Is Your Church Suddenly Growing?

Welcome to Your New Church.

Simple, Natural Methods to Invite, Welcome, Connect, and Develop Growing Disciples and Grow Your Congregation.

(It's Not Rocket Science...But there is a Recipe)

What is Going On?

I first read a series of tweets from church leaders citing tremendous and unexpected growth in attendance in their congregations over the last few months. They were not commenting on Easter crowds but on Easter-like trends. Since their churches were not Anglican, I thought I’d better check in with some of the churches of my tribe: The Anglican Church in North America. So, I asked the Anglican Xers (formerly known as Twitterers) about their congregations. I posted this:

I have heard bits and pieces of a growing trend in churches toward more attendance. Objectively, did you see greater attendance than usual over Lent/Easter? Serious answers only, please.

Something seems to be going on. Here are just a few of the responses.

Others said this:

There are many reports like this. So, is something going on? I know it was Easter, but looking beyond that, it appears there is more to it than the Christmas/Easter people stopping in.

But wait, there’s more.

Over the past two years, I have been funding Kickstarter grants to Anglican congregations ready to conduct legitimate feasibility studies and organize capital campaigns for building construction, land acquisition, renovation, or ministry projects outside their operations budget. (LeaderWorks received a donation of $1,000,000 to help as many congregations as possible. In other words, we have an Anglican “Angel Investor.” Read about the LeaderWorks Trust here.)

At first, there was a tentativeness and hesitation about the idea of a consultant-led program (Not a single grant recipient had ever used a consultant to lead their program, and almost none of these churches had ever had a capital campaign). I even told the donor that I may have to rethink the plan; we may run out of churches before we run out of money. I don’t think that anymore.

Below is a map of our ministry area (I am also working with a few Canadian leaders now.). Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this map of our work over the last 24 months (For the full Annual Report, download this file).

Past and Current LeaderWorks Campaigns in Anglican Churches over the Last Two Years.

This is all good news. What does this list represent? It represents the number of ACNA churches that are thriving and growing and making big plans to do more! (More than a few more churches have come on since this Annual Report was published.)

Again, this is good news. We have so much to be thankful for. However, let’s not get too excited yet. It could be nothing. But let’s consider what might be happening and ask for wisdom from the Lord.

A Search for Truth

A Rebirth of Belief

I recently finished Justin Brierley’s excellent book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God (buy it here on Amazon). Here are a few quotes from the early part of the book to help you understand why the author believes there is a resurgence of belief in God.

Brierley reports on his in-depth conversations with Tom Holland, Jordan Peterson, and Douglas Murray. Not all of them claim a Christian faith, but each can feel it getting closer.

Further, many of us have read about Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s conversion. Here is the crux of it, in her words:

Yet, I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realization that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable—indeed, very nearly self-destructive. Atheism failed to answer a simple question: What is the meaning and purpose of life?

There are many other stories of intellectuals opening their hearts to the truth of the Gospel. Why? Because God is real. He is pervasively real—meaning he is everywhere. As Nobel Prize-winning physicist Werner Heisenberg is said to have commented:

The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass, God is waiting for you.

The Source of Meaning

Thomas Aquinas (13th Century) wrote that theology was the queen of science. He meant that one’s view of God and the Bible affects every other area of life. In other words, knowledge of God’s Word informs all other knowledge, making theology a fundamental aspect of education. Subsequent eras turned this on its head: Science was the reigning queen—perhaps even the king of everything else. It was the “gold standard” of truth for our culture.

But the luster is gone. Science is no longer unquestioningly trusted, and the circle of skepticism keeps widening. Politics has become more about power than governing. Social media is destroying our children. Our government is unable to act in our best interests (and besides this, it is not trusted). Closer to home and very sad for all of us, many church leaders are compromised and have had high-profile falls.

So, if we are seeing attendance increase at our churches, these reasons and others might explain why. The modern, politically correct, and ideological-laden narratives are leading our culture into a ditch. People might be coming back to the source of all knowledge, truth, and meaning: Our Triune God.

What To Do About It

But what if all of this is true? What if there is a surge, however slight? Or even if the pulse of attendance is quickening, what should we do about it? Or, more to the point, even if attendance and interest are NOT surging, how should our churches attempt to reach the culture and welcome it into their congregations?

I am thinking about these things and some next steps for church leaders. I have thoughts and ideas that I will organize into a five-part series. But for now, let’s pray that the Lord does in our day what he promised in his own: that he will draw all people to himself (John 12:32).

Part Two of Five

A Heart for Others

What is Your "R-Factor"?

In the first of this series, I mentioned there were signs that churches might be growing. I have no proof for this beyond what is anecdotal and what has been on X in a few places. (Here is a longish tweet thread.) And in our own tribe--the Anglican Church in North America--it also seems to be going on. Or something something might be going on.

Here is another leader sounding off:

Jacob+ Davis ⚓️@RevJacobDavisApr 15, 2024

@DHRoseberry @The_ACNA This is true of my church's experience in recent months. We ran out of bulletins on Ash Wednesday (and that was Valentine’s Day!), we’re continually scrambling for more chairs to pull in, and we’ve had to prepare more Communion elements. These are encouraging problems.

Can we go with the idea that the church might be making a comeback? Can we? Hope springs eternal!

The first part of this series focused on reasons why the church might be surging, or at least increasing. But in the next few posts, I'll provide some of my thinking about what we should do about--whether or not the church is growing. In other words, whether or not growth is or is not happening, the church should nevertheless try to grow. Healthy things grow.

So let's look at a central idea: how can churches respond to growth, or even invite growth? And how can a congregation plan and prepare for a growing number of visitors, interested folks, and what, in the old TEC days, were called Inquirers? (Doesn't that sound so, well, Episcopalian? In a good way!) How should our churches be thinking and how should their hearts be ready for growth? What changes in attitudes, priorities, and emphasis should congregations undertake to try to grow, or to meet the growth that we hope is ahead?

The Pernicious Plateau

In many churches, Sunday morning attendance is flat. That sounds harsh, doesn't it? No one likes to say that their church is flat. But let's face it, up until this recent unscientific Twitter trend, many, if not most of the churches in the ACNA would admit their attendance had plateaued.

There may be new members this year that weren't there last year. Some names are different, to be sure. But for a large number of congregations, this year's attendance looks like last year's, which looks like the attendance from five years ago. Is your church on a plateau?

Identifying a Plateau

It is not all that easy to tell if your church is on a plateau. The ASA or "Average Sunday Attendance" goes up and down for reasons which can't be avoided, even if they could be predicted. Summer, Daylight Savings Time, Spring Break, College Football, Rain, Snow, Sleet, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Break, etc. And let's not even talk about the most recent incursion on Sunday morning which doubles as the most convenient excuse to skip church: Youth Sports.

To make matters more complicated, despite recent Easter-like numbers, most statistics indicate people are leaving the church in large numbers. A 2019 Gallup report says the percentage of Americans who belong to a church reached an all-time low, averaging 50% in 2018—a significant decline from 70% in 1999. The same report reveals that the percentage of U.S. adults who attend religious services at least once a week has also been declining, from 42% in 2008 to 36% in 2018—these figures[1] (#_ftn1) are alarming and disheartening.

But there is more. Younger generations, such as Millennials and Generation Z, are less likely to identify with a specific religion or attend religious services regularly compared to older generations. This is compounded by increasing secularization, changing social norms, and a growing preference for individual spirituality over organized religion, all of which may contribute to the decline in church attendance.

Getting Off the Plateau

There are plenty of reasons why your church might be on a plateau. But the good news is plateaus do not last forever. But that is also the bad news. Your church cannot stay on a plateau. One way or another, a church on a plateau will get off it. Either the church will find itself stagnate, which is the precursor to decline and possibly extinction, or your congregation will find a way to consolidate, innovate, and find connections with both current members and potential visitors.

In other words, the die is not cast for your church. Or rather, it doesn't have to be. Your church can start to grow again. But how? There are some matters of the heart, of the head, and of the hands that need to be developed and strengthened. A congregation's heart--what they value and understand about their mission—and their head--what they understand about the Gospel--and their hands--what they do to open their church to new growth--are all part of the equation.

Let's first look at the first part of this question. What is the heart condition that a church needs to have?

