T.V. program they had been reached.
70-90% – replied that their conversion was the result of the witness from a family member, friend, or work associate.

What this means is this: the best methods, the most productive methods, the “chain saws,” work from the oikos principle: reaching people through family, friend, or associate contact. The four methods currently being used within Apostolic Churches that do this the best are as follows:

1. Bring a guest to church. More people have been saved by being brought to an evangelistic, Holy Ghost filled service than by any
other method. It is no coincidence that this was also the most common and effective means of evangelism in the New Testament. “Preach the Word,” Paul told his son in the Lord, “For God hath chosen the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Few things are more powerful and leave a more lasting impression than a Pentecostal service. If you can get your people to bring more adult visitors (17 and older) to church, you will see more conversions.

A good rule of thumb is that a church should have at least five first-time visitors a week for every 100 in attendance. This is a minimum. If your church is not doing at least that, it is working below its capability.

2. Teach a Home Bible Study. “And daily in the temple and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42). If the lost won’t come to us, we must go to them. Home Bible Study, without a doubt, has been the most effective outreach method developed in the last twenty years. If we will sow the seed, we will reap the harvest. Home Bible Studies are by far the finest way of doing this.

3. Personal Witnessing. The most powerful tool a person possesses is their testimony of how God saved them. Paul proved this by repeatedly giving his personal testimony throughout Asia Minor. People may argue with your interpretation of scripture, or your theology, but they cannot argue with what the Lord has done for you. Your testimony can be a healing, your conversion experience, a deliverance, or simply the joy of living for God. If a pastor can get his people to witness to their “oikos” more, than it will result in more visitors in church and more Bible studies in homes.

To encourage personal witnessing, a simple program called “Constant Contact Consciousness” has been extremely effective. It motivates people to be constantly conscious of the need to contact people for the Lord. This is the method used on the Growth Spiral. It is explained in more detail in the chapter on evangelism.

4. Sunday School. This last method might shock some, but for the church that is growing, it is no surprise. It is not by accident that the ten largest churches in America all have large, thriving Sunday Schools. This also holds true for most large Apostolic churches.

Why? Because the Sunday School is the most effective method of turning a stranger into a friend. It establishes a long term contact with an individual. It effectively plants the seed in the heart, and it produces a common bond with the church itself. A percentage of children raised up in Sunday School become church members, whether their parents come in or not. It also is an extremely effective means of reaching into the home and establishing a relationship with the parents.

The Sunday School program “Parentreach” has greatly aided this process and brought good success (this is further explained in the chapter on evangelism). If a Sunday School will grow and focus upon evangelizing its members (not just gloating over an inflated attendance number), the church will increase its range of “oikos” and see more souls saved.

So here are your “chain-saws.” These four methods have brought more lasting results for the amount of effort extended than any other ministry or program. Of course, there are other programs and methods that have worked. But these are the most successful, the most common, and the most easily adapted to all churches, large or small. Now the key is to know how much of each is needed to produce the results you desire. This is the purpose of the Church Growth Spiral. To provide you with an accurate target at which to aim for each quarter. And not just any target, but rather the target that will bring the most results.

THE LAW OF AVERAGES

Numbers are funny things, they can work for you or against you. When you don’t know how much work must be performed to see a given result, a person can give up in discouragement just before seeing the fruit of his labor. If a farmer didn’t know he had to wait two weeks before a certain seed sprouted from the ground, he might become disgusted and replow his field, when only a few more days would have brought him little green sprouts from the ground.

By the same token, if your people realize that a certain number of visitors, Bible studies, contacts, and Sunday School growth will bring in the needed souls, you have a much better chance of seeing them do it, and warding off disappointment when immediate results are not seen.

People work better toward a “meaningful specific” than toward a “wandering generality.” Goals are powerful motivators, but only if they are specific in nature. It does little good to say, “Church, we need to bring a ‘bunch’ of visitors, teach a ‘mess’ of Bible studies, witness to a ‘ton’ of sinners, and really ‘grow’ in Sunday School.” These terms have ambiguous meaning. How much is a “mess?” If you wish to see your people labor with excitement and enthusiasm, you need to provide them with a target to shoot for.

