INTRO.- ILL.- One lady said, “I always do my exercises regularly every morning. Immediately after waking I always say sternly to myself, “Ready now. Up. Down. Up. Down!” And after two strenuous minutes I tell myself, “OKAY, NOW TRY THE OTHER EYELID.”
ILL.- Mark Twain once said, “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like and do what you’d rather not.”
No doubt about it, the human body needs to be revved up, hopped up, toned up, and tuned up. And people do this or try to do this in all kinds of ways: lifting weights, walking, jogging, biking, aerobics, swimming, etc.
All these are great exercises for the human body and they do produce some good results if done with some regularity and intensity.
Use it or lose it. Work it and it will work better. Generally true. Hard work and exercise never hurt anyone, except for maybe the first few days!
We do need to be revved up and toned up in certain ways.
ILL.- In 1962-63 I drove a 1955 Chevrolet. It had a six-cylinder engine, automatic (Powerglide) transmission and was slower than molasses in wintertime, that is, compared to cars today with fuel injection, lighter bodies, etc.
My older brother Larry was interested in Hot Rods and drag racing and this rubbed off on me. Both Larry and I did things to our cars to make them run faster: change the spark plugs, ignition points, ignition timing, etc.
I even changed the carburetor jet in that single barrel carb to try to make it go faster. DIDN’T HELP MUCH AT ALL! There wasn’t much you could do to those old Chevy’s six cylinder engines to make them run faster.
However, the guys who drove those V-8 engines could do something with them! If they had the money, they could add another carburetor or two, as in three/two-barrel carbs and that would really hop them up!
Brothers and sisters, it matters not whether we tune up our bodies and our cars. It’s good, however, to keep things in good working condition so we can be used for the Lord. BUT THERE IS ONE THING THAT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE REVVED UP, HOPPED UP, TONED UP, AND TUNED UP! What’s that? The church.
ILL.- Some churches are growing and going to town.
- Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, with 20,000 members.
- Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL, with 20,000 worshippers each weekend.
- Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA, with 17,000 members.
- Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, TN, with 27,000 members. And there are others, I’m sure.
Why do people attend these mega churches instead of smaller churches? Let me put it this way. Why do people go to a Super Walmart over small grocery stores and other smaller stores? BECAUSE SUPER WALMARTS HAVE NEARLY EVERYTHING TO OFFER!
This does not mean, however, that smaller churches don’t have anything to offer and can’t have an effective ministry.
But the sad truth is most churches in America are not growing! Why are many churches in America not growing? BECAUSE PEOPLE DON’T SEE THEIR NEED FOR GOD! As long as things are going well for people they don’t need God, Christ or the church. When people have a decent job, decent income, decent home, etc. they don’t need the Lord.
Only as people experience tragedy in their lives will they turn to God. Things such as: death of a loved one, divorce, prodigal children, financial collapse, health problems, war, etc.
These are some of the things that bring people to their knees, to God and to church. In many foreign countries, such as South America, people are turning to the Lord by the hundreds of thousands and this is because they have nothing. They see the Lord God as their hope for a better life.
Here in America most people already have the so-called “good life.” A house, several cars, TV’s, jobs, plenty of fine food, etc. Why do they need God?
How many churches do we have in Jonesboro? I think I counted 45 in Saturday’s newspaper. But how many people in Jonesboro go to church? I don’t know, but I would venture to say that 80% do not go to church. We’re talking 44,000 people. Even at best, there are probably not more than 15,000 people in Jonesboro who attend church on any given Sunday. That still leaves 40,000 people, not counting the student body of ASU!
THERE ARE MANY UNCHURCHED PEOPLE IN JONESBORO AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES!
ILL.- A copier service man was here recently and he said to me, “I bet you draw people from this residential area, don’t you?” I had to say, “No, we don’t.” And we don’t.
SOMETHING IS WRONG. Why isn’t the Lord’s church growing? True, the apathy and indifference of the American people is one reason. But surely, there are other reasons.
