CHURCH GROWTH: To be or not to be
Acts 2:36-41
INTRO.- ILL.- It was their 13th wedding anniversary. The husband was away at a meeting on their special day. He called a florist to send a bouquet of 13 helium balloons with a message of gratitude for the heights to which his wife had inspired him.
When the balloons arrived at her door, she had no trouble guessing who had sent them. But the card was something of a puzzle, reading, "You Make Me Sore."
Of course, the message was supposed to read, "You make me soar"...like an eagle.
The truth is some marriages do "soar like an eagle," but most don’t. Some soar and some are sore. Some make it and some don’t. Some make it even though there is a rough going at times, and some don’t make it even though things seem to be pretty smooth-going most of the time.
A lot of it depends on how much they work at it. Work which comes from commitment is a key ingredient
IF WE DON’T WORK AT MARRIAGE OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT IS WORTHWHILE (including the church), IT WON’T BE WORTH MUCH AFTER WHILE!
ILL.- A certain denominational church sent in its annual statistical statement, year after year, as follows:
Number of members added by baptism 0
Number of members added by letter 0
Number of members dismissed by letter 5
Number of members who have died 3
Amount raised for home missions 0
Amount raised for foreign missions 0
The note at the bottom of the report read: "Pray for us, brethren, that we continue faithful unto the end." That’s not being faithful! That church lost 8 people but gained none! Why? Because they didn’t work at gaining any new people!
Some churches grow and some don’t. And some people don’t know and don’t care. Meaning, they don’t care whether the church grows or not, and if they did care, they wouldn’t know how to make it grow.
ILL.- I have heard that the average U.S. church runs about 89 in attendance. It this is true, we are ahead of the game, but we still need to be concerned about our growth.
ILL.- Last week I got some great information from one of the preachers at the Ozark Christian College Preaching and Teaching Convention. Barry Mcmurtrie is the Sr. Minister with the Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA. When Barry went there the church was running about a thousand in attendance. Now they run about 5,000 in attendance.
What’s going on? What’s their secret? What do they have that we don’t have? Who is this guy Barry Mcmurtrie? Where did he come from?
Barry Mcmurtrie, 60, has been senior pastor at Crossroads Christian Church for the past seven years. He was born and raised in Wollogong, Australia. As a child, Barry grew up in a blue-collar steel town and came from an unchurched home. He then discovered as a teen the secret to real living and gave his life to the Lord.
He spent the first years of his adult life obtaining a business degree and then having a successful career working for one of Australia’s largest retail companies. At the age of 27, Barry felt a calling on his life to take the idea of common sense Christianity to the masses. His desire to reach the outsider and non-churched prompted him to lay aside his career in business. He then enrolled in seminary and started a church in one of the toughest parts of the city.
After growing that inner city congregation to one of the largest Christian churches in Australia (over a thousand), Barry accepted the call to come to the United States and become senior pastor at Crossroads. After 6 months on the job, Barry shocked many by selling their current building and moving the congregation into a tent. His passion for the lost and his down to earth style struck a chord within the community and the church saw an incredible harvest. Because of Barry’s dynamic leadership and vision, the church doubled in size while meeting in the tent. CAN YOU IMAGINE? 2,000 people in a tent!
Today Crossroads meets in a state of the art auditorium on 38 acres of land and sees almost 5000 people attend their weekend services.
Crossroads is placing a high priority on each person developing a deeper relationship with God. With a focus this year on being involved in a small group, Crossroads has started over 200 groups with over 2200 members involved to date. Pastor Barry says "It’s a time to connect to God and to connect to each other in a real and authentic way."
Many of the groups are focused on family and marriage, while other groups are commissioned to reach their unsaved neighbors and friends living in the area.
Brothers and sisters, some churches are growing and Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA, is one of them!
Church growth: to be nor to be. I say, let it be!
Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..."
The Lord Jesus is wants His church to grow, be multiplied, and expanded! We should go with His program. That’s putting it mildly! And HIS program will work anywhere, in any church, in any community, large or small! I vote for it! I vote for church growth!
PROP.- There are two ways to look at this church grow business: to be or not to be. Or:
1- What keeps a church from growing - hindrances
2- What causes a church to grow - helps
I. WHAT KEEPS A CHURCH FROM GROWING - HINDRANCES
ILL.- "I always make it a rule," said the preacher at the close of the sermon during which there had been some misbehavior in the audience, "to thank my audience for their attention; and I now thank you for your attention."
"It is true," he added, "there has been some disturbance, nevertheless I will thank you for your behaving as well as you knew how."
Brothers and sisters, some churches can’t grow because of the bad behavior of their members. Sometimes it’s the bad behavior within the church that hurts it, but more often, it’s the bad behavior outside the church that hurts the church or hinders it from growing.
Phil. 2:14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe..."
