Church Growth

CHURCH GROWTH

Acts 18:7-8

INTRO.- ILL.- Top 10 Ways You Know You’re In A Bad Church

10. The church bus has gun racks.

9 . The church staff consists of Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor and Socio-pastor.

8. The Bible they use is the "Dr. Seuss Version."

7. There’s an ATM in the lobby.

6. The choir wears leather robes.

5. Worship services are BYOS - "Bring your own snake."

4. No cover charge, but communion is a two-drink minimum.

3. Karaoke Worship Time

2. Ushers ask, "Smoking or non-smoking?"

1. The only song the organist knows is "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."

I have no idea what “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” means, but I do know it’s sure not a gospel hymn. After considering this a while I decided to find what this song is or where it came from. It’s a song by a heavy metal group called “Iron Butterfly.” The song was produced in 1968, but I’m sure it’s not anything that we would be interested in.

Brethren, there are no bad churches if the Lord is in them! But if He is not honored as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, then it is a bad church!

Ours is not a bad church. It’s just not a growing church. And that is something I am very concerned about.

I believe that the Lord wants His church to grow. He is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance and be saved. And when people truly come to surrender their lives to Christ the church will grow.

When Christ gets into people, people will get into the church! They will be automatically added to the Lord’s worldwide church, but they will also want to be a part of a local church that is seeking to honor the Lord.

ILL.- Did you ever hear of a man named Donald Wyman? You may have, but it’s been some years ago when he made the national news. Donald Wyman is from Pennsylvania and he was out in the woods, cutting trees and a tree fell on his leg, pinning him under it. Wyman laid there for an hour screaming for help. Finally, when no one showed up he pulled out his pocket knife and cut off his own leg. Wyman said, “It was a terrible ordeal.”

Well, I guess so! That’s almost unimaginable! They asked Wyman how he could do such a thing and he said, “I wanted to live.” It was either cut off his leg and drag himself out of there or lay there and bleed to death. He said that his motivation was his family and God.

Donald Wyman did a very drastic thing in order to save himself.

Sometimes drastic situations call for drastic measures. I wouldn’t say that our church is in a drastic situation, but it could sure be better. I’m very much concerned about our church. I want to see the church grow.

What can we do to get the church to grow? Last week I preached about two things we can do:

1- We must have a growth mentality

We must think “growth” and think about how to “grow” in order to grow. Our minds must always be in the thinking gear in regard to church growth and winning people to Christ.

2- We must have some definite goals in mind

Anybody who gets anywhere in life has some plans. We must make some plans and work the plans. And if they don’t work, we must make some different plans and work them.

Our text in Acts 18 tells us that many of the Corinthians who heard Paul speak, believed and were baptized. THAT’S WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR! People coming to Christ.

PROP.- I want to share some more ideas as to what it will take to make the church grow.

1- We must be committed to the worship of Christ

2- We must work together under the authority of Christ

I. WE MUST BE COMMITTED TO THE WORSHIP OF CHRIST

Acts 2:42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

To put it simply, they devoted themselves to church, to their church fellowship, to their church worship.

Acts 20:7 “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” In other words, the early church gathered every first day of the week to remember Christ in the breaking of bread, the Lord’s Supper. They were committed to that time of worship.

ILL.- A little girl asked her new neighbor, “Do you go to church?” “Yes, do you?” the new neighbor responded. “We’re Methodists, and I go every Sunday with my mother.” “Doesn’t your daddy go too?” “No.” “Isn’t he a Methodist?” “I’m not sure. MOTHER SAID HE IS A SEVENTH-DAY ABSENTIST.”