The Spiral provides this. It works from exact “equations” or averages. How many adult visitors (17 and older) does your church need to bring? The equation normally used is “three times your quarterly goal.” If your first quarters goal is for five to receive the Holy Ghost, then you need fifteen visitors (3 x 5 = 15) to come during the first three months. How many Bible studies need be taught? “Two times your quarterly goal” is the suggested equation. We therefore need ten (2 x 5 = 10) Bible studies to be taught that first quarter. For personal witnessing contacts, the equation is “fifty times the quarterly goal, and for Sunday School, simply divide “where you are now” through “where you want to go” into four equal steps. These four equations are provided in a box at the bottom of the Growth Spiral work sheet.

What you end up with is four exact quarterly goals for visitors, Bible studies, contacts, and Sunday School. If these goals are obtained each quarter, then you have an excellent chance of seeing your ‘goals for souls’ realized. It’s the Law of the Harvest: If you sow abundantly and consistently, you will reap the same. You now have an exact target at which to aim.

YOUR JOB VERSES GOD’S JOB

Now the danger of the Spiral lies in getting your job confused with God’s job. You cannot give anyone the Holy Ghost. Wouldn’t it be great if you could? But that responsibility is completely in the hands of a Sovereign, Almighty God. He alone knows the heart. Regardless how “ready” we might think a person is, the Lord has the final say.

Yet, it is our job to sow seed. And realizing the difficulty of that task, the Apostle Paul admonished, ‘Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Gal. 6:9). We must understand that God is not a computer. You can’t punch certain numbers into Him and “ding” up comes the results. God doesn’t work that way. Your church might exceed every Growth Spiral outreach goal for a given quarter and not reach that quarters goal for folks to be filled with the Holy Ghost. The same may happen your second quarter. Paul said, “Let us not be weary. . .” Just keep sowing the seed! Don’t give up. Paul also said “Cast not away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Don’t quit. Keep sowing.

If we will do our job, sowing seed, then without a doubt, God will do his. When God opens the windows of Heaven and pours out the mighty rain of revival, he will do it “exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think.” What the Spiral does is allow you to rejoice over reaching your goals. It is in this area, sowing seed, that the church has complete control. Don’t worry about God, He’ll do His part! It is imperative that the church understand this.

GETTING STARTED

The secret to reaching your Spiral goals lies in getting everyone involved somewhere doing something to win the lost. When people “rest” they “rust.” Although one hundred percent involvement is highly unlikely, seventy to ninety percent is not. The churches that have high participation are those who believe that soul winning involvement is essential to salvation. Not all will actually win a soul, but all must be involved in winning souls. There is a difference. Working in the vineyard is not an option.

Now to begin. Once your quarterly goals are set, schedule a major service night to show your Five-Year Numerical Goals to your church. Spark their vision of that five-year goal, and how simple it will be to reach the first years target. Break the annual goal into monthly goals. See how simple it will be! Then explain how the Spiral works (all of this should be on overhead projector or in chart form, as well as handout samples – this is important). Show them their job as opposed to God’s job.

Next, describe your vision and dream for reaching your city. Share with them your long range dreams from the “Five-Year Quality
Improvement Goals” workheet. Preach soulwinning and the need to reach the lost. Let them know that only together, as a unified team, can we see the dream become reality. Working for God is a privilege, and now they have the opportunity to be involved in the greatest revival ever!

Then, at the end of the service, hand out the commitment form entitled “A.C.T.I.O.N.” (Apostolics Committed To Involvement in Outreach Needs). A sample is provided at the end of this chapter. Stress for everyone to be involved somewhere. Some may wish to be involved in only one ministry, others may wish be involved in all of them. Encourage them to commit to as many areas as they feel they can fulfill on a consistent basis for the next three months.