Discover and Cultivate a Heart for Others

At the core of any thriving church is a heart that shares Jesus' heart—to see people connected to God and to one another. We remember that when Jesus looked upon the crowds, he was moved with compassion. He saw they were "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). This same compassion should drive pastors and church leaders to prioritize reaching those who are disconnected from the life-giving community of your church.

If you are reading this, you know you want a place--and you need a place, a community of people--who will love, accept, and want God's best for you. People are desperate for this. They seek a place of belonging where they are known. If you have found this, you have probably found it first in your family. (I hope.) But the next best place to look to find community and authentic connection is your church, your congregation. If you have found these things in your family or your church, you can know that almost everyone you know wants what you have.

If a church is going to step up off the plateau, the leadership and members of the congregation need to discover or rediscover the Lord's heart, which is a heart for others. If your church is new--planted in the last dozen years or so--you will remember the excitement and joy of growth, when new people were being added to the rolls of the church; when visitors were coming to see and discovering what you had already discovered. Those were the glory days, some say.

But over time, as the congregation matures, many people in the church will notice their entire friend group is in the church. They have become good friends--in some cases great friends--with fellow members. And thus, the momentum of growth slows because people have what they look to a church to provide: warm, loving, friendships and fellowship. And then, the stream of new people being invited to attend the congregation slows to a trickle and then it dries up.

Crickets

A few years ago, I was consulting with a congregation on an attendance plateau. The Rector wisely was concerned and had tried over many years to move, push, and shake the church to get up, off their comfortable steady state.

I asked the Rector and Vestry to organize a focus-type group visit and to ask a few questions. One evening set aside, I arrived with my notebook and a set of prepared questions. The last one was the killer.

We talked about the congregation. The group spoke about its mission and history. The people in the room were happy with their congregation; they loved their Rector. They said their church was friendly. They loved the preaching and the music on Sunday morning. The only thing they complained about was the quality of the coffee served. "It sucks!" said one of the younger members of the group.

They also admitted how friendly and outgoing their church was, especially when new people came. "We really do love it when visitors come here; we sort of show off." But, as their attendance indicated, new people weren't returning. People came. They saw. They left.

At the end of the session, I surveyed my notes and asked my pre-prepared killer question. It was a show stopper. I handed them each a 3x5 index card. Then I simply said, "On this card, please write down the name of the last person you invited to come to church with you. And include the year you made the invitation."

It was an awkward moment. There were crickets. In truth, no one in the focus group--a representative sample of the entire congregation--could remember a single person, much less a date, when they had invited someone to their church. Their church was friendly to people if they came on Sunday. But not one of these members had asked someone to attend their church.

Why? These were good people who had many friends. They worked as teachers, realtors, accountants, nurses, and service providers that put them in touch with many people throughout every day. They lived in safe neighborhoods and were raising families, sending kids to school, and going to gyms and fitness centers. They were around people all day long. Why were they silent about their own church?

As we talked about their awkward silence, it was quickly clear that they all shared something in common: most of their very good friends were already members of their church. Their friend-group and the church-group were overlapping. And the rest of the people in their circle of acquaintances, well, the topic of church never came up!

These were faithful members of their Anglican Church, but it had become for them an enclave of believers who enjoyed worshipping together and "doing church" together. The focus group and my killer question had taught them all a valuable lesson: their church had become a club, and a private one at that!

What is Your "R-Factor"?

We know our culture needs the church to proclaim a "Three R" message of Repentance, Redemption, and Restoration in Christ. But there is one more R that is essential: Reaching, or we might even say "Replacement".

Do you remember the "R Factor" from the days of the Pandemic? It was the rate at which the virus spread from one person to another. A high number (R-3, R-4) was bad news. Low numbers were good. An R-Factor of less than one meant the virus was dying off. Fewer people were contagious and fewer people were being infected.

Researchers applied this concept to the church and the results were not encouraging. Consider this from the Church Times from 2022. The lead was sobering: The Church of England faces extinction within 40 years because the faith it proclaims is not "contagious" enough, a new study reports.

In other words, our churches are not growing because our members are not contagious. They had a very low "R" score. Members are not able to replace themselves with newer converts. Perhaps they are not even infected with the message of the Gospel!

We might think we cannot make people love others. But that is wrong. We can. We are commanded to by the Lord. As was His heart, so should our hearts become. Our congregations should be teeming with people who love the Lord and who are striving to love and connect to the people he died to redeem.

In our Anglican heritage, the definition of a church is very simple. It is the place were the Gospel is preached and the sacraments of new life are duly administered. May it ever be so. But the Good News, when preached and practiced, and the Sacraments when faithfully received, do not leave us as we were. The people of God can become the people for God, the people God can use to bring the Good News of God's Redemption to a broken and hurting world.

When a church's leadership is driven by a deep love for people and a desire to see them experience the power of the Gospel, it creates a ripple effect throughout the congregation. Members are inspired to reach out to their neighbors, coworkers, and friends, knowing that they are supported by a church family that shares their passion for seeing lives changed.

By keeping the heart of Jesus at the forefront, church leaders can create a culture of welcome, compassion, and inclusivity that will naturally attract those searching for meaning, purpose, and belonging.

Suggestions and Prompts

Each of these essays will have a few thoughts about how to take action, make plans, and develop a team to find, recruit, welcome, and engage new people in the church's life. These ideas are my own, and I invite you to adapt, adopt, or replace these thoughts with your own. But for now, consider these ideas and suggestions:

Conclusion

Stepping up off the plateau and reigniting church growth requires a heart for others, a clear understanding of the Gospel message, and practical actions to reach and engage new people. By cultivating compassion, becoming "contagious" with the faith, and intentionally inviting others to experience the life-giving community of the church, congregations can overcome stagnation and thrive once more.

Next in the Series called: Is Your Church Growing? Part Three: It is not Rocket Science. What Are People Looking for in a New Church?

Is Your Church Suddenly Growing? Part Three of Five

It's not Rocket Science

What People are Looking for in a New Church

A friend of mine once shared a valuable lesson she learned from a performance review at her previous job. Although her position was secure, her boss wanted to address a specific personality trait that he found bothersome. This was her problem: When given a task, she had a tendency to overthink and overdo it. For instance, if asked to write a memo to a vendor, she would draft three versions for her boss to choose from. When tasked with calling a meeting, she would send three different messages via voice, text, and email, followed by a barrage of reminders just days before the event. In the review, her boss succinctly stated, "You make easy, hard."

This feedback was a positive revelation for her; it was a relief. It encouraged her to let go of her habit of overthinking, over-performing, and having an overdeveloped sense of responsibility.

This anecdote resonates with me when I consider the process of recruiting, welcoming, and engaging new visitors in a church. It is essential not to overcomplicate matters. This is not rocket science. Leaders should understand that most people seeking a new church are looking for a few simple things.

I'll cite the report from the Pew Research Center later, but the list of what new visitor are looking for is quite obvious. It is the list that most of us would have as well. Here are the top three things people are looking for in a new church:

These three things visitors are looking for in a new church are taken from a Pew Research Study published in 2016 on their website. It is a fascinating report and should be read thoroughly. The headline summary is clear: When searching for a new congregation, Americans value quality of sermons and feeling welcomed. Then follows the style of services (which usually means music) and location. Only 56% of the respondants were looking for children's programming.

This makes me think about the ministry of Jesus and his priorities. Of course he loved the children. That is obvious. But in terms of time spent, the Lord spent most of his time teaching adults and then playing with children. It seems to me in the American church we do just the opposite. We put massive amounts of time, classroom space and volunteers teaching children and spend only minimal efforts to teach and train adults to walk the Christian life.

Suggestions and Prompts

Before we end this section and turn to Part Four, let me offer a few suggestions or prompts to think about.

If you want to know about providing for your visitors and what they need, read this article a wrote a few years ago called "The Good Shepherd Economy."

Next in the Series: Is Your Church Growing? There is No Secret Sauce, But There is a Recipe: The Most Important Thing You Need to Grow Your Church.

Is Your Church Suddenly Growing? Part Four of Five

There In No Secret Sauce, But There Is A Recipe

The most important thing you need to grow your church.