ILL.- A medical survey states that chronic complainers live longer than people who are always sweet and serene. It claims that their cantankerous spirit gives them a purpose for living. Each morning they get up with a fresh challenge to see how many things they can find to grumble about, and they derive great satisfaction from making others miserable.
Chronic complainers may live longer, but they don’t bless people with a good witness for Christ! They don’t draw people, they push them away.
A sure way to not have friends is to be a complainer and a sure way to kill a church is to complain all the time!
The Lord wants crooners, not complainers! Those who croon, those who sing praise to the Lord, and sing the praise of others cause the church to grow!
ILL.- Late in his life, Sir Winston Churchill took a cruise on an Italian ship. A journalist from a Rome newspaper encountered the former prime minister to ask him why he chose to travel on an Italian line when the stately Queen’s line under the British flag was available.
Churchill gave the question his consideration and then gravely replied: "There are three things I like about Italian ships. First, their cuisine, which is unsurpassed. Second, their service, which is quite superb." And then Sir Winston added, "And then there is none of this nonsense about women and children first."
Brothers and sisters, we live in a very self-centered society today. Some people care less and less about others, but the Christian is supposed to care more and more about others. Selfishness hinders church growth. It hinders all spiritual growth.
Phil. 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
And in regard to the church we need to stop thinking about ourselves and think about others.
Romans 15:1-3 "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself..."
Powerful and penetrating. In the church, we must think about how to bless and benefit one another and not please ourselves.
ILL.- A church board member in one church told me once, "We need to change the Sunday night service from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. so people will have more time for their own activities." I said, "I will have to ask the board about it." He replied, "I AM THE BOARD!"
He was not the total board, but he thought he was. And he was only thinking of himself and not the church as a whole.
What else will keep a church from growing?
ILL.- Charles F. Kettering was an inventor who worked for GM. He is best known for his invention of the electric starter. He once said,"I often tell my people that I don’t want any fellow who has a job working for me. What I want is a fellow whom a job has. I want the job to get the fellow and not the fellow to get the job. And I want that job to get hold of this young man so hard that no matter where he is the job has got him for keeps. I want that job to have him in its clutches when he goes to bed at night, and in the morning I want that same job to be sitting on the foot of his bed telling him it’s time to get up and go to work. And when a job gets a fellow that way he’ll amount to something."
ILL.- Andrew Carnegie was a philanthropist who gave $350 million to various educational institutions. He once said, "The average person puts only 25 percent of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50 percent of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100 percent."
I would say that most people don’t give anywhere near 100% to their work, and this is especially true when it comes to living the Christian life and serving the Lord. And this is one reason why the church doesn’t grow!
If we put in just half the effort that we do for some things into living the Christian life, the church would grow!
Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you..."
Jesus is saying that if you take care of my business, I will take care of blessing you!
Failure to commit ourselves to Christ and the church keeps the church from growing. What else hinders church growth?
ILL.- It was said that when Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower was fifty years old, he told his son, John, then graduating from high school, that he didn’t expect to go much further in his own career. He was a regimental executive officer, had been a major for sixteen years before his promotion.
But he also explained that he was deeply content. The Army had provided him with a good life and had given him friends who respected him. "No man," Ike told his son, "could ask for more."
We all know that Dwight D. Eisenhower went on to greater things whether out of discontent or whatever. He was our 34th President from 1953 to 1961.
Brothers and sisters, there are many things that we should be contented about, but others things, NO.
When it comes to the Lord’s commission and His church, we should not be content. We should want to see more growth, more people, more people be saved and come to Christ.
ILL.- Brother Barry Mcmurtrie of the Crossroads Christian Church, Corona, CA, was standing with one of his leaders one time, looking out the window of their church on a Sunday morning as people began pouring in. The leader said, "Who are all these people coming into our church?!" Then suddenly, he realized what he said and he said, "Isn’t this great?!" But in a sense, he didn’t mean it.
Some people are very contented with their church in that they don’t want new people coming into their church because it threatens their security, their peace and their position in the church.
And this attitude is entirely wrong. WHAT IF SOMEONE IN THE CHURCH HAD FELT THAT WAY TOWARD YOU? You might not be saved! You might not be in Christ!
Many things, many attitudes, many bad attitudes keep the Lord’s church from growing.
II. WHAT CAUSES A CHURCH TO GROW - HELPS
ILL.- A husband asked his wife, "What have you been doing with all the grocery money that I give you?" His wife replied, "Turn sideways and look in the mirror."
Some things just keep growing and growing, and others are at a standstill. Some things need to grow and others don’t. I need to grow spiritually, but not physically.
ILL.- Someone has said that between an airplane and every other form of locomotion and transportation there is one great contrast. The horse and wagon, the automobile, the locomotive, the speedboat, and the great battleship-all can come to a standstill without danger, and they can all reverse their engines, or their power, and go back.