Now, some individuals may be reluctant to commit to anything. In fact, some claim they have a conviction against making a written commitment. I find this difficult to believe. The following questions should be asked to such an individual:

1. Did you not commit in writing to pay your income taxes each year?
2. Did you not commit in writing to pay your mortgage each month?
3. Did you not commit in writing to be faithful to your spouse?

If a person does not believe in making a commitment, how does he reconcile the questions above? The truth of the matter is, they will not commit in writing to God, but they will commit in writing to man.

The Word of God says, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” When a person commits on the A.C.T.I.O.N. form, he or she is saying, “I will try,” nothing more. And that is all God expects of us – to try, to do our best. God will not judge us for what we cannot do, but rather, He will judge us for what we can do.

The A.C.T.I.O.N. form should have a place for each person to check the areas of involvement that your church offers: bring a friend, teach Bible studies, be involved in Constant Contact Consciousness, participate in Sunday School outreach, and others (how each of these methods can be most effective will be explained in the chapter on evangelism). It may need to be customized to fit your church.

At the end of the service collect the completed forms and count up how many committed to each area. The totals should then be placed on the Spiral chart in the section labeled “Member Commitment.”

Any adults or teenagers that are absent from the commitment service, or who forget to turn one in, should be followed up on. Compare the names committed to a total membership list. Contact those that are missing. Finally, the names in each category should then be typed on a list and given to the respective directors over those ministries.

PROMOTING YOUR SPIRAL MINISTRY

The Growth Spiral Ministry is, quite simply, a promotional tool. It is a way to encourage maximum involvement on a consistent basis. It will not work by itself any more than a car will drive itself. It is only fruitful if it is used. Just like a car will soon rust and fall apart if allowed to sit, so too the Spiral Ministry will die if not promoted. It must remain visible. It must be talked about, preached about, and encouraged at every opportunity.

Many years ago, Mr. Wrigley, founder of Wrigley’s Chewing Gum, was flying on an airplane to a business appointment. He was asked why he spent such a tremendous amount each year on advertising when everyone had already heard of the product. He responded by asking, “What makes this airplane fly?” The individual replied, “The engines.” Mr. Wrigley then stated, “Not only do the engines get the airplane in sky, it also keeps it there. So it is with my advertising. Without it, my company would go down.” Promotion is the key to the Spiral Ministry. If it is not promoted adequately and consistently, it too, will soon die.

The Spiral Ministry is promoted in three ways. All three are important. Neglecting anyone of them will decrease your results.

1. The Spiral Bulletin Board. Your Spiral chart should be reproduced upon a 4′ x 6′ or 4′ x 8′ or even larger bulletin board. A sample drawing and materials list is provided at the end of this chapter. The center box is drawn on heavy art board. The four sets of sixteen boxes are cut out of differently colored poster board. Each quarter should be represented by its own color of blocks. The lettering can also be cut out or you can use vinyl stick-on letters. Put some time and money into making this display attractive. You will want to use this over and over again. It’s recommended that the finished chart either be covered with plexi-glass, be put in a display case, or be covered with clear vinyl. Ideas for construction and design are provided with the materials list.

The location for the board should be in a highly visible location, preferably where you can see it and point to it from the pulpit. This too is important for you will want to refer to it often.

On the sides you will want to put your “monthly goals.” Monthly goals are your quarterly goals divided into three parts. The monthly goals are extremely important. If you do not reach your monthly goals (one-third of your quarterly goal) you will never reach your quarterly goal. Some have found it beneficial to place the monthly goal on a “thermometer chart” and fill it in each week (See example).

2. The Monthly Promotion Time. At the first of each month, you will need to set aside twenty or thirty minutes in a key service to push and promote the Spiral ministry. Let the congregation know if they reached or missed their monthly goals the previous month. Rejoice over the goals obtained, encourage those missed.

