Church Growth Risky Rule #3: Find out what your church is hungry for and feed it to them.
People and churches develop an appetite for what they are accustomed to being fed. A church with a steady diet of feel-good sermonettes in place of solid teaching from Scripture might eventually grow to become a large congregation—but it will be weak and immature.
You could easily conclude that many congregants want the church to be light and hassle-free. No heavy meals or five-course messages. But just because people have developed an appetite for empty calories doesn’t mean their bodies have no need for nutritious meals.
When our two boys were younger, they didn’t understand why my wife, Cathe, and I wouldn’t let them exist on a steady diet of Hostess Twinkies and Ding-Dongs. Nevertheless, we insisted on a balanced diet. Why? Because the boys’ appetites didn’t feed their real, long-term hungers.
There’s a reason Scripture tells pastors to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13).
Whether they always feel it or not, human beings have a deep need to know the meaning of life and the reason for their existence. The answers people need can be found only in God’s Word and in a living relationship with Jesus, “the bread of life” (John 6:35).
Church Growth Risky Rule # 4: Target your church to a particular demographic.
Despite their diversity, the believers of the early church maintained a love and unity so powerful they enjoyed the favor of all (Acts 2:47). Who wouldn’t want to join in on such a love feast? As a result, their numbers exploded and thousands came to Christ.
Nevertheless, one trend in church growth is the attempt to target churches to a particular niche of “consumers.” You might call these designer churches. Every decision has a particular “consumer” in mind.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with trying to find ways to reach out to a specific segment of society to make a connection or with using common interests as a springboard for the Gospel. Yet we need to be cautious about mistaking our circles of comfort for our calling. Philip went to an Ethiopian court official (Acts 8); Peter went to a Roman centurion named Cornelius (Acts 10); Paul went to a Philippian businesswoman (Acts 16). Each one of those contacts was instrumental in helping to spread Christianity around the known world.
A problem with catering only to a certain group of people is that we miss out on the great power and beauty of diversity. Something exciting happens when we walk into a church and see different ages, cultures, tastes and races with one thing in common: Jesus Christ. That is a truly loving church. And that church will grow.
I believe the church in our generation has a unique opportunity to have an impact on the world. God has opened doors, and we can use this opportunity to get the Gospel out and turn the world upside down for Jesus Christ.
As we do, we should remember God’s church is not a business. It may grow larger to some extent when it’s treated like one, but it will probably not be God-centered, nor will it have a good prognosis for living out that dynamic first-century example. Ultimately, God’s church is based on heavenly, “upside-down” principles that nearly always go against the world’s grain.
We simply need to do the Lord’s work the way God has taught us in Scripture, as demonstrated for us in the Book of Acts. Clearly and systematically, we need to present “the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). That’s how God will bring change and growth to His church, and that’s how the church will change the world.
