INTRO.- ILL.- After the worship service a young couple talked to a church member about joining the church. He hadn't met the husband before, and he asked what church he was transferring from. After a short hesitation, he replied,"I am transferring from the Municipal Golf Course."
Brothers and sisters, this is what we’d like to see happen, in the sense, that we’d like to see people leave whatever is keeping them away from the Lord (good, bad or otherwise) and come to Christ and the church! BUT THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!
I mean, golf isn’t bad in itself, but if golf is all that a person lives for then that is idol worship. That’s worshiping a man-made created thing rather than the Creator who is to be praised forevermore! There is only one Creator and Savior who wants all men to be saved. And this is our job as His body, His church.
Seriously, wouldn’t we like to see more people come to Christ, confess faith in Him and be baptized? But churches aren’t growing in the US, for the most part. The mega churches (over 2,000) are still growing but the vast majority of churches (under 200) are not growing. Is there anything we can do to change this?
Yes, but it will probably take some changes. But not all changes are good changes. If something works, then praise the Lord for it. If something doesn’t work, then you stop doing it and do something different. It’s as simple as that.
ILL.- One church where I served had youth meetings on Wednesday nights. It worked great and then someone had the idea of changing them to Sunday night and the kids wouldn’t come. Why? I don’t know but they needed to go back to Wednesday nights.
When it comes to church growth there is no set pattern for success. What may work for one church, may not work for another church.
ILL.- For example, many years ago churches were big on busing people to church. They would get a bus or two and go into certain areas of the city and invite people to church by offering free rides. It worked for some churches but not for others. A free ride to church isn’t a big deal to most people, that is, unless the church is handing out something free besides the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, the great commission is still our commission. The Lord has never rescinded His orders to make disciples and baptize them. He is still asking His church to do this work.
Proverbs 23:7 “As a man thinketh, so is he.” If we don’t think in terms of the church growth or of winning people to Christ then we won’t do it.
Our thinking is not what it should be. Our thinking tends to be “inward” and not “outward.” We think more in terms of taking care of ourselves in the church instead of reaching out to people who need Jesus and the salvation that He offers. Self has always been a problem. It’s something we struggle with daily.
Somehow or other, we must start thinking in terms of people and how to lead them to Christ in order to see God’s kingdom grow, which is His church! We must be thinking, “I wonder if so and so is a Christian?” And then be thinking about how to witness to them for Christ.
PROP.- Let’s consider the different approaches to church growth in order to determine what would work best.
1- There is the “come on in” approach.
2- There is the “drive-around” approach
3- There is the “Come and play” with us approach
4- There is the “door-to-door” approach
5- There is the “coffee house” approach
1- THE “COME ON IN” APPROACH
There is no scripture that says we should build a building in which to worship and then hope that will people will come to it to hear about Jesus, but that’s what we do.
This “come on in” approach is the traditional approach that most churches used in the past to get new people. It’s the idea that you come to us because of who we are and what we know.
With this approach, we do very little. We just have church and hope for people to come to us. The idea may sound good to some churches, but it doesn’t work.
Fact: Many new people (47%) visit for the first time because someone invited them; only 6% came for the first time due to advertising. This should tell us that if a church did no advertising at all and no inviting, then more than likely that church would be fortunate if it ever got any visitors.
ILL.- It’s like exercising and losing weight. I’ve known people to say things like, “I exercise three times a week for 30 minutes at a time and I don’t understand why I can’t lose weight.” The reason is because it takes a lot more work than exercising for 30 minutes three times a week to lose weight.
I know since I used to run and it wasn’t until I ran 5 miles a day for 5 days a week that I ever lost weight. When I could run 25 miles a week I started to lose weight. In other words, it takes work and sometimes hard work to accomplish anything in life and that includes church growth.
Acts 20:7-8 “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.”
The early Christians met on the first day of the week, Sunday, to remember Jesus in the breaking of the bread. And this is why we do it today. It’s a good and godly example of the early church.
In this scripture, they probably met in some home or some building that had an upstairs room. They broke bread and Paul, but he preached until midnight. But none of this midnight stuff for us!
Can you imagine an evening worship in any church today that would go on until midnight? No, and it won’t happen either. We just wouldn’t do it and besides, we’ve got too many things to do and even at night.
