CHURCH GROWTH IS GOD'S WORK

But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number . . . (Acts 5:13-14)

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47)

Do you see the irony in the above passages? The people outside the church family who saw the mighty works of God did not dare to associate with the Christians! That fact wouldn’t please today’s church growth experts. According to them, our church services should avoid making unbelievers feel uncomfortable. Our services should be “seeker-friendly,” they say.

Still, while most unbelievers were afraid to associate with those early Christians, those same Christians were “held . . . in high esteem.” Is that true of today’s church members? When the lives of church members in general are scarcely different from the lives of worldly people (note the divorce rate, for instance) one can hardly esteem them more highly than anyone else.

It is clear from the scriptures cited that it was the manifestation of the power of God in the lives of those early believers that produced the phenomenal growth we read about in the Book of Acts. And whenever that power has been manifested throughout church history, the result was always great church growth. It was true in the Great Awakening in England, Wales, and colonial America. It was true in the revival that swept the United States in the late 1850’s, and it was true in the Welsh Revival of 1904-05.

When those who profess to be followers of Jesus focus their hearts and minds on honoring Him, confessing and forsaking their worldly, sinful ways, God will do the work of church growth. Pastors, especially, need to abandon their marketing methods and preach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

Church growth is God’s work, and He builds the church through new birth:

And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47)