Church Growth Articles

Big Thinking

Nothing gets a pastor thinking bigger than the swelled attendance of Easter weekend services. Such big thinking is often short-lived due to one fact. Next Sunday is coming. Easter Sunday speaks of potential. The Sunday following Easter is a sermon on reality. Where did all the people go? Why don’t they come back? How can a church leader step up to the plate and swing the bat for Easter glory every weekend? My experience, from working with pastors over the past 25 years, tells me that there are a few big mental/emotional/strategic hurdles that have to be cleared if there is to be successful progress.

Discouragement

I know a number of pastors who religiously take a vacation the week following Easter. That way they can relish the memories of a great Sunday and avoid the emotional let down of the inevitable drop in attendance the next weekend. Avoidance is a clear manifestation of discouragement. It is a state of heart and mind that feels powerless to change the future so it retreats to what feels like a safer, happier place. I have watched discouragement fall, like a heavy weight, off the shoulders of pastors who begin to believe that they really are very much in control of their futures.

Admittedly, there are many areas in the spiritual work of building the church that are beyond our control. We would be equally foolish if we did not admit that there are many things that are completely in our control. We cannot guarantee how many people will show up on a given Sunday. But we can control, how many calls are made, how much effort we put into recruiting others to join us in the Kingdom building enterprise on an ongoing basis and the caliber of the ministry processes that we put in place to touch, win and care for people. It has been my experience that when we focus on the things that we can control the thick, ugly and suffocating spirit of discouragement quickly loses its grip on the soul. This brings us to the next hurdle.

A Can Do Attitude

Discouragement is a faith issue. Satan wants to assassinate the character of our God until He becomes smaller than our circumstances. This state of affairs cannot go uncontested. It is imperative that we become zealously engaged in faith-building activities. There is no substitute for immersing ourselves in the Word of God. This was the secret to Paul’s spiritual tenacity. He instructed, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Rom. 10.17 NASB The principle here goes far beyond just Bible reading. Paul had no Bible, although he certainly wrote a good portion of the scriptures. “Hearing” means listening. It means reflecting and actively applying the Word to our immediate circumstances. It means receiving the personal presence of Christ and not just a written note with gold leaf edges. Christ desires to minister to our discouragement. Paul, a man who knew many discouragements, clearly understood this spiritual reality. He shares the first part of his secret to spiritual resilience with the following testimony. “[He is the] God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction..” 2 Cor. 1.3b-4a

Comfort is necessary and great but it is not the destination. It is not God’s plan for us to endlessly wallow in our sorrow while He pats us on our back and offers us vanilla ice cream. Jesus comforts us in our personal Gethsemane so we can get back on our feet and head out the door for a date with our personal cross. Whoever said Christian leadership would be easy? Comforting (Stage One) is only the beginning of a spiritual transformation process where God wants to renew our strength. Stage Two is where things start to get exciting. Like Paul, we must move beyond the need for juvenile comfort and become dangerous soldiers for Christ. Paul shares the second part of his secret for spiritual resilience. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil. 4.13 Note that Christ not only “comforts” but He “strengthens.” Our spiritual progress is utterly dependent on both of these Christ interventions. Let me pray for you. May Jesus lift you out of the doldrums of discouragement and strengthen you with a “can do” attitude!

Strategic Thinking

We now come to the third hurdle to ministry effectiveness. The question begs to be asked, “Once we are filled with a “can do” attitude, what should we be doing? Where should we pour this Christ generated faith-energy? We must move from the spiritual to the practical. I remain convinced that one of the most dangerous things on planet earth is a Christian mind that is “thinking” under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Demons tremble. Effective action begins with lucid thinking. I believe that pastors spend far too little time reflecting and thinking about how to strategically advance the ministry of the Kingdom through their church.

Many years ago I received one of those simplistic epiphanies that made a huge impact on the future of my ministry. While it may sound silly to you it emboldened me to be a life-long thinker for Christ. Here it is. “God is smarter than the devil.” It struck me that if the devil is smart enough to conspire and bring people into horrific bondage, then God is smart enough to give me creative ideas that would set them free. I have proven this premise to be true over and over again through the years. When it comes to advancing the Kingdom of God we must learn to tap into the creative genius of the Savior. He truly has a lot of great ideas.

A Strategic Plan

It is not enough to be a great thinker for God. We must clear the fourth hurdle. A strategic ministry plan needs to be developed. Thoughts must take on Kingdom life. Any good plan for the advancement of the church must necessarily include the three elements that are foundational to church growth. We call them your leading growth indicators.

Magnetism Factor – Your churches ability to attract visitors
Velcro Factor – Your ability to connect visitors
Gravity Field – Your ability to integrate newcomers

At the risk of sounding blatantly commercial, I must again share my passionate vision for our ministry at ConnectionPower. Our church growth software solutions specifically embed ministry processes that address all three leading growth indicators. Our mission, as seen below, goes far beyond building a great “church management” system.

ConnectionPower’s mission is to empower you, through effective ministry and information connection systems, church management software, to touch, win and keep every possible person who visits or attends your church in such a manner that they will have the greatest opportunity to know Christ and flourish as a meaningful part of your church family.

It is my prayer that we at ConnectionPower can be an encouragement to you and assist you in the mission of effectively reaching your world for Christ.

Marketing Epilogue

ConnectionPower has worked with thousands of churches over the past 25 years to help them attract, connect and integrate them into the life of the local church. Our church software systems are unique in that they have been built on the lessons learned and best practices from this vast experience and knowledge base. Request a demo and see what 21st century church management software can do to help grow your church.