A Pivotal Moment

In the early days of Christ Church, the congregation I started in 1985, I was moved by a random encounter in a suburban parking lot. My heart was broken after I met one man and learned what had just happened to him. What I saw and felt in that moment changed me and ended up setting the course of how Christ Church would grow over the next 30 years.

Like most homeowners in the mid-1980’s, I made weekly pilgrimages to new chain of home improvement stores called The Home Depot. One Saturday morning, as I walked toward the entrance, I saw a man walking out of the next-door McDonalds. I had nothing in my hands, but he was carrying three or four large bags of food. The bags didn’t look heavy, but he seemed like he had a heavy burden. He looked distraught.  I walked over to him and offered to help carry some of his load to his car. He agreed and let me help.

As we approached his car, I asked him what kind of food was in the bag. I was trying to make small talk, to connect with the stranger. My stomach was growling, I joked.

He said he bought two dozen Egg McMuffins. I told him that was enough for an army. What was the occasion? Feeding an army? It was men’s banter.

When we had put all the bags in the backseat of his car, he stood up to answer my question. He looked at me. His eyes were red. He’d been crying. Then he said, "Our son died in an automobile accident last night—we got the call this morning. He is--I guess now 'was'-- a teenager." He paused to catch his grief and swallow. Then he said, "I don’t know what to do. I think I need food at the house in case people come by. And I don’t have it in me to spend time in the kitchen to make anything myself.”

I was heartsick. Speechless. My happy trip to Home Depot was over. I felt for this man.

I expressed how sorry I was. I told him I lived in town and that we were starting a church; could I help in some way? I offered to come by in the afternoon and meet his family. He said he’d like that and he scribbled his address for me on the McDonald’s receipt. Then he closed the car door, and drove away.

I went to his home later that day. I knocked on the door and was welcomed in. I met his wife and their other younger son. They offered me something to drink, and we talked in the living room. Then he offered me one of the Egg McMuffins I had carried to his car earlier that day.

When he mentioned the sandwich, he looked into the dining room and gestured toward the Egg McMuffins piled on a tray on the table. There were dozens of them. No one had come by. I was the first visitor they had all day. Neighbors were out of town, and they didn’t know anyone else—at least, they didn’t know them well enough to call them to come by to share in their grief. They were alone.

I asked if I could pray for them. They agreed. Before I left, I had their phone number and would give it to others in our new church whom I knew could reach out and care for them. They asked me to conduct their son's memorial service in a few days, which of course I agreed to do.

Christ Church looked differently because of that man’s loss and need.

That encounter—from the parking lot that morning to the visit in the afternoon— was a seminal moment for me. My heart went out to this man and his family. They were alone. They had no one. I was so glad I met him and thankful to have been invited into their family and their grief. However, I realized this experience brought home one of the purposes of our new church. I wanted our new church to be a place to preach the Gospel and worship our heavenly Father. But it was made clear to me that our new church should be a place where a grieving family would never grieve alone.

Rethinking Small Groups

This experience made me commit to the development and expansion of small groups across the congregation. They were the best way that people could connect to other in the church; they were the best way for me to insure that people would never be alone, no matter what they faced.

Small Groups are not the secret sauce for church growth, but they are the main ingredient for the recipe. When a church successfully attracts and welcomes new visitors, it must have a clear plan for integrating these individuals into its life.

So, if I may ask this bluntly: What is your plan to help the people who are visiting your church understand it, connect to it, meet new people, become involved, grow in their faith, and subsequently invite their friends? What is your plan?

Here’s is another way to think about it. Ask this: What if we grow? What if your church members learn to invite people, and new people come? What if more people start to attend church?? What if you are successful in your marketing, advertising, branding, and training program? In other words, what if your church grows!?

What will the next 100 people do as they arrive? How will be get involved? What place will they take in the church body of Christ when they 'graduate' from a new members oreintation class? What ministry or program will they connect will? Where will the next __________ people find meaningful engagement with the congregation? (Fill in the blank.)

Four Areas of Engagement

Most churches typically offer just four types of engagement opportunities. This is surprising, but if you look at the list of program opportunities and ways to get involved, you will quickly see what I mean. Newcomers can usually choose from only four distinct areas or initiatives to make a significant connection.

Do you see the problem here? If people cannot find a place to light, many, if not most, will fall away from the church within a few months. And there are very limited opportunities between the three different types of group. Besides, failing to provide meaningful opportunities for connection and engagement can result in new members feeling disconnected and eventually drifting away.

While Bible studies, volunteer roles, and committee positions can offer avenues for involvement, they often have limited capacity. One traditional church I worked with recruited ushers to guide people to their seats on Sunday mornings, which is typical. They were asked by one of the staff leaders to enlist some of the new people to become ushers also. They did. The problem was that there was a three-year waitlist before any person could join that team! In other words, some programs or volunteer tasks may not be suitable for everyone, especially those new to the church.

Small Groups: An Eco-System Approach

Small groups provide an environment where members and visitors can build deep, authentic connections with others. Since the content, sharing, and discussions in a small group center around a bible study or biblical topics, small groups help people grow in their faith. And the by-product of a small group connection will help others experience a sense of belonging within church community. The groups can be diverse. They can cater to various life stages, interests, and spiritual needs. But they also ensure a place for everyone. And, as a bonus, there is no need for an extensive campus of management system.

The church should invest in a robust training program for small group leaders. It should equip leaders with the necessary skills, practices, resources, and ongoing support to effectively lead and love the people of their group. (We don't have the time to outline a potential training program here; many are available online. Check out the abundant resources at SmallGroups.com)

This is not an easy program to manage or control. The church staff should prepare for herding cats. Small groups are very different from regular church program. They are messy, hard to corral, and difficult to direct. A church sponsored small group program is not really a program at all; it should be considered an ecosystem. But the outcome of small group programming is amazing; it is like yeast that will leaven the lump. Its impact is fare and wide. It is the most effective, longest lasting, least expensive, community-building, pastoral care system I have ever seen. I am a fan. I believe that small groups, in some structured capacity, should be offered, supported, advertised, developed, started, encouraged, and created throughout every church.

Creating a close-knit community environment is key to fostering and maintaining relationships within your church. Small groups are the Velcro of church communities. And each of the groups should have a front door to welcome new people. Certain groups demonstrate their readiness to accept newcomers by placing an unoccupied seat in their living room when the group gathers!

Some small groups will want to meet on the church campus. But for best results, it is usually preferred to have groups meet in homes or other off-site locations. This creates a more intimate and welcoming atmosphere, especially for those new to the church. This approach also enables the program to scale as the church grows.

By prioritizing the development of a robust, adaptable small group system, churches can create an environment where every person, whether new or established, can find a place to belong, grow, and contribute to the life and mission of the church. This, in turn, will lead to a more vibrant, connected, and growing congregation that consistently attracts and retains new members.

Thinking Again

Earlier I mentioned that there are four (and only four) places for people to light. Some leaders might disagree with the offerings and programs in their own congregation. But that is not the point. The point is this: what is the best way to welcome and assimiliate the next 10% increase of new members in your church? Where will they go? If the church leadership will not make a place, people may come, but they will not stay. They can't. There is no place for them to enter and enjoy the benefits of being part of your congregation.

Suggestions and Prompts

Here are a few thoughts and ideas for you to consider.

Conclusion

The most salient question for churches that want to grow is indeed how they will accommodate and integrate new members into the life of the church. This question highlights the importance of having a well-planned strategy for engaging new attendees and providing them with meaningful opportunities to participate, connect, and grow in their faith.

Next in the Series: Is Your Church Suddenly Growing? A Pre-flight Checklist: A Riddle to Remember

Is Your Church Suddenly Growing?

Part Five of Five

A Pre-Flight Checklist

A Riddle to Remember

A close friend of mine had a passion for flying small planes as a hobby. He had invested countless hours in classroom instruction, flight training, and simulations, accumulating hundreds of hours in the cockpit. As an engineer by profession, he was meticulous and loved creating detailed lists for every aspect of his life. One clear Saturday morning, he invited me to join him for a flight. After years of making excuses, I had finally run out of reasons to decline his offer, so I reluctantly agreed.

When I met him at the hangar an hour before our scheduled takeoff, Russ did something that immediately put me at ease. Despite his extensive experience, training, and nearly two decades of flying, he pulled out a notebook containing a comprehensive checklist of everything he needed to consider before taxiing down the runway. To my surprise, he read each item aloud, line by line, marking a checkbox as he completed each step.