ILL.- Old preacher Vance Havner used to say, “The same church members who yell like Commanche Indians at a ball game on Saturday, sit like wooden Indians in church on Sunday.”
We often get excited about ball games and everything else under the sun, EXCEPT FOR THE CHURCH!
And this is another reason why the church doesn’t grow. We must get excited about the Lord’s church!
ILL.- Rick Warren of the Saddleback church said, “Even though your members may not say this, some of them will subtly fight growth because they fear that when the congregation gets bigger, they won’t know everybody anymore. So they say, ‘I like the way it is; I know everybody. If we get bigger, I’m afraid I’ll just become a number.’”
Brothers and sisters, let us never be guilty of hindering the growth of the Lord’s church. I realize that with growth comes certain problems. But God wants His church to grow and we must comply with His wishes!
The church does not belong to us even though we belong to the church. We must allow Christ to be the head and allow Him to direct us in all things in the church. ARE WE SEEKING TO PLEASE HIM OR US?
PROP.- I want to share some principles of church growth or how to rev up, hop up, tone up, and tune up the church.
1- Change is inevitable
2- Emphasis on evangelism
I. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE
ILL.- During a business meeting at one church, one of the deacons said, “Pastor, I think we need a chandelier for the church.”
“No,” replied another deacon. “I’m against it.” “Why don’t you think we need a chandelier, brother?” asked the Pastor.
The deacon replied, “First, nobody in the church can spell it. Second, nobody in the church can play it. And third, what this church needs above all else is mo’ light.”
Brothers and sisters, churches do have needs, chandeliers or whatever, and some people are always going to be against it for one reason or another.
People are resistant to change but change is inevitable is growth is to happen in the church.
Acts 6:1-7 “In those days when the number of the disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.’”
The early church suddenly had a problem. Some of their widows were being neglected. They weren’t getting any food. The apostles essentially said, “We need to do something about this. We need to make some changes in order to take care of our widows.”
Sometimes changes have to take place in order for growth to come to a church.
ILL.- Someone said it this way: “There can be change without improvement, BUT THERE CAN BE NO IMPROVEMENT WITHOUT CHANGE.”
ILL.- Ben Merold preached for many years at the Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, CA, and they experienced great growth. He said, “Sameness kills a church. Doing the same things, year end and year out, will kill a church.”
Ben Merold was not suggesting that we change the gospel message. He was suggesting, however, that we change how we present it or how we package it.
ILL.- CAN YOU IMAGINE A CHURCH THAT:
- Doesn’t have regular “church worship,” yet it fills a 4,550-seat auditorium twice on Saturday nights and twice on Sunday mornings? That’s over 18,000 people every weekend!
- Can you imagine a church that has no altar, no cross, or other religious trappings and yet stresses “radical discipleship” to Jesus Christ?
- Can you imagine a church that does not use offering envelopes, ask for pledges, or hold fund-raising dinners, and yet surpasses its multi-million dollar budget?
This is completely different from traditional or conventional methods, but it’s what the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL, a suburb 30 miles northwest of Chicago, is doing.
Bill Hybels, their preacher, said, “Our goal is to reach and teach ‘non-churched Harrys and Marys’ who have been turned off by the traditional church and are about to write off Christianity.”
Hybels said, “Seekers can be anonymous here. You don’t have to say anything, sing anything, sign anything or give anything.”
I don’t believe that we need to become a clone of the Willow Creek Church. Some churches have tried that and failed. I am just saying that we will have to make some changes in certain areas in order to experience growth.
However, if a church changes something and it doesn’t work then they need to do something different! It’s common sense! If it works, praise God for it! If it doesn’t, change it.
ILL.- At one time the First Christian Church of Iberia, MO (852 population) was running 120 in attendance in a building that seated 120. We were full! If we were going to continue to grow we needed to make some changes in regard to our building. We had several options:
1- Go to two services
2- Add on to the present building
3- Or build a new building.