2- THE “DRIVE AROUND” APPROACH
ILL.- If I want something to eat and want it fast, do you know what restaurant I’ll go to? Wendys on Parker Road. Do you know why? It’s not because their food is best. It’s because they get it to you the fastest. They have the fastest drive-through in town! At least, for me. And when I’m in a hurry to do something and want something to eat so I can get on with my business I’ll drive through and get my food. And not only it is fast, it’s also close to my house, which makes it good for me.
Some people have this same mentality when it comes to church. They don’t mind coming to church but they don’t want to stay there all day. In fact, an hour service is as long as most people want. Beyond that, they feel like the preacher or someone is infringing on their time, because they have things to do.
ILL.- It’s called the Lite Church. Here is how they advertise the church: Has the heaviness of your old fashioned church got you weighted down? Try us! We are the New and Improved Lite Church of the Valley. We have 25% fewer commitments. We trim off guilt. We feature a 7.5% tithe, a 35 minute worship service with 7 minute sermons. This sounds like a church some would prefer.
ILL.- George Burns: The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.
Some people prefer a church where the services are not long. People in America all always busy. They don’t have much time to waste and especially, when it comes to church.
I suspect that if we were advertise a 30-minute worship service with singing, communion, and a quick sermon (that is, a sermonette), we’d probably start getting a few visitors.
Another thing that goes with this speedy service is also location. People don’t want to drive too far to go to church, unless it’s like our James and Tina Kaser who drive about 30 miles from Paragould every Sunday.
Many people prefer a church that is just down the block from their home or not far away. And you would think by these standards that everyone around Loberg Lane would come to our church. NOT SO! They either don’t go anywhere or else they go to the Walnut St. Church on the hill or down Nettleton St. to the Southwest Church.
3- THE “COME AND PLAY” APPROACH
ILL.- A kindergarten teacher gave her class a "show and tell" assignment. Each student was instructed to bring in an object to share with the class that represented their religion. The first student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Benjamin and I am Jewish and this is a Star of David." The second student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Mary. I'm a Catholic and this is a Rosary." The third student got in up front of the class and said, "My name is Tommy. I am Methodist, and this is a casserole."
The “Come and play” approach church may also be the “come and eat” church as well.
We remember that Jesus fed the people in his day. On one occasion he fed over 5,000 people with five small barley loaves and two small fish. (recorded in all four gospel accounts). Then another time in Matthew 15 we have recorded for us that Jesus fed 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread a few small fish. BUT WHAT HAPPENED WHEN JESUS STOPPED FEEDING THEM?
Many of those people only followed Jesus because he was dishing out food. And some people may only come to church today for the same reason. If, for example, we had a potluck dinner every Sunday, do you think our people would be more faithful to come? Do you think we’d get more people?
ILL.- My son-in-law, Chris Santasiere, is the Associate Minister of the Fairmount Christian Church in Mechanicsville, VA. In September they will have another Block Party near their church building in order to draw people to their church. This will be their third block party. Their first was 2006, 2008 and now 2010. The first one cost the church $25,000, the second was $22,000 and this one may cost $20,000. THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY JUST FOR GAMES AND FUN!
This year their BLOCK Party will be held on Saturday, September 18th at Cold Harbor Elementary School from 3:00-6:00 p.m. And here is what they will do and/or give away for FREE:
FOOD! Delicious barbeque, baked beans and cole slaw. There will be hot dogs for the kids. They will serve drinks and there will be ice cream.
MUSIC! They will have Fairmount’s own BIG Show Band headline our music for this year’s BLOCK Party. They will also have a bluegrass band performing as well. The music promises to be a highlight of the BLOCK Party.
GAMES! They will have 9 children’s games, balloons, face painting, a preschool play area and a kid’s craft area. All children will walk away with candy prizes at each game. This year they will have 9 large inflatable games that will be appropriate for children and for teens. In addition, they’ll have a First Aid tent where they will provide blood pressure checks and where they will be able to take care of any minor injuries.
They will have a masseuse on site giving five minute massages. They will also be having periodic prize drawings throughout the entire BLOCK Party. This sounds great but will also take a lot of workers and/or volunteers. They have approximately 278 volunteer slots that need to be filled.