But there is no reverse about the engine of an airplane. It cannot back up. It dare not stand still. If it loses its momentum and forward-drive, then it crashes. The only safety for the airplane is in its forward and upward motion.
And the only safe direction for the Christian and for the church is forward and upward. If we as Christians and we as the church stop making forward progress, we are in danger.
The church must go forward and grow! The early church, the first church was a growing church!
Acts 2:41 "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Acts 4:4 "The number of men grew to about five thousand."
Acts 5:14 "More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number."
Acts 6:7 "The Word of God spread. The number of disciples increased rapidly."
Acts 16:5 "The churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers."
The early church was a growing church! What causes or helps the church to grow? Several things could be cited.
ILL.- When his pager went off during a council meeting in Knoxville, Tenn., police chief Phil Keith was startled to see that the call was from his mother. He rushed to the press table and phoned her.
"Phil Keith, are you chewing gum!" asked his mom, who had been watching the council meeting on cable TV. "Yes, ma’am." "Well, it looks awful. Spit it out." Keith dutifully removed the gum and went back to his meeting.
Matthew 28:18-19 Again Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..."
Jesus is our commander-in-chief. He has commissioned us to make disciples, and his slightest wish should be our supreme command.
What else causes a church to grow?
ILL.- A priest was giving his flock a sermon on the Gospel, and he mentioned how with five loaves of bread our Savior fed five thousand people (Matthew 14:21); but instead of saying five thousand, he said five hundred.
The altar boy told him that he had made a mistake, because the Gospel says five thousand. Immediately, the priest said to him; "Be quiet, you foolish boy! They already have a hard time believing five hundred."
Brothers and sisters, some times we have a difficult time believing in certain things. We question some of the miracles of the Bible. We even question eternity!
And that is one reason why the church doesn’t grow. Some people are not convinced there is life beyond the grave. Or it is that they are not completely convinced! They believe, but not totally or completely. Consequently, they are not in a hurry to sell the gospel to anyone.
ILL.- Someone has said that the rich man in Luke 16 wasn’t in hell long before he became a believer in missions: V. 27-28 "I beg you, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment."
Brothers and sisters, a person doesn’t have to experience the torment of hell to believe in it. And we don’t have to die and go to heaven to believe in it.
Eternity is real. There is much evidence to believe in it. And if we believe in it, we need to be selling people on how to get there in a comfortable way! DO YOU REALLY TRULY BELIEVE? Then let’s sell it to others! Let’s sell the gospel of Christ and the church to people.
One other thing is a must for church growth.
ILL.- In Chicago some years ago a little boy attended a Sunday school. When his parents moved to another part of the city the little boy still attended the same Sunday school, although it meant a long, tiresome walk each way. A friend asked him why he went so far, and told him that there were plenty of others just as good nearer his home.
"They may be as good for others, but not for me," was his reply. "Why not?" she asked. "Because they love a kid over there," he replied.
They love a kid over there. That’s one of the real secrets of church growth. DO WE TRULY LOVE PEOPLE?
ILL.- When Barry Mcmurtrie lived in Australia he ministered with three different churches. One had 58 people when he went there and grew to 600. Another had 38 and grew to 750. The last he served had 40 people when he went there and it grew to over a thousand people. The Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, CA, has grown from 1,000 to 5,000 in seven years. Why? One thing is clear to me and it is this: BARRY MCMURTRIE LOVES ALL PEOPLE AND IT SHOWS IN HIS PREACHING AND MINISTRY! He is and has reached out to all kinds of people: prostitutes, drug addicts, you name them.
One thing must be in us and in our church: We must love people. We must love all people. And we must reach out to all people in love! That is what will grow a church better than anything!
ILL.- A certain soap-maker having run out of superlatives to define the perfection of his product, hit upon a statement that said in a novel and compelling way the last word that could be said concerning it: "As we couldn’t improve our product, we improved the box."
Brothers and sisters, we can’t improve on our product, because our product is the Lord Jesus. But we can improve the box. That’s us. We must improve us if the church is to grow.
CONCLUSION--------------------------------
ILL.- It is said that when most Americans answer the telephone, they say, "Hello." Not so in other countries.
- Germans methodically answer with their last names.
- Russians say, "I’m listening."
- The curious French say, "Hello, who’s on the line?"
- Italians greet callers with "Ready."
- The English answer with their phone number.
- The Chinese proclaim, "Hey, hey, who are you?"
Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus often calls us in life. He calls through His Word, through people, through sermons, and through lessons. How we answer His call is most important.
Jesus has been calling His church for a very long time, saying, "My program is reaching out to lost people. I want people to come into my church and be saved. I want you to reach out to people with my message; with Me!"
And many of us are responding to Jesus’ call with "Hey, hey, who are you?" And Jesus say, "I am Lord. I am Lord of everything. I am Lord over all. Am I your Lord?"