We chose option #2 and decided to add on to our present building. We were able to add 10 pews, 5 on each side of the auditorium in order to accommodate 50 more people.
AND IT WORKED! Our attendance went from 120 to as high as 170. We consistently ran in the 150 range. We made a change in regard to our building and it worked!
What about our church? What changes are needed? I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I have a few.
ILL.- I check the demographics for the city of Jonesboro and here is what I discovered. DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS THE LARGEST AGE GROUP IN JONESBORO? The median age is about 32 years. The largest age group is from age 25 to 54 or almost 41% of the population. Surely this must tell us something.
What kinds of changes do we need to make? I think perhaps we need to blend our music more. Sing a blend of contemporary and traditional music. Contemporary music appeals more to young people.
I think there needs to be a greater emphasis on Bible study groups: Sunday School groups and/or any kind of small Bible study groups. In these groups there is greater freedom to discuss the Word of God, make friends, and be supportive of one another.
I’ve heard it said that people are not necessarily looking for a friendly church as much as they are looking for friends. Small groups help to form friendships.
All kinds of changes will be needed as churches grow. We need to be wise enough to see them and spiritual enough to do them when the time comes.
II. EMPHASIS ON EVANGELISM
ILL.- The wife said to her husband, “Who was that at the door, dear?”
The husband said, “It was the new minister. He has been by four times this week.”
Wife asked, “What’s his name?”
Husband said, “I THINK IT’S PESTER SMITH.”
There needs to be some kind of pestering done if we are going to reach people for Christ! And personal evangelism is the kind of pestering I’m talking about. EACH OF US PERSONALLY EVANGELIZING OR PERSONALLY REACHING PEOPLE FOR CHRIST!
In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” In Acts 1:8 Jesus said to His disciples, “You shall be my witnesses.”
In Acts 8:4 we read that the early Christians preached the word wherever they went.
In Acts 8:26-40 we read of Philip witnessing to the Ethiopian Eunuch about Christ and then baptizing him into Christ. This is the kind of personal evangelism that we need to be doing in order to see the church grow! When people come to Christ, they will come to church! And the church will grow!
ILL.- Lee Iacocca used to say in regard to the Chrysler automobile, “If you can find a better car, buy it.” He apparently believed in his product. We too must believe in our product if we are going to sell it (Him) to others!
Unchurched people don’t flock to our churches anymore. Lost people don’t come to revivals and rallies like they once did. This is why we must “personally” evangelize people. Each one, reach one! Each one, teach one! Each one, win one! Each one, baptize one!
ILL.- A man was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he noticed another man in the distance. As he drew closer, he noticed that the man kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he did this.
As the man came closer, he could see that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.
He said to the man, “Good evening, friend, I was wondering what you are doing?” The man replied, “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”
“I understand, but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast? Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?
The local man smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish and as he threw it back into the sea, he said, “MADE A DIFFERENCE TO THAT ONE!”
We must be committed to the work of personal evangelism! We must be committed to making a difference, one person at a time!
CONCLUSION--------------------------------------
ILL.- John Bisagno former Pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church tells the story of going there to interview for the position of pastor many years ago. He said that as he entered the auditorium it was dimly lit, with just a few people huddled together. They were singing some old funeral type song that was depressing.
Later that day he took a walk in downtown Houston and came to a jewelry store. It was a grand opening and there were bright lights and a greeter at the door to welcome people with a smile. Inside there was a celebration going on. There were refreshments and people having a good time talking and laughing with each other. They welcomed him and offered him some punch.
And John Bisagno said that after attending both the church and the jewelry store, if the jewelry store had offered an invitation, he would have joined the jewelry store!
Surely this ought to tell us something about growing a church! If we don’t make a strong effort to win and woo people, and dish out good stuff, we won’t win anybody to Christ and draw them into the church! I vote for church growth!
