The Church is faithful to minister to and disciple its current members, but also prepares itself for those God has yet to send. As the church shows itself faithful with its current souls, as well as shows itself faithfully prepared for more souls, God sends more. Notice the diagram below.
The Church can be faithful with its currents souls as well as be faithful to prepare for more souls, but it cannot grow unless God sends more souls. This just reaffirms the truth that church growth cannot be manufactured by the works of men alone, only God can truly grow the church. However, history and scripture are clear, God does not send souls to bodies of believers who are incapable or unprepared to care for and disciple them. It has been said that God won’t embarrass Himself. More than God’s unwillingness to embarrass Himself is His unwillingness that any should perish, rather He desires that all come to Him. God gave all that He could give in the person of His Son just to create the opportunity for a restored relationship with humanity. It stands to reason then, that once someone is willing to turn to Him, He will not send that person to a group of believers who is unprepared for them, or were incapable or unwilling to care for and nurture them. God’s great love for each member of humanity is immeasurable, so is His desire for them to develop a lasting relationship with Him, and thus His subsequent faithfulness to that relationship.
The great difficulty in maintaining church growth is humanity’s greatest and yet most damning attribute: the ability to choose. Churches typically go through seasons of growth as opposed to steady continual growth. While many factors can be figured into this phenomena, more often than not it can be laid at the feet of humanity’s propensity toward inwardly focused decisions. In short, it is difficult, almost impossible, for a group of believers to maintain an outward focus where the affairs of the church are concerned. In almost every case, personal conveniences, preferences, and fears began to overcome the individual courage, humility, and inconveniences often necessary to maintain the group’s dedication to the discipleship of, and preparation for, souls.
What I have outlined above is my theological position on church growth. Throughout these lessons we will cover many of the measurable factors and attributes of church growth, however all that we cover will be in regards to this basic belief and understanding of the inter-relationship between God’s Sovereignty and man’s freewill. To name a few, we will study church structures, the flow of information, obstacles & strategies of church growth, as well as explore the effects of group dynamics & rural culture on church growth: all as they specifically apply to us here at Hitts Chapel. However, within the context of church growth, none of these topics will ever carry more weight than the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God and the obedience of His people to it.
