"After months of delays in the process, the church’s interim pastor announces plans to resign." - Christianity Today
"The Church Growth Movement of a few decades ago promoted the use of marketing techniques to attract as many people as possible to form a 'mega-church.' But today’s marketing philosophy, enabled by online technology, focuses not on reaching vast numbers but on identifying individuals with highly specific interests and targeting them with tailor-made appeals...creating not 'mega-' but 'micro-churches.'" - Gene Veith
A two-fold assumption is often evident when believers are evaluating the effectiveness of churches, ministries, movements, and denominations. The assumption is, first, that the Great Commission is the standard of measurement and, second, that the way to apply the standard is to count the number of people who are hearing the gospel or are being brought into worship services.
Certainly it’s exciting when thousands gather for worship and hear the gospel. If they’re doing so in multiple locations linked by cutting edge video technology, many see that as progress into a new and wonderful future for the body of Christ.
But exciting and wonderful in our estimation isn’t always exciting and wonderful in God’s—even when our hearts are in the right place. Four principles argue that if we’re going to evaluate churches, ministries, and movements in a way that approximates God’s evaluation, we’ll have to consider more than the Great Commission, understood as number of souls reached.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8) says nothing directly about worship or about the people of God as a worshiping community. Still, nobody questions that the NT church is worshiping community. However, many do doubt—or at least fail to fully appreciate—how vital the united, exclusive, divinely-regulated worship of God is to the identity and health of a local church.
"I know that growth is important and matters to God. However, if we’re not careful, it can consume our souls and become an idol that competes with our ultimate calling as ministers." - Facts & Trends
"A new film tells the story of the 'fastest-growing church' in the world, an underground, persecuted Christian movement in a country known for exporting radical Islamic terrorism." - Fox
"According to 'State of the Online Church,' led by Saddleback Church’s Online Campus Pastor Jay Kranda, 59 percent of churches have seen physical growth since launching an online ministry." - Christian Post
"A new study from Exponential by LifeWay ... gives a clear picture of the state of Protestant churches in America today. Most have fewer than 100 people attending services each Sunday (57%), including 21 percent who average fewer than 50. Around 1 in 10 churches (11%) average 250 or more for their worship services." - Christianity Today
