"Why Larger Churches Don't Grow "
by Dan Reiland
2nd Baptist in Norman, Virginia has averaged just a little over 3,000 for almost three years. They shot up quickly as a very successful church plant. 1st Baptist launched them with staff, money, and a huge building they renovated in a strip- mall. The building was formally a grocery store with lots of traffic in the area. The other businesses are still successful and pull in large numbers of people during the week. The parking is great and the renovation, now seven years old, has been well taken care of. There has been a little staff turnover, but nothing unusual. The worship services are amazing and the children's ministry is strong. Their small groups are above average. The church has a little coffee shop with a friendly vibe to it. The senior pastor is focused on evangelism. There seems to be no reason for the church to have stopped growing.
So what's the answer? How can these larger churches figure out the code to grow again? It's complicated, but not an unsolvable mystery. Prayer and fasting is required. Diligence is demanded. But these churches can grow again. If your church is anything like Redeemer or 2nd Baptist, your church can grow again as well. It's not easy, but absolutely doable.
The following are five possibilities for you to consider. The list can be longer, but these should be among the first things you have candid conversations about. Jump in, talk honestly, and see what you discover.
• Have you forgotten where you came from?
There was a day when every large church was small. The leaders chased every creature that breathed who showed any interest in attending. They also chased people who showed no interest in attending. Every individual mattered! The leaders were relentless in their pursuit of new people. Repeated phone calls and contacts were made with zeal. There was little money, lean and often inexperienced staff, and faith-filled vision was the best thing you had to offer. Zealots with vision and a promise!
Now, there are people everywhere you look. The church is strong. You have resources. You don't have time to mess with everyone's questions and concerns. You can't. If they leave, its not that you don't care, but there are twenty other people who want your time who are waiting in line. Success mixed with pressure can change your perspective in the wrong direction. You can forget where you came from.
You can't do ministry the same way in a larger church as you do in a smaller church, but your heart and passion must remain the same. Humility, zeal, and a spirit of hospitality are vital to continued growth. There is something about gratitude for people and dependence upon God that is critical for churches to grow. If that begins to slip, take some time to reflect on your humble beginnings. That may free up something deep within you that unlocks a key to your church growing again.
• Has innovation taken a back seat to excellence?
Doing things with a world-class bias for excellence is good, but not if you burn all your energy in doing things right, rather than doing the right things. Excellence is important but not if it stifles innovation. Innovation in some ways is counter-intuitive to excellence. Innovation is messy. It requires change. Innovation doesn't always work right the first time. But innovation is essential. Innovation keeps churches alive, healthy and growing.
I have a deep affection for small group ministry. In fact, I invested a tremendous amount of energy into small group leadership as part of my Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Seminary. At that time, and for many years after, I possessed an unalterable belief that small groups could only be successful if done within a certain reproductive model involving apprentices and a certain time frame. Innovation has allowed me to discover, consider and implement something new. At 12Stone Church we now do small groups in a semester system. We had the previous system down to a near flawless science, but as good as it was, it wasn't keeping up with the needs of the church. Innovation got us to something new and improved. How you do small groups is not the point. Innovation is the point. The thing is that the process was messy, and we still don't have the semester system down to a science. But it's the right new thing for now, we have more people in small groups than ever. I suspect that when it's "perfected" it will be time for innovation! Get the point?
So what in your church is excellent but needs innovation? Is it your worship service, children's ministry, or world mission strategy? How about your efforts toward compassion and justice? Maybe its leadership development or your staffing systems. Always press toward innovation.
• Has the primary leadership become distracted?
Believe it or not leaders in large churches can get bored. Not because there isn't enough to do, but because they've been doing the same thing over and over again for years. This "boredom" leads to the potential to be distracted by other endeavors that appear more exciting and challenging. These "other endeavors" by themselves can be good, but perhaps need to be set aside until the church is growing again.
Distractions can also come in the form of pressure. Finance is a common source of tremendous pressure. If the financial problems of a church become so overwhelming that the key leaders can't help but be consumed by them, it is easy to see how they might lose sight of the vision. That's the primary definition of distraction. The leaders have taken their eyes of the main thing! The scary thing is that the leaders are working so hard in the midst of it all that they often can't see that they have become distracted. Asking the question is a good start and having outside help come in with fresh eyes is beneficial.
Distractions can come from a number of others things such as personal issues, discord in the church, lack of focus, unclear strategy or spiritual attack. How about your church, are you distracted or on target?
• Does the machine override the mission?
At 12Stone Church www.12Stone.com where I'm part of the leadership team, "mission over machine" is one of our mantras. At somewhere between 9,000 and 10,000 in attendance the machine has shown up and it's hungry. (It really kicked in at about 4,000). It demands all our attention and it's never satisfied. The machine always wants more but never gives more. We understand the need to be organized, to have policies, and the complexities of communication at this level. This is no longer a mom and pop deal. Life in a larger church is different. That's part of the price tag of reaching people. But you can never give in to the monster called "machine".
Mission must always come first. Hire for mission, organize for mission, invest financially for mission. Make the machine suffer on occasion. Make sure the machine serves you, not you serve it. For example, always hire for growth (first) over maintenance. The pressure to hire staff to help you with the "stuff" of the church will always be with you, and you will have to make some of those hires. But stay tough. Hire staff that help you reach the mission over staff that help you maintain what you have. You do, however, have to learn to live with the tension. Larger churches without good machinery fall into chaos. The machine is not going away, just keep it tamed. Show it whose boss. Mission first!
• Has a God-dependence been replaced by self-sufficiency?
No leader means to do this, but it happens. It is never a pastor or board member or small group leader's intent to take God's place, but it happens.
It's a strange process but easy to see how it happens. You trust God when there is little, because there is no option. The resources are few and you say: "Help me God because I can't do it without you." And God provides. Then there is more, perhaps even much more. Pressure exists when there is little to work with, but there is far more pressure when the resources are greater. This is true because there is so much more at stake. So you, or I, or anyone in leadership is tempted to take back the reigns of leadership because we can't risk that God will continue to be in control and take care of what is at stake. In your mind you know that is dumb. But in your everyday leadership you are tempted to step in and attempt to make things happen yourself. On paper it's crazy, but it's possible for leaders to get a little crazy.
For me, when I have too much work to do I'm tempted to pray less and work more. It's the same thing. Crazy! So the spirit of God prompts me to stay faithful in my prayer time and remain dependent upon the Father. This pattern always works, self-sufficiency never works.
I encourage you to take these five questions and take a close look at your church. Talk with your team and I trust that you will discover something that helps your church grow again. If your church is growing, these questions can serve as preventative medicine and help keep your momentum going.