Notice the word “encourage.” Don’t make this a negative time. Keep the spirit positive and uplifting. You will rarely get a positive response from a negative message. Have testimonies, hand raised commitments, anything to motivate response for the coming month. Stress that God is waiting on us. He cannot do His part (draw folks to the altar and fill them with the Holy Ghost) until we have done our part.

3. Quarterly Spiral Promotion Night. Set aside a Bible study night at the beginning of each quarter to go over the previous quarters results. Pattern this service much the same as your original Spiral Commitment Service. Remind everyone of the five-year and annual Goals. Explain briefly the Spiral again. Place the quarters outreach totals in the “Quarterly Results” section of the Spiral (this is what you actually did in each outreach area that past quarter). Rejoice over the goals reached, encourage those goals missed. Preach soul winning and outreach. Have new converts testify, encourage involvement, make this service exciting and soul-stirring.

Toward the end of the service, read off the names of those who previously committed in each area and have them stand. Complement them on a job well done (even if they did not reach the goal, you must assume they did their best). Then push for more to become involved in each area. Ask for more to stand and commit to involvement in that ministry. You do not need to hand out a written commitment form each quarter if you use this method. But you want to try and raise the number participating in each ministry every quarter if possible. After all, your goal for that quarter is most likely higher. After the altar call, post the new number committed to each outreach on your Spiral Bulletin Board. Since you do this only once every three months, make this service special!

GIVING IT THE OL’ PASTOR’S PUSH

If any quarterly goal has been missed, it is important not to ignore this fact. A pastor cannot push and promote every ministry in the church all the time – he would have little time left to do anything else. But the pastor can push one, perhaps two areas, and thereby see that ministry improve (it is normally true that whatever the pastor personally encourages and becomes personally involved in will do well). It is therefore important for the pastor to push and encourage any of the four ministries that missed their mark. Present to the congregation your plan of action to ‘shore-up’ that weak ministry. Give it your special attention for the next quarter. Doing this will give that ministry the needed boost to go over the top the next quarter. If Bible studies are down, push Bible studies. If Sunday School is down, push Sunday School. Whatever is weak, strengthen it. This will help to give your outreach program a good ‘balance’ and will bring you the greatest results from the Spiral ministry.

FILLING OUT YOUR OWN SPIRAL CHART

The following steps will walk you through the process of completing a Growth Spiral yourself. The examples are taken from the story “Let My People Grow”.

1. Place your goal for the number that needs to receive the Holy Ghost this first year in the center box labeled “This Years Goal” (This comes from the BOTTOM of your “Five-Year Numerical Goals” worksheet that was explained in the previous chapter. Do not confuse this number with your Sunday School goals or Adult Membership goals.).

2. Multiply this goal by 22% to get your first quarters goal, 24% to get your second, 26% to get your third and 28% to get your fourth (round these numbers up or down as needed). This will give you a slightly higher goal to reach for each quarter. Write these in on our “Progression Points” section. These four quarterly goals should add up to the goal in your center box, as explained above.

3. Next, set the beginning and ending dates of each quarter. The quarters need not start at the first of the year or in normal quarter units.

4. Now move the “Plan of Action” section. The equation to determine your goals for “First Time Visitors” is “three times the quarterly goal”. Multiply your four quarters by three and write these in (note: if these “Visitor Goals” are below what you are currently achieving, you may raise the equation to “four times” or “five times” to give your people something to reach for. This is what Elder Jeremiah Keller did in the story “Let My People Grow.” But don’t set your goals TOO high!)

5. The equation for the “Home Bible Study” goals is “two times the quarterly goal.” Multiply your quarterly goals by two and write them in (This equation can be raised also if needed).

6. The equation for the “Constant Contact Consciousness” goals is “50 times the quarterly goal.” Multiply each quarterly goal by fifty and write them in. (This equation can be raised also if needed).