In the spirit of Russ's approach, I want to conclude this series by offering you a similar tool: a checklist to help you grow your church. While my list may not be as exhaustive as my friend's pre-flight checklist, it will serve as a starting point for your own growth strategy. I encourage you to add items that are specific to your context and remove those that may not be applicable to your setting. The goal is to create a personalized checklist that aligns with your intention to move your church off the plateau and fully engage in the opportunities for growth.

This checklist has been compiled based on the ideas and insights shared throughout these blog posts. It is not meant to be overwhelming. This list is intended not to defeat church leaders, but to provide a few ideas to guide your church along a right path.

Consider making these bulletpoints and questions the subject of a staff or Vestry retreat.

By diligently working through these questions and adapting them to your specific needs and context, you can create a personalized plan of action for breaking free from stagnation and experiencing renewed growth, vibrancy, and Kingdom impact.

A Riddle to Remember

When church leaders prioritize and pay attention to visitors and new members, they are more likely to see an increase in these areas. There aren’t too many guarantees in life, but this is one: You will get more of whatever you pay attention to the most. That is to say, if you pay attention to new people, great leaders, and great ministry opportunities, you will get more new people, more great leaders, and more great ministry opportunities.

So, this is the riddle to remember: if you want more people to come to your church, your church should pay more attention to those who visit now.

As a church consultant and ordained leader, I want to emphasize the critical role that each member plays in the growth and vitality of their congregation. In the early days of the congregation, as they were forming, church, every member understood the importance of sharing their faith and inviting friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues to join us. The late Archbishop William Temple's words continue to inspire us: "The Church is the only institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members." This statement encapsulates the heart of the mission - to reach out to those who have not yet experienced the love and grace of Christ.

However, as the congregation grows and we form deep, meaningful friendships within the church, people become complacent and forget about those outside our church walls. It is wonderful to have a strong sense of community--churches are strengthened immeasurably by these relationships. We should not lose sight of the calling to reach others. Current members should continue to cultivate the relationships within our church, but also intentionally reach out to others, extending invitations to attend their church.

Visitors are like vitamins, and our churches need them. The efforts to create a welcoming environment and meaningful pathways for growth, will have a halo effect that touches every aspect of our congregation's life. Existing members will be invigorated, preaching will be more relevant, and the church will become a beacon of hope and transformation.

Final Thoughts

Every church that finds itself on a plateau will inevitably get off that plateau, one way or another. The question is, which direction will it go? Churches that fail to adapt and take steps towards growth may fall step off the plateau, experiencing decline as members age out, leaders burn out, and pastors check out. But churches that embrace changes and reimagine themselves as a growing body of Christ will find renewed energy, purpose, and impact.

Finally, the most challenging aspect of implementing any growth strategy is the comfort-shift or change for the community. At some level, paying attention to new members and visitors is disruptive, as all change is.

Breaking free from stagnation is not easy but it is a worthwhile pursuit. And you are not alone. Countless churches have faced similar challenges and emerged stronger, more vibrant, and more effective in their mission to make disciples and impact the world for Christ.

Above all, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith. Trust in His guidance, rely on His strength, and believe in His promise to build His church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).

Suggestions and Prompts

[1] The report is titled "U.S. Church Membership Down Sharply in Past Two Decades" by Jeffrey M. Jones, published on Gallup's website on April 18, 2019. You can find the full report here: https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.aspx

There is much work for a church that wants to move beyond the plateau. If the resurgence we hope for is true, we will give thanks to God. And if it is not a trend or if it is only a blip, we will continue praying for renewal and revival. It doesn’t matter. Every church needs to continually renew and regenerate itself by inviting, welcoming, receiving, engaging, teaching, and training new people who come.

This process of renewal is not just about numbers; it's about transformation. It's about creating a community that reflects the love and grace of Christ in every interaction. We must focus on deepening our faith and commitment to God's mission, ensuring that our actions and services are not merely routine, but a true expression of our faith.

So, yes, there is a lot of work to do. But the good news is that you don't have to do it all, and you don't have to do it all at once. If the leaders of the church will pray and plan, and include others, staff, leadership, and committed members, the work of the church can be shared and carried by many.

In the early days of my ministry at Christ Church, when I knew the work ahead was too great for me to do by myself and too important to be left undone, I developed a lens through which I could see the entire program of the church. It was a great system. Sadly, I didn't find a great name for the system before the system labeled itself with the letters of its component parts: WEDCAP.

I have written about this in other places, so will just review it below.l

The Six Areas of a WEDCAP Church.

It is possible to organize and categorize the entire adult ministry of most church using these six distinct categories.

After reviewing the book and considering the seven areas of church life you mentioned, I have identified a few additional suggestions that could be included in the list and categorized the existing suggestions accordingly:

Worship Ministries/Music:

Evangelism:

Discipleship:

Communication and Marketing:

Administration:

Pastoral Care:

Maintain a fervent commitment to worship as your

fundamental reason for being, creating environments

where people can encounter the living God. Structure

72 THE RECTOR, THE VESTRY, AND THE BISHOP

your worship services with excellence, artistry, and

spiritual depth that draw people into His presence.

2. Keep evangelism central through consistently o!ering

outreach programs tailored to your community.

Balance demonstrating God's compassion with clearly

communicating the Gospel message in word and deed.

3. Make discipleship a non-negotiable priority by

providing multifaceted teaching and training

opportunities. Pursue spiritual growth and biblical

literacy among all age groups, especially adults.

4. Commit to proactive, redundant communication that

ensures vital information circulates e"ciently to the

entire congregation. Recognize that being strategic

with messaging is more valuable than being sparse.

5. Value administration by building trust through

responsible institutional leadership, #nancial

management, and administrative competence. Prevent

problems and confusion by putting sound policies and

procedures in place.

6. Foster pastoral connections within the congregation

through members caring for each other in times of

crisis and celebration. Create smaller communities

within the larger body to nurture belonging and

relationship.

labeled by the letters of each of the sections: WEDCAP

There were several seasons in the life of my ministry at Christ Chruch when I knew I was in over my head. Near the ten year mark, in 1994, it seems that the early days of excitement had settled out into a season of bickering and vision disharmony. Loud and strong voices were elected to the Vestry to represent some of the core members who were satified with our size and state. Their argument was convincing and their talking points were making their way around the church grapevine, but they were disguised as "Prayer Requests". I intercepted on email that asked a group of wonderful women to pray for me that I would keep my focus on the sheep that had come into our church. This was the sentiment: Let's learn to love the ones God has already sent.

Without knowing it, I was leading the oppositional sentiment. My sermons were about reaching people, developing a Christ-like heart for the lost. Our church had done well for the first 10 years. But I could see a time when we would run out of space; we needed to keep moving. I was committed to the evangelistic message of the Lord as he expressed it to Zacchaeus: The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

I am not declaring myself more righteous than the others. But as the conflict and tensions grew in the parish, I noticed something depressing, if not dreadful. We had stopped growing. I kept accurate attendance records and, looking back into the early years of the decade, I saw that Christ Church had stopped growing. We were flat. It was 1993. And we were eight years old.

As I mentioned, I felt that I was way in, over my head. I didn't know what to do.

One afternoon, I went home early and began playing with my five year daughter, Elizabeth. She loved building blocks with their colors and shapes and sizes. We loved the game (we made it up) called "Towers". We would work to build and stack and pile up the blocks as high as we could. Stack. Stack. Stack. Up they would go until they would topple over and come crashing to the floor. She loved it. She laughed as things fell apart.

But it was a bit depressing for me. It seemed like work. It reminded me of trying to build, build, build things at church, only to have them fall apart. Stack. Stack. Stack. Only to have them come crashing down.

When the game was over and it was time to clean up, I stood back from the pile of blocks and noticed something interesting. The blocks came in six different colors. (Liz had long since gone.) And I put them into piles by colors: red, blue, green, yellow, black, and white. Then, in one of those 'aha' moments, I realized something about the church that I had never seen before. There were 'colors' of blocks or ministries that went together. All the programs and ministries of our church could be separated and grouped by color, as it were.

