Growing Churches God’s Way (#113 of 365+)

“God has… given greater honor to the parts [of the body] that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26)


In the early years of my faith I attended a small Southern Baptist church every time the doors were open. It had about thirty members, and most of them were over fifty years old. When I volunteered as the youth leader one summer our class grew to twenty teens. The kids were either from the neighborhood, or they were relatives or friends of other kids who had been invited to church. They would attend youth bible studies and events, but it was difficult to persuade many of them to attend our worship services because of our church music. We sang from an old hymnbook and used the organ whenever we could find someone to play it.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with old hymns or organs. But our church wasn’t what we would call in today’s terms a “seeker-friendly” church. The members weren’t willing to consider a new or fresh approach to anything they were currently doing. As I matured in my faith, I began to see flaws in the elders’ thinking that I had never noticed before. For instance, after one Wednesday night service we had a brief business meeting to discuss the financials. I overheard an older gentleman say to the person next to him how he felt very comfortable with the present size of our membership. He didn’t want it to grow because it would affect that “down-home” feel. I was appalled. But what’s even worse is what I’m going to describe next.

On one Sunday we had scheduled a guest speaker for a special “revival” service, and everyone tried their best to invite as many people as they could. One of the older women had invited a young man who lived in her neighborhood. She warned us in advance of his appearance; he had long hair and looked like a hoodlum—but she insisted he was polite and didn’t have a criminal record. She was certain he didn’t know the Lord because he said he had never set foot in a church before and doubted if he ever would. She still prayed God would somehow, someway, bring him to church that Sunday. And he did! But when that young man arrived in our parking lot and approached the door, I watched in horror as another older woman locked the door and waited until he left to re-open it. I doubt that young man ever gave church another chance.

She said we didn’t need “his kind” at our church. I was nineteen years old at the time. That experience, along with a few others, left a lasting impression on me. I soon left and joined a big church with a building program and a teen & college summer choir tour. For many years I was convinced a small church was always a dead church.

The battle of the mega-churches is going on today and it seems even an annual budget in the millions of dollars can’t do what the leading of the Holy Spirit can do. As Joni said in today’s devotional, “Society idolizes the power and prestige of a winner. But God’s different. He loves losers. His divine favor rests upon people who die to self, defer to others, serve in humility, and sacrifice comfort—all for the glory of God. This rubs against human nature. We hate losing”… God isn’t looking for the “cream of the crop” when picking people to be on his “gospel team”. Like the master in the Parable of the Great Banquet, God says, “Go out… into the streets and alleys… and [find the weak]… make them come in, so that my house will be full” (Luke 14).

Lord, help me to see people as you do, through your eyes of love. Bless and lead our church service today. May newcomers find their way there, feel welcome, and hear the gospel. In Jesus' name. Amen.