What’s the purpose of this block party? It’s done with the idea of connecting with their community with the hope that some of the people who come to that party will become interested in Christ and the Fairmount Christian Church. 1st year attendance was 1600 and they gained 10 families. The 2nd year attendance was 1800 and they gained 3 or 4 families. This year they are planning for 2000 people to show up.
Now obviously, not every church can do something like this. And our church certainly can’t either. But it’s not a bad thing if you can win some people and keep them. You may get some people to come with food and games, but after you get them you have to give good solid spiritual food.
4- THE “DOOR-TO-DOOR” APPROACH
Acts 5:41-42 “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
The early Christians went from house to house or door to door, teaching and proclaiming the good news about Jesus.
ILL.- Two church members were going door to door. They knocked on the door of a woman who clearly was not happy to see them. She told them in no uncertain terms she did not want to hear their message and then slammed the door in their faces. To her surprise, the door did not close. In fact, it bounced back open.
She tried again, really put her back into the job, and slammed the door again. Same results. The door bounced back like it was made of Silly Putty. Convinced one of these rude church members was sticking a foot in the door, she reared back to give the door a slam that would teach them a lesson.
Just then, one of the church members said, "Ma'am, before you do that again, you might want to move your cat."
ILL.- In 1961, James Kennedy established a lay-witness training program at his 17-member Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Members would go door-to-door asking residents such questions as "Do you know for sure that you are going to be with God in Heaven?"
In 1967 Evangelism Explosion (EE) saw 800 commitments to Christ; by 1969 the church had grown to 1,600 members. EE quickly spread across the country and went international in 1978.
Kennedy told Christianity Today that within the first five or six years of EE, the program moved away from cold calling. "We try not to knock on doors helter-skelter," he said. "The best approach is having members bring visitors to church and then we follow it up with a visit."
Kennedy said that visiting someone's home has to be handled carefully, even when the person has been a visitor or referred by friends. "We live in a lot more violent culture. Opening your door is scary," he said. Scary, depending on where you are!
Most people don’t like someone knocking on their door, trying to sell them anything and particularly something religious.
And if you knock on their door during the day time more than likely you won’t find anyone home anyway, because everyone works. And you don’t dare go knocking on doors after 6 p.m., although some still do this.
Apparently, the early Christians could do this with little or no problem. Today, however, many of us have had certain religious groups knock on our doors and try to sell us on their faith. Of course, just because some people have been turned off by some knocking on their door it doesn’t mean it won’t work.
ILL.- Harvey Bream was the President of Cincinnati Bible College for 16 years and an excellent preacher. I heard Harvey tell one time about holding a revival at a church. Harvey and the preacher went to call on an old man who lived near the church. When they talk to him about Christ, with tears in his eyes, the old man said, “You know, I have most of my life next to this church but you are the first two people who ever came and talked to me about Christ.”
5- THE “COFFEE HOUSE” APPROACH
This is the idea of meeting with people for coffee or a coke and just visiting. Then we witness for Jesus. It’s the idea of going to their world in order to witness for Christ. This appears to be more of the early church method and personal method of Jesus. Or it could be the “let’s play ball” approach. Go join a ball team. We might do this with hunting and fishing as well. We involve ourselves in the lives of others for the purpose of befriending them and witnessing to them about Christ.
Acts 8:4 “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”
I Peter 3:15 “ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
ILL.- There was a lady in Bank of America on Monday. I said something about her nice looking black Pontiac Firebird. She inquired about my car and I proceeded to tell her about it. She said, “you should sell these cars.”
No, I should sell Jesus. I should talk more about Jesus. This car is like all cars that will some day be burned up, but he who does the will of God will live forever! We often talk about what we are interested in. WHAT ABOUT JESUS AND ETERNITY?
Material things are just things, but Jesus is eternal. He is the eternal Savior and promises us eternal life but only if we believe in Him, trust Him and surrender to His will.
CONCLUSION---------------------
ILL.- A minister waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him in front of the service station. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump.
"Preacher," said the young man, "I'm sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip." The minister chuckled, "I know what you mean. It's the same in my business."
Far too many wait until the last minute of life to believe in Jesus and accept Him. We need to do something about this.
ILL.- Preacher D. L. Moody was criticized for his soul winning methods by a man one time to which Moody replied, “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”
Any method of reaching lost souls for Christ is better than no method. Choose your method and go to work! People are at risk. Their eternal souls are at risk.