I sat back down

Revised Chapter Two

I worked with the Vestry and Rector of a church established over a decade before. In the initial six or seven years, the congregation, which began in a storefront, expanded steadily. Members invited friends to join the new church. The rector consistently reached out to Sunday visitors--he was visiting them in their home within the week. He was youthful, energetic, and enthusiastic about the new venture. Multiple Saturdays each month, he canvassed nearby neighborhoods around the rented meeting space knocking on doors. Nearly every month, new members joined the congregation.

In the diocese, the bishop was proud of the young leader.  The monthly diocesan newspaper featured an article on the new congregation. The new plant was buzzed about at clergy meetings. It was place where great things were happening. 

Some churches have a time in the morning liturgy when people can greet each other and exchange the ancient Christian greeting, "Peace be with you." When I met with the Vestry ten years after the start-up years, they recalled they had to move that part of the service to the end of the liturgy. It was getting out of hand. It wouldn’t stop! People keep greeting, hugging, and saying hello to friends they hadn’t seen in a week.

But over time, things slowed down. The growth curve began to flatten. The fellowship was just as engaged as before. If you had asked them--and I did--they considered themselves a very friendlly church.

As the years passed and their attendance lagged, the core members spoke about the “early days” and wondered if they were over. Too soon.

The rector called on me and asked me to bring some perspective to the vestry and help them get off their attendance plateau. He explained to me they were a happy church. They were eager to grow. But the steady stream of visitors and newcomers  had slowed. Attendance was flat. Would I come?

I was eager to help and we arranged a time. I first attended the church unannounced. I was not wearing the traditional white collar and garb of an Anglican clergyman. I was 'incognito'. After there service--and then a break for lunch--I met with a committed group of people from the early days of the church. It was a focus group, or sorts. And the following weekend, I had a session to share my first impressions and findings with their Vestry.

I put everything in writing, but the gist of my report was this:

What happened to this church is very common and understandable. At some point, after years of growth and accomodating new people, the members turned inward. Inviting people, telling others about their church, welcome first-time guests became like a chore, a duty. The people loved their church and they loved the people in their church. But slowly, imperceptibly at first, they turned their attention into the church and away from the mission field around the church.

A Heart for Others

The Gospel tells us that Jesus's heart desire was to connect with people. He had a deep desire to bring people into the Kingdom he so often spoke about. We remember the famous story of Jesus looking out on a crowd of people and feeling something very deep within him. He said to his disciples the people were "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)

If we consider this statement, it reveals two things about the way Jesus felt about the human condition. First, without the intervention of God, they people were beleaguered and burdened. Some versions translate the word more dramatically as "wearied and cast away" or "distressed and downcast."

Most of us know people like that. Many of remember that we were people like that. Then something happened. We were changed--maybe suddenly; maybe gradually. But the Lord entered into our heart and, at the same time, we entered into his.

But Jesus said one other thing about the crowd. There was a futility to their plight. They were sheep without a shepherd. They were leaderless and if nothing changed, then nothing would change.

This was the trigger that moved Jesus heart to compassion.

One of the first words most seminary students learn when studying Greek is the word for compassion. It is a difficult word to pronounce, and its spelling in Greek or English is nearly impossible. The word is “σπλαγχηνιζομαι,” which, if you do not know Greek, looks strange and forbidding.  The English cognate “splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee” is all but impossible to pronounce.  It is a guttural sound. It is onomatopoetic. It sounds like what he means: the turning and churning of the stomach or bowels. It is the opposite of what we might call ‘butterflies’; it is a strong, deep, gut-level feeling of dread.

That is why, after describing their condition and feeling a gut-level dread and sorrow for the people, the Lord dispatched the apostles to do their work—or rather, do his work through them.

The church where I was a "mystery worshipper" felt this compassion at an earlier stage in the life of their church. But it waned. And as it did, their interest in others waned with it. They love for their church grew, but they lost the heart they once had.

Their pastor did the right thing. He provided the leadership a place to talk, pray, and to make some decisions. He spoke regularly about people, how they needed the Lord, how the confusion and questions in our culture could be answered by the Lord. He challenged his church to face mission-ward. He trained his members to reach their neighborhoods. He adjusted his calendar and time commitments to connect with visitors as he once had done. One of the leaders in the church was retired and had spare time. While he didn't need more money, he started driving for Lyft if only for one thing: to reach people with the love and compassion of Christ.

It wasn't hard work, the pastor later told me. Once people saw their lives, friends, families, coworkers, neighbors, and the vendors and clerks they meet day by day--once they saw these people and remembered the heart Jesus had for the crowds, they couldn't help but warmly and confidently invite and welcome people into their fellowship.

But We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

The turn around story of this church might seem a little too story-book to be true. And if it is true, some would say that the mission field has changed dramatically. Indeed, the church today finds itself in a vastly different societal and cultural landscape than it did just a few decades ago. The shift towards a more secular environment has changed how people approach spirituality and diversity. The church doesn't have the cache it once did and speaking to people about the Christian faith--much less inviting them to church--could be dangerous!

Attraction Christianity

Despite the secularization of modern society and the shortcomings of past strategies, the fundamental human need for belonging, support, and community persists. In an increasingly fragmented world, where many feel lost and isolated, the church has a unique opportunity to offer a haven of love, acceptance, and family. This is not about allowing the unchurched to set the church's agenda, but about responding to their needs with genuine compassion and grace.

Charles Taylor discusses in "A Secular Age," the decentering of the modern self has left many individuals without clear direction or purpose. This sense of being adrift underscores the necessity for a spiritual anchor.

Your church can fulfill this role by becoming a beacon of hope and a cornerstone of community, providing the direction and purpose for people who seek answers to their confusion. Ultimately, people need the Lord in their lives to sort out the complexities of modern existence and to find true belonging and meaning.

People Want a Family

Recently, I commented on a tweet from a woman I do not know. Her post mentioned her congregation. She shared a photo of her church. It was a modest sanctuary with bright walls that reflected light; simple chandeliers hung from the ceiling in the vaulted nave. Behind the wooden altar table, a stained-glass window depicted a cross. A kneeling rail allowed the members to receive communion. Wooden pews lined the aisles. And I imagine that generations of people had worshipped there. It was not a fancy or new place, but hers, and she was grateful that the old-fashioned Anglican church had changed her life.

She wrote:

It's not a grand cathedral or adorned with walls of stained glass, but it's mine, and I'll never stop being grateful for this small parish that changed our lives. His bride, the church, is our refuge in this dark world.

I commented on her statement. I thought it was an exquisite endorsement of the local church. Pastors should never forget the amazing privilege of providing ministry in a place where people find hope and healing. Regardless of size, tradition, heritage, or hierarchy, a healthy, well-led church can be one of God’s most life-changing tools for redeeming or restoring people.  

To step off, up from the plateau, church leaders and members must recall how they first came to their church. They should remember that someone asked them to join, their parents brought them when they were young, they were convinced to go together as newlyweds, or they were invited to a youth group. 

People in every church should return the favor done for them. They should remember their origin story—how they first came to faith in Christ and discovered their church home—and do it for another. Getting off a plateau is simple. It requires that church members listen closely to Jesus and awaken to the spiritual needs of those around them.

People need the Lord; the best place to find him is in the local church—your congregation. Consider this quick, touching anecdote from the early days of our new church.

Egg McMuffins

Like most homeowners in the mid-1980s, I made weekly pilgrimages to a new chain of home improvement stores called The Home Depot. One Saturday morning, as I walked toward the entrance, I saw a man walking out of the next-door McDonald's. I had nothing in my hands, but he was carrying three or four large bags of food. The bags didn't look heavy, but he seemed to have a heavy burden. He looked distraught. I walked over to him and offered to help carry some of his load to his car. He agreed and let me help.

I asked him what kind of food was in the bag as we approached his car. I was trying to make small talk, half-joking, but my stomach was growling.

He said he bought two dozen Egg McMuffins. I told him that was enough for an army. What was the occasion? Feeding an army? It was men's banter.

When we had put all the bags in the backseat of his car, he stood up to answer my question. He looked at me. His eyes were red. He'd been crying. Then he said, "Our son died in an automobile accident last night—we got the call this morning. He is—I guess now 'was'—a teenager." 

He paused to feel his grief, and I swallowed. My guts moved.

