The following questions provide clues for identifying the problem(s) for which non-growth is often a symptom:

1. Is the problem with the organization or the organism? Churches are both structural and spiritual, and a growth-restricting problem can sprout in either area. The solution, of course, must be in the same area as the problem.

2. Is non-growth due to a "growth-restricting obstacle" or a "non-growth excuse"? One is an actual barrier that keeps a church from growing. The other is a rationalization of failure to grow, often used as justification for non-growth. I have seen many churches die because "the community was resistant," but then a different church moves into the same facility and experiences significant growth.

3. Is the problem "visitor volume" or "visitor retention"? Churches need enough people who: a) visit (volume), and b) stay (retention). For visitor volume, the target rate should be 5 percent: five of every one hundred people in church should be first-, second-, ...

You have reached the end of this Article Preview

To continue reading, subscribe to Christianity Today magazine. Subscribers have full digital access to CT Pastors articles.

Log InSubscribe

Already a CT subscriber? Log in for full digital access.