7. To arrive at your quarterly “Sunday School” goals, take your Sunday School “Growth Goal” for this year (the amount your Sunday School needs to increase by from your “Five-Year Numerical Goals” worksheet) and divide it by four. In the example from the previous chapter, the Sunday School needed to increase by 27 people. When divided by four, that is about seven more people each quarter. This divided amount is then added to your Sunday School attendance each quarter (75 + 6 = 81, 81 + 7 = 88, 88 + 7 = 95, 95 + 7 = 102).

8. You now have your goals for the four outreach methods given. Let your people know that if we will do our part (reach our outreach goals) God will do his part (fill folks with the Holy Ghost). But if we do nothing, God will do the same, for God will not break his law of sowing and reaping.

9. Hold a commitment service and explain to the church your Five-Year Numerical goals and how the Growth Spiral works. Preach the need to win the lost and our personal obligation to involvement. Then, hand out your commitment forms. Have each person check what they are willing to be faithful in that quarter. (They may choose as many as they wish: Bring a Friend, H.B.S., C.C.C., Saturday Door Knocking, Bus Ministry, etc.).

10. Add the total committed in each ministry and place the total number in each category on the Spiral Chart for that quarters member commitment. In the example below, there were twenty-nine people that said they would try to bring an adult (17 and older) visitor within the next three months. There were seventeen people that committed to teach a home Bible study. Forty-one people committed to become involved in Constant Contact Consciousness and hand in their C.C.C. slip each Sunday. And finally, fourteen people checked on their commitment form to work in helping the Sunday School grow (this number comes from adding together those that checked Sunday School and Bus Ministry on the commitment form).

11. Your quarterly goals to reach Visitors, H.B.S., C.C.C. and Sunday School should be divided into monthly goals also (divide the quarterly goal by three). Each month within the quarter, take time in a major service to let the church know where they stand as far as their goals are concerned (a quarterly goal of 24 first-time visitors means you need at least eight first-time visitors each month of that quarter). If you are not reaching your monthly goals, you will most likely not reach your quarterly goals. This monthly promotional time is IMPORTANT.

12. At the end of the quarter, place your actual results in the “Quarterly Results” section. How many first-time adult visitors (17 and older) you actually had (example – 15, they missed that quarters goal). How many H.B.S. were started (example – 13, they exceeded their goal!). How many C.C.C. contacts were made (example – 381). What the actual average was in Sunday School the last month of the quarter (example – 85).

13. The first week following each quarter, devote your Bible study night to the Spiral ministry. Show your people their results. Explain your next quarters goals. Preach soulwinning and involvement. Have your people recommit to involvement for that next quarter. Get your new converts involved. Push for more involvement than the previous quarter. If you missed any quarterly goals (as they did in the above example for visitors), present a plan of action as to how we are going to help that weak area.

14. Repeat this process every quarter. Keep your Spiral up to date and the goals posted on your Church Growth Spiral Bulletin Board. Keep it visible, refer to it often. Trust God for the results. The law of the harvest never fails!

IN CONCLUSION

A farmer knows that, regardless of the season he is in, there is much work to be done. Winter time is for repairing equipment and planning the coming year. Spring is for tilling the soil and planting of seed. Summer is for fertilizing, cultivating, and preparing for harvest. Fall is for reaping and gathering the grain. Every season has its’ labor.

The farmer does not become despondent because he knows harvest will come again. He keeps his eyes fixed on the goal; he works with the end result in mind. He knows if he does his part, God will cause the sun to shine, the rain to fall, the miracle of new life to spring out of cold, hard ground.

So too the church labors for the Master. There is no lack of soil, or seed, or rain, or sun. The need is for laborers, who in seeing the
potential, will wade into the fields of golden grain and bring in the harvest. The Spiral reveals the vastness of that harvest. Truly, the church will grow if we will but do our part.

How To Design Your Own
“Spiral Bulletin Board”

The Growth Spiral Bulletin Board is one of the key promotional tools of  the Spiral Ministry. It keeps the Spiral Ministry continually before the eyes of your people as well as visually showing your progress toward your Spiral goals. It is important that quality and effort go into this display. You will be using it each year for a long time.