Then he said, "I don't know what to do. I think I need food at the house in case people come by, and I don’t have the time to spend in the kitchen to make anything myself."

I was heartsick and speechless. My happy trip to Home Depot was over, and I felt compassion for this man.

I expressed how sorry I was. I told him I lived in town and we were starting a church; could I help somehow? I offered to come by in the afternoon and meet his family. He said he'd like that and scribbled his address for me on the McDonald's receipt. Then he closed the car door and drove away.

I went to his home later that day. I knocked on the door and was welcomed in, and I met his wife and their other younger son. They offered me something to drink, and we talked in the living room. 

Then he offered me one of the Egg McMuffins I had carried to his car earlier that day.

When he mentioned the sandwich, he looked into the dining room and gestured toward the dozens of egg McMuffins piled on a tray. No one had come to see him and his wife. I was their first visitor. The neighbors were out of town and didn't know anyone else. They were new in town. They were alone.

I asked if I could pray for them. They agreed. Before I left, I had their phone number and would give it to others in our new church whom I knew could care for them. They asked me to conduct their son's memorial service in a few days, which, of course, I agreed to do.

That encounter—from the parking lot that morning to the visit in the afternoon—was a seminal moment for me. My heart went out to this man and his family. They were alone. They had no one. I was so glad I met him and thankful to have been invited into their family and grief. However, I realized this experience brought home one of the purposes of our new church. 

I wanted our new church to be a place to preach the Gospel and worship our heavenly Father. But it was clear to me that it should also be a place where a grieving family would never grieve alone. 

Christ Church looked differently because of that man's loss and need.

What is Your "R Number"?

The church’s message can be summarized in three words, beginning with the letter “R.” They are Repentance, Redemption, and Restoration in Christ. But there is another vital R: Reaching. We are called to reach people. 

Do you remember the "R number" from the days of the Pandemic? It was the rate at which the virus spread from one person to another. A high number (R-3, R-4) was bad news. Low numbers were good. An R number of less than one meant the virus was dying off. There were fewer contagious people and fewer being infected.

Researchers applied this concept to the church, and the results were not encouraging. Consider this from the Church Times from 2022. The lead was sobering: A new study reports that the Church of England faces extinction within 40 years because the faith it proclaims is not “contagious” enough.1

In other words, our churches are not growing because our members are not contagious. We suffer from a very low "R" score. Members are not able to replace themselves with newer converts. Perhaps they are not even infected with the Gospel message!

People must learn to love others enough to invite and welcome them into the church. We might think we cannot make people love others. But that is wrong. We can. The Lord commands us. This was his heart, so should our hearts become. Our congregations should be teeming with people who love the Lord and who are striving to love and connect to the people he died to redeem.

When a church's leadership is driven by a deep love for people and a desire to see them experience the power of the Gospel, it creates a ripple effect throughout the congregation. Members become inspired to reach out to their neighbors, coworkers, and friends. They know that a church family that shares their passion for seeing lives changed supports them.

By keeping the heart of Jesus at the forefront, church leaders can create a culture of welcome, compassion, and hospitality. This will naturally (and supernaturally) attract those searching for meaning, purpose, and belonging.

Growth is a by-product of a healthy church and a heart for others. In that spirit, I can offer a few things that might be helpful to think about. These ideas and thoughts will spur your imagination for other ideas, too.  (Note the full list of other ideas in the last chapter.)

Stepping up off the plateau and reigniting church growth requires developing a heart for others, a clear understanding of the Gospel message, and practical actions to reach and engage new people. By cultivating compassion, becoming "contagious" with the faith, and intentionally inviting others to experience the life-giving community of the church, congregations can overcome stagnation and thrive once more.

The next chapter will outline what people look for when considering attending a new church. As you will see, it isn't rocket science.

1. The italicized sentence is the opening line of the article. It represents a study conducted by Dr. John Hayward, a mathematician and complex systems analyst at the University of South Wales, and Rev. Dr. Keith Elford, a priest in the Church of England.

You can find the full article on The Church Times website at the following URL:https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2022/22-july/news/uk/church-could-be-extinct-in-40-years-study-warns

Extra Content:

Egg McMuffins

Like most homeowners in the mid-1980s, I made weekly pilgrimages to a new chain of home improvement stores called The Home Depot. One Saturday morning, as I walked toward the entrance, I saw a man walking out of the next-door McDonald's. I had nothing in my hands, but he was carrying three or four large bags of food. The bags didn't look heavy, but he seemed to have a heavy burden. He looked distraught. I walked over to him and offered to help carry some of his load to his car. He agreed and let me help.

I asked him what kind of food was in the bag as we approached his car. I was trying to make small talk, half-joking, but my stomach was growling.

He said he bought two dozen Egg McMuffins. I told him that was enough for an army. What was the occasion? Feeding an army? It was men's banter.

When we had put all the bags in the backseat of his car, he stood up to answer my question. He looked at me. His eyes were red. He'd been crying. Then he said, "Our son died in an automobile accident last night—we got the call this morning. He is—I guess now 'was'—a teenager." 

He paused to feel his grief, and I swallowed. My guts moved.

Then he said, "I don't know what to do. I think I need food at the house in case people come by, and I don’t have the time to spend in the kitchen to make anything myself."

I was heartsick and speechless. My happy trip to Home Depot was over, and I felt compassion for this man.

I expressed how sorry I was. I told him I lived in town and we were starting a church; could I help somehow? I offered to come by in the afternoon and meet his family. He said he'd like that and scribbled his address for me on the McDonald's receipt. Then he closed the car door and drove away.

I went to his home later that day. I knocked on the door and was welcomed in, and I met his wife and their other younger son. They offered me something to drink, and we talked in the living room. 

Then he offered me one of the Egg McMuffins I had carried to his car earlier that day.

When he mentioned the sandwich, he looked into the dining room and gestured toward the dozens of egg McMuffins piled on a tray. No one had come to see him and his wife. I was their first visitor. The neighbors were out of town and didn't know anyone else. They were new in town. They were alone.

I asked if I could pray for them. They agreed. Before I left, I had their phone number and would give it to others in our new church whom I knew could care for them. They asked me to conduct their son's memorial service in a few days, which, of course, I agreed to do.

That encounter—from the parking lot that morning to the visit in the afternoon—was a seminal moment for me. My heart went out to this man and his family. They were alone. They had no one. I was so glad I met him and thankful to have been invited into their family and grief. However, I realized this experience brought home one of the purposes of our new church. 

I wanted our new church to be a place to preach the Gospel and worship our heavenly Father. But it was clear to me that it should also be a place where a grieving family would never grieve alone. 

Christ Church looked differently because of that man's loss and need.

What is the Bottle Neck for a Growing Church?

We know we need to have a heart for others like Jesus did. That is surely convincing. It is his church! We do not want the non-members or the unchurched in the community to set the agenda for the church. (They don’t want to do it either!) We must ask a simple but serious question: what is the hold-up? Why are many churches living on a plateau? Apart from hopes and reports of increased attendance and a resurgence of belief, why are so many churches stagnant? 

Once, I invited a famous Anglican preacher from England to visit and preach at Christ Church. He was a well-known author and evangelist who was popular on the American church circuit. People loved him because he was witty and wonderfully “Anglican.” He had the famed British accent congregations love so much.

He was electric. His sermon was powerful, biblical, faithful, and hard-hitting. Near the end of his sermon, he wanted to make a point about personal evangelism and the American hesitation in doing anything approaching it. I could see where he was heading, and my heart began to pound and thump.

He stopped mid-sentence. He removed his glasses with his left hand, and with his right hand, he pulled his eyebrows.  He twisted them a bit, put the ear stem of his glasses up to his lips, and uttered, ‘Hmmm!”  “David,” he looked in my direction and spoke specifically to me—although he clearly wanted everyone to hear what he had to say. “David, I have heard so much about your church, it is a pleasure to be here”.  I had no idea what was about to happen.

“But, if I may,” he said as if he were really asking for permission. It was more for effect. “I think I know your problem here at Christ Church.” (I smiled—what else could I do?)  “The problem with Christ Church is that your people are too happy with Christ Church and as a result,” and he swept his hand across the entire 180 degrees of pews in both transepts and the nave, “is that you have too much wood in this place.” 

People had no idea what he was talking about. There was an awkward silence. It was quiet. “David, I see too wood, too many wooden backs of your pews. They should be filled with people who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ!”  People let out a sigh of relief.  I turned red. And then, as only an old Englishman could get away with saying, he warned, “When I return, I don’t want to see any work at all!”

Yikes! He told the truth. He was right. I had noticed the same thing about our church. There had been a smugness and a satisfaction with our church in those years. People were happy just the way we were. The early days of our excitement and eagerness to invite friends, neighbors, coworkers, soccer parents, etc., had settled into a mundane—what I say wooden—membership.

The preacher was right. I don’t remember how people responded to him, but I knew he was right.

Our people were good people. They had many friends. They worked as teachers, realtors, accountants, nurses, and service providers. These jobs put them in touch with many people every day. They lived in normal neighborhoods, raising families, sending kids to school, and going to gyms. Indeed, they were around people all day long. 

But they remained silent about their own church. Most of their good friends were already church members. And the rest of the people in their circle of acquaintances—well, the topic of their church never came up! 

These were faithful members of their congregation, but it had become, for them, an enclave of believers who enjoyed worshiping together and "doing church" together. Their church had become a club—and a private one at that!

Adult Education Article

The Importance of Adult Education

To begin with, I've had to remind myself and the churches with which I've worked about the importance of adult education. Often children and youth education gets top billing in congregations, and for good reason. But often that's at the expense of adults.

Without slighting the importance of children and young people, I've always felt that the heartbeat of the church is adults. Jesus loved children, but he did not call children as his disciples. He called adults. We have no example in the Gospels of Jesus teaching children. But we have many, many stories of Jesus teaching adults.

Furthermore, it is adults who shape the world, for good or ill, and it is adult Christians who are called to be salt and light in a dying world. It is adults who vote. It is adults who work and who control the governments, schools, corporations, unions, social groups, charities, and other institutions of our society. It is adults who are called to actively disciple their own families. It is adults who decide the church's priorities and budgets. To teach adults is to be on the firing line of Christian ministry and social change.

Consequently, when we address adults, we can address some significant issues. For example, I find that many Christian men as they reach mid-life are troubled by issues of boredom in marriage, disillusionment with the church, and suffering that seems to have no purpose.

But often they ponder these questions alone, in silence, with no one to empathize or even listen to them. In adult education, we have the important privilege of helping people understand their fears and work through tough issues with a mature biblical perspective. We can touch the throbbing pulse of human pain, anxiety, hope, and joy.

The problem, as my lawyer friend showed me, is that many people in churches today have never brought their adult minds to bear on an understanding of the Bible. They tend to assume that Scripture has nothing specific or helpful to say to them about the real world in which they live. For them, the Bible seems like a relic from childhood rather than a living statement of hard-edged truths that demand to be studied and interacted with on a daily basis.

But the Bible was written primarily for adults, to answer adult questions, to deal with adult problems. Finally, then, adult education is vital to the church because it is our opportunity to open the Word of God, the textbook of the church, for people to whom it is ultimately addressed.

rewrite of Chatper four.

A Scary Thought

Let's imagine a scenario: 

Suppose the Rector is hard-working—even outstanding—and preaching a few sermons a year about the heart of Jesus and how we can develop a passion for others. As a result, the people of the congregation start to understand and embrace the call of mission and the Great Commission of Jesus. Then, as the congregation sees itself more and more as a base for the Kingdom of God, the members of the church are more eager to share the Gospel story with their neighbors and co-workers. The church offers training classes to help people learn to present the Gospel to others in engaging and appealing ways. Everything seems to be going very well.

Then, the Vestry notices the increased efforts of the congregation to reach the community.  The Rector brings a revised budget to the Vestry to hire a staff assistant to keep track of visitors. The pass the revised budget.  They also approve an increase in the budget to spruce up the property and redo the signage around it. They also contract with a marketing company to increase their online presence.  Current members who use social media rush to join their church's Facebook page and begin to 'Like' content—happily, these “Friends” forward interesting content to their friends and followers.

Also, with a new staff addition, within a few months, the processes for inviting, welcoming, receiving, and engaging new people are in place. And what if all the ideas and efforts start to produce results? Attendance increases. Visitors are more frequent. New member classes are full. Plans are underway to start an added worship time on Sunday morning. The church is suddenly surging!

Last year, the average number of attendees each week was 200, but it’s 40% more this year! Everyone is happy to see the newcomers. God is favoring the congregation.

The Critical Question

What will these new people do at their new church? On average, 80 new people attend the church weekly. How will they get involved? 

Worship is the key “program” of the church. But most people also know that if a new family does not 'plugin' somewhere in the life of the church programs, they will likely fade away. How fast? It is hard to say, but visitor retention rates are not good, even at their best. Non-growing churches keep about 9% of their new visitors, and growing churches keep about 21%. 1

In other words, if you successfully invite and welcome people to your congregation, and they come and find what they are looking for, and they join as members of the congregation—what will new people do at your church to express their commitment to Christ, grow in their faith, and serve others in the broader community or the church?

Where will they go? Where will they land? I am sure there are many things to do at your church and places to “plugin” or get involved. It is easy to assume that people will find their way. And often, churches have events like “Ministry Fairs” or “Volunteer Recruitment Drives” to help people commit to the congregation. Sometimes, people persuade the pastor to make guilt-laden requests for signups.

But stop for a moment. Let’s not make something hard; that is easy. Let’s look at the program options in most churches. In truth, only four kinds of programs exist to join or participate in. There are exceptions, to be sure, but most churches have only four categories of programs. Let's take a quick look at them.

Four Areas for Involvement

Newcomers can usually choose from only four distinct areas or initiatives to make a significant connection. 

ONE: Some new people can join the church’s organizational infrastructure and activity groups. These include the Altar Guild, Lay Readers, Ushers, Missions, Set up Groups, and Greeters. Many churches use these groups as a catch basin for new people.

But as everyone soon finds out, vacancies are sometimes limited. Once someone becomes an usher, they don't readily surrender that position.

TWO: Some new people can join groups of people who serve on committees or task forces to do something in the organization.  The Vestry may have a Finance or Personnel Committee where new people might serve. These groups are busy helping set policies, budgets, etc., but they are hardly the place for new members.

THREE: As mentioned in the last chapter, Bible study programs and adult classes are another important part of the church. These are essential for the well-being of a congregation, and I think a church can always use more of them. Bible studies are an excellent way for many new members to join the church. They can help the new members grow in their faith, deepen their knowledge of Scripture, and make new friends in the church. 

Dr. Roberta Hestenes, mentioned in the previous chapter’s footnote, wrote in her well-reasoned articlei: 

Without slighting the importance of children and young people, I've always felt that the heartbeat of the church is adults. Jesus loved children, but he did not call children as his disciples. He called adults. We have no example in the Gospels of Jesus teaching children. But we have many, many stories of Jesus teaching adults.

This comment alone should convict rectors and church leaders to reexamine their adult Christian education programs and offerings. 

However, adult education classes and programs have a few challenges. They require three things that are often in low supply in most churches: Space—these are usually groups that meet on campus; Teachers—educated laypeople or ordained ministers should teach or lead Bible studies; Variety—the schedule when these classes are offered is often inconvenient for working people. Adult Education  Classes are often only available on a specific day or evening of the week.

So again, let us ask the question: Where will new visitors and members connect to the church? Where can they be engaged? Some studies show thaSome involvement can come from Bible studies, volunteer roles, and committee positions, but these often have limited space. I worked with one traditional church that used ushers to show people to their seats. They were asked to find more ushers to include new people, and they did. The trouble was that there was a six-year waiting list before any new people could join that team! 

In other words, some programs or volunteer tasks may not fit everyone, especially those new to the church.

FOUR: Finally, the last category of church involvement is small group programs, life groups, or regular fellowship groups. These groups help members grow in their faith, make new friends, and develop a sense of attachment to the congregation and its mission.

These groups are the lifeblood of a thriving church. They usually meet in people's homes. They are led or facilitated by committed lay people trained for the task. They are entirely scalable and often self-perpetuating. They need little or no staff support or supervision. And they provide a first line of pastoral care and connection to the small group members. 

Secret Sauce?