BUILDING YOUR DISPLAY

The Spiral board is usually 4×8 foot. All of the dimensions given in this example are for this size. If you make the display smaller (some have built the board 4×6′ or 3×6′), you will need to reduce these dimensions proportionally.

1. The display is usually mounted on a 4×8 sheet of soft-fiber bulletin board material. The fiber board can be purchased from your local lumber yard. This is then covered with fabric or painted to match your decor.

2. All other art materials described in this example can be purchased from a graphic arts supply store.

3. The center goal box, as well as the four sets of sixteen boxes, are cut from heavy-gage graphic poster board. You should select five colors of poster board that are somewhat color coordinated (example: earth-tone colors of brown, rust, golden rod, yellow, cream). The center goal box should be color “A”. The inside row of boxes (Quarter 4) color “B”. The next row of boxes (Quarter 3) color “C”. The third row of boxes (Quarter 2) color “D”. Then finally, the outside row of boxes (Quarter 1) color”E”. The boxes for each quarter, all around the Spiral, should be a specific color. This will help people see how each section is tied together.

4. For a 4×8 Spiral display, the small boxes (64 of them) should be cut about 21/2″ by 3″ in size. After placing the small boxes in their proper positions, measure and cut the center goal box (approximately 10″ by 10″) to fit in the middle properly.

5. All lettering is either painted on the board (if you have a good sign artist) or placed on the board with heavy vinyl “peel-off” lettering (best). Three sizes are normally used: 2″ letters (“Church Growth Spiral” title & center goal), 3/4″ letters & numbers (Progression Points, Plan Of Action, etc.), and 1/4″ letters (all small words). The color of letters (white or black) you use will depend upon how dark your background/poster board colors are.

6. The Spiral lines are made from white or black 1/4″ graphic line tape.

7. All poster board materials are attached to the bulletin board with strong glue. I suggest you lay everything out first before gluing. When everything is positioned exactly, attach the pieces one at a time (a “hot-glue” gun works very well). Then place your letters and numbers on the board.

8. Suggestion: to give your bulletin board a very attractive “3-D” effect, place small squares of 3/8″ or 1/4″ graphic foam board behind all colored poster board. This raises the pieces off the board slightly and gives it a dimensional appearance.

9. The four “thermometer graphs” on the sides of the Growth Spiral are for your monthly goals in each outreach area (your monthly goals are one-third of your quarterly goals). These four are cut from the same color of poster board, about 8″ by 11″ in size. Cut the actual thermometers from black and red construction paper(or poster board)and glue it to your colored poster board base. Fill in the thermometers with red paper each week as your results come in. Reset them to zero at the beginning of each month.

10. You may wish to build a wooden frame around the Growth Spiral Bulletin board and cover it with plexiglass or vinyl plastic. Attach the plastic in such a way that you can easily get to the board. You will be updating the Spiral thermometer graphs each week. Covering the display keeps the board neat and attractive.

(Actual samples of Growth Spiral Bulletin Board graphics can be ordered by phone or mail from AIS. Request file OPSP01.TXT.)

A.C.T.I.O.N.

Apostolics Committed To Involvement in Outreach Needs TOTAL CHURCH GROWTH

“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth Laborers into His Harvest.” Matt. 9:38

With the Lord’s help, I will labor in the following Outreach Ministries this quarter:

_______ Bring A Friend
(Bring at least one visitor this quarter)

_______ Home Bible Study Teacher
(Teach a 2 or 10 Lesson H.B.S. this quarter)

_______ Constant Contact Consciousness
(Will hand in C.C.C. slip every week this quarter)

________ Bus, Van, or Car Ministry
(Will be a Route Captain or will pick up 1 or 2 children)

________ Sunday School or Children’s Church
(Teacher, Classroom Assistant, or Substitute)

________ Saturday Door Knocking
(Once a month visitation or canvassing )

____________________________
Signed

“Look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest…” John 4:35