For 40 years, I have led and studied congregations. I have seen churches flourish and increase their ministries every year.  And I have seen other churches struggle to grow and support their life and ministry. I have been in small, large, and mid-size congregations as a preacher, a teacher, or a worshipper on Sundays. This is what I can say: A solid small group program that regularly involves the church members in off-campus, lay-led, bible-focused groups that meet every two weeks is the key difference between a growing, thriving congregation and one seeking relevance and traction. 

I have never seen a church grow without a solid small-group program. Ever. And I have never seen a church with a strong small-group fellowship ministry that was not growing.

In every case of a growing church, I have noticed an ability to do something that other churches don’t seem to know. Growing churches know how to handle visitors, and they have a nearly frictionless way of helping visitors find a small group to join, belong to, or connect with. Full stop. 

I don’t know if there is a Secret Sauce for growing a church. There are so many variables and contexts, not to mention the providential will of God!  However, if there were a Secret Sauce, it would have one main ingredient: Small Groups.

Here is why:

• Small groups provide a relational environment where individuals can build deep, authentic connections with others, grow in their faith, and experience a sense of belonging within the larger church community.

• Small groups can be diverse and cater to various life stages, interests, and spiritual needs, ensuring a place for everyone.

• Small groups do not require an extensive campus or management system but a robust training and development program for small group leaders.

• Small groups are an ecosystem, not a program, and they should be supported, advertised, developed, started, ended, encouraged, and created throughout the church.

• Small groups should have a front door to welcome new people and an empty chair where new people can sit.

• Small groups should have a dedicated staff member or team overseeing the small group ecosystem. This person should regularly communicate with small group leaders and offer guidance and support.

• Small groups can meet on or off the church campus, but off-site locations can create a more intimate and welcoming atmosphere, particularly for those new to the church.

• Small groups can create a more vibrant, connected, and growing congregation that attracts and keeps new members.

Liabilities and Your Small Group Program

While small groups provide excellent opportunities for spiritual growth, community building, and shared faith experiences, churches must take proactive steps to ensure that these environments are safe and nurturing for all participants, especially the most vulnerable among us.

As a church, our primary mission is to share the love and teachings of Jesus Christ with others. This includes a sacred responsibility to protect and care for the children in our congregation. Sadly, churches have not always been safe havens for children and vulnerable people. We must work diligently to change that.

This is not the place to give the thorough treatment the subject deserves. But to truly prioritize the safety of children in our small group ministries, we must implement robust policies and procedures designed to prevent abuse and neglect. These best practices should include:

• 1. Thorough background checks and training for all volunteer childcare providers

• 2. A two-adult rule requiring that children are never alone with just one adult

• 3. Clear guidelines about appropriate locations and supervision for restroom use

• 4. Mandatory training for all small group leaders on recognizing signs of abuse and maintaining a safe environment

• 5. Transparency about any known sex offenders in the congregation and appropriate steps to protect children while ministering to the offender

Churches should also be clear about which small groups are officially church-sponsored and which operate independently, as this can impact liability if an incident occurs. Consulting with insurance providers to ensure adequate coverage for church-sponsored small group meetings in members' homes is also wise.2

Suggestions and Take-Aways

Use these tips and prompts to help you make a strong case for a better small group program for your church.

• Assess your current small group ministry: Be honest about how your church's existing small group program is doing. Do you have enough groups for your congregation's needs and interests? Are the groups active and successful? Find ways to improve or increase your small group options to serve your church members and create growth opportunities.

• Train your leaders well: Know that small group leaders need skills, resources, and support to lead groups effectively. Make a thorough training program that covers topics like leading discussions, building relationships, and helping spiritual growth. Reach out your leaders to offer help, support, and praise.

• Adopt the "eco-system" mindset: Stop thinking of small groups as just another church program and start seeing them as a key part of your church's ecosystem. Let the groups grow and change naturally to meet your congregation's changing needs. Create a culture where starting, joining, and multiplying small groups is normal for your church's life.

• Focus on pastoral care: Understand that small groups are essential for providing pastoral care and support to your church members. Teach your small group leaders how to spot and address their group members’ needs and ensure they communicate with the pastoral staff. Share stories of how small groups have helped your members and encourage people to seek their groups when they need help.

• Have goals and measure results: Set clear, measurable goals for your small group ministry, such as more groups, better attendance, or higher member involvement. Check the health and growth of your groups regularly, and measure your progress towards your goals. Celebrate achievements along the way, and use data and feedback to keep improving your small group plan.

These suggestions can help church leaders develop a thriving small group ministry that helps their congregation grow, builds solid and significant relationships, and offers essential pastoral care for their members. Remember, a healthy small group program is a crucial component in the formula for church growth, and by focusing on this part of your church's life, you can establish a more lively, connected, and growing community of believers.

1. Quote in “What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of Thumb for Leading Your Church, by Gary L. McIntosh & Charles Arn 2013

2. The church should always protect its youngest members. Additionally, church should not take on undue liability which might threaten its mission. State laws may be varied, and good counsel is available on various sites. This site was particularly helpful: https://www.simmsshowerslaw.com/protecting-children-in-church-small-group-settings/

Churches today are plagued by the Pareto principle: The infamous 80/20 rule suggests 80 percent of the church’s work comes from 20 percent of the congregation. We’ve become so saturated with consumerism that it’s easy to assume this rule is a law churches need to accept—but it shouldn’t be. When Jesus called the Apostles to spread the gospel, every person had a role—80/20 participation is not how the New Testament presents the church, and we can’t expand, grow, and create disciples that way.
Engagement is about the church calling, equipping, and charging its members to do the work of the ministry. It can be the difference between exponential growth and incremental growth. And it turns every person in your church into a resource you can count on instead of a body you count.
The future of your church depends on your ability to engage the people in it. Building a better, cooler, and more attractive church isn’t the best way to grow your congregation and keep younger generations invested. Millennials don’t want to be catered to: they want to be absorbed into a mission they believe in.
Focusing on engagement changes the church from a consumer-oriented event to an interdependent community.

i. https://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/articles/churchhomeleadership/060118.html

To My Incredible Church,

I came to you when I was at my lowest. I really needed to have a safe place and one that would help me, with God's help, to pick myself up from the disaster I had been going through. Little did I know that walking through your doors would be the most life-changing experience I could have imagined.

When I first showed up on that Sunday, three years ago, I was nervous and unsure what to expect. It had been years since I had darkened the door of a church. I was very anxious but excited. 

But from the moment I stepped in, I was greeted with warmth, openness, and real hospitality. It wasn't the grandeur of the building or the decorations that caught my attention; it was the way members welcomed me. 

They were all a bit older than I had expected—about my parent’s age—but they seemed happy to have me. 

Over the years, we through some hard times as a church. One priest left. There was a big stink over something in the youth program. The new head priest was great, and I like the changes he made. But I also know it was hard from some to watch their beloved church try to update itself.

But in every thing, our congregation stood united, we offered prayers, encouragement, and practical help. The same love and care extended to me, a newcomer still trying to find my way.

But what truly transformed my life was the way I encountered God. In worship, I felt the Holy Spirit moving in me in powerful ways. I felt the Lord touching my heart and filling me with a sense of peace and purpose that I had honestly never known before. The messages spoke directly to my soul. So many times I felt a bit embarrassed during the sermon because I thought the head priest was talking directly to me!

And then there were the small groups - those intimate gatherings where I found not just friendship but a true spiritual community. In the safety and openness of my group, I was able to share my struggles, doubts, and dreams, and to find wisdom, encouragement, and accountability. I was also introduced to my husband through a member of my small group

As I think about my journey with you, dear church, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. You were there for me when I needed you most, offering a lifeline of hope and a pathway to healing. You showed me Christ because you showed me the love of Christ in tangible ways. You helped me to discover joy and purpose in living my life with a relationship with God and his people.

Your impact on my life has been profound and lasting. Through your ministry, I have found not just a church home but a family of faith - a place where I truly belong and where I can grow, serve, and flourish. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

So thank you, dear church, for being a beacon of light in a weary and doubting world. Thank you for your faithfulness in nurturing a thriving community of believers and for extending the love of Christ to all who walk through your doors.

All of this happened because in the midst of your busy lives and close friendships with eachother, you took the time to open up and let me in.

With deepest gratitude,

A Visitor Transformed