The road to revival

In 100 AD there were 25,000 Christians in the world. By 310, there were 20 million. Christianity became the dominant religion of Rome even though they were largely an underground without political power or centralized structure. Somehow they managed to turn a hostile government to their favor.

Fast forward to the 20^th Century. Mao Zedong wants to purge China of all Western influence, including Christianity. He deported foreign missionaries and ministers, took ceased all church property, killed all senior leaders and outlawed church gatherings. At this time the church had been well-established in China with two million members. When contact with the Western world was re-established in the 80's the Chinese church had grown to 60 million. At the dawn of the 21^st Century membership grew to 80 million.

Like the early church, they lacked professional clergy, formal training and centralized organization. Also, like the early church, they operated underground moving person to person. Neither movement tried to enact legislation that required nonbelievers to behave like Christians. Neither movement tried to gain political power

In his book, “The Forgotten Ways,” Alan Hirsh observes that revivals begin on the fringes of society among the poor and marginalized. It seldom (if at all) starts at the center. In fact, when the institutional church begins its inevitable decline, there is usually a vibrant grass-roots movement forming.

The established church in America wants to reach the middle class, family values types; the “soccer moms.” Most churches are competing for this segment. The result is that only 18% of the US population attend church. What about the other 82%? What about the 40% of San Antonians who claim no religious belief; the “nones?”

The contemporary church growth movement sought to make it easy for people to go to church. Recommendations included sticking to your own people group, using music that appeals to your demographic, parking lot attendants, and excellent children & youth programs. No cross bearing nor sacrifice. Forty years later, church attendance decline continues.

George Barna predicts, in “Revolution,” that the church will lose 50% of its attendance in the first quarter of the 21^st Century. COVID-19 may have accelerated and increased the decline. In 2008, The Christian Century (5/6/08) reported that 3700 churches close every year. These tend to be inner city and rural churches but also include failed new church starts.

Hirsh recommends reseeding an established church with new, grass-roots folks who will respect the needs of the old guard. Perhaps several new church starts and/or parachurch groups can share space paying rent to help with the utilities and maintenance.

Frank Tillapaugh, in “Unleashing the Church,” states that we need a marriage between the established church and the parachurch. I would replace the term “parachurch” with any organization that is doing Kingdom work, even those that don't identify as faith-based.

We need to get back to the methodology that helped the early church, the 20^th Century Chinese church, and many others to become disciple making machines. There is no short cut; no easy way. There is only people who know going to people who need to know Jesus.

Meeting 4 needs are central to disciple making

Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4) teaches four important needs that are met during the disciple making process.*

First, she needed SUSTENANCE. She came to the well seeking water. A person's felt-needs are a powerful attracting force. The Samaritan woman went to where the water was. Hungry people come to food pantries. Other felt-needs are social, educational, health, status, etc. A church can attract people by meeting some of these needs or, like Jesus, place themselves where these needs are being met; or both.

Second, she a needed SUPPORT. She needed a friend. She came to the well at noon to draw water, avoiding the judgmental stares of the town women. Imagine sitting alone in the school cafeteria at lunch or hiding in the bathroom to avoid the other children. Social isolation is a cruel burden.

Jesus reached out to the Samaritan woman across barriers of class, religion and ethnicity. We can build relationships with the people whose needs are being met by social ministry programs. They need kindness and friendship. Jesus identified closely with people in need. He said when we minister to them we minister to him.

Third, she needed SALVATION. Jesus turned the conversation to spiritual things by speaking about living water. We need to verbally tell people about Jesus. That is the most important part of the disciple making process. We all have physical and social needs but our need for salvation is paramount. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Fourth, she needed SIGNIFICANCE. Having found her Savior, she left her jar of water behind and returned to the town to tell others about Jesus. She had a new purpose. She started out seeking to meet a physical need and left having had a greater need fulfilled.

Nothing can bring more significance to our lives than serving our Lord. We are called to bring relief to the suffering, relationships to the lonely, redemption to the lost and inviting to them to join in the work of the gospel.

*Based on a sermon by Craig Christina, Associate Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT)

Be Like Andrew

Andrew was a quiet guy. We don’t read much about him in the Bible. He was at all of the gatherings of the 12 but rarely spoke. The few times Andrew is mentioned in the Bible it's because he brought people to Jesus.

Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist. When he heard John declare that Jesus was “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” he brought his brother, Peter, to meet Jesus. Later, Peter would preach a sermon that led 3000 to faith in Jesus.

Andrew brought a boy to Jesus who was willing to share his lunch. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, prayed, and fed 5000. (John 6:5-13) He, also, brought some Greeks to Jesus. (John 12:20-23)

Like Andrew, you can have a powerful impact just by inviting people. A 2019 Lifeway study in showed that a little over half of church attenders had not shared their faith in the last six months but the same number had invited someone to church in the same time frame. The fact that most people will go to a church for the first time because they were invited by someone they know, makes this very encouraging.

There are several factors that will improve the receptiveness of your invitation:

Relationships

Andrew went to his brother first. People close to you respect your opinion. They are your friends because you have things in common. You will know when to invite and to what events. Folks are more likely to come to a special event than to an average Sunday service.

On the other hand, a person may be going through a tough time and have a heart ready for God. People are more ready for Jesus than we think.

Volunteering

Andrew found a boy who was willing to serve. There are people who are not yet ready for worship or traditional Bible study might enjoy serving in a food pantry or work day. A woman went to serve in New Orleans with a group from her company, following Hurricane Katrina. She enjoyed the experience so much that she went back with a friend's church group the following year. She was amazed by the contrast between the two experiences. She witnessed Christian faith in action.

Cultural Curiosity

Andrew learned of some Greeks who wanted to learn more about Jesus. International students and immigrants are curious about all things American. They will be curious about American forms of Christianity. Christmas and Easter are holidays that are both Christian and American and a great opportunity to invite folks to a church service that explains their origins.

Bible discussion or discovery classes may be attractive to Americans who grew up in non Christian homes.

Food, Fun and Fellowship

People who have objections about church still like to eat. Invite them to a non-churchy event involving food. Invite other Christians, as well, to build a comfortable familiarity. Discomfort with the unknown is a barrier to the gospel that can be overcome with genuine friendship.

View a video of “Spiritually Successful Christians Share Their Faith”

This is part of the sermon series “How To Be Spiritually Successful.” It is based on the Masterlife study “The Disciple's Cross.”

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Make Disciples!

Make disciples are the two most important words in the Great Commission. Make Disciples will be our spiritual battle cry, our focus, our hashtag. We will make decisions at Baptist Temple by asking, “How will this help us make disciples?”

We have been successful at creating a model that made our facilities sustainable and relevant to our community. We have been successful in building a hub of services to meet the physical and spiritual needs of hundreds of people each day. We now have to sharpen our focus to Make Disciples.

The spiritual formation of our members is the place to start. We will strengthen Sunday School through evaluating our current program, making adjustments, recruiting new teachers and providing training. We will provide discipleship and leadership training at all levels.

 Our 18 newly commissioned Stephen Ministers will Make Disciples by helping both members and people outside the church who are going through difficult times. Helping them to draw on spiritual resources to gain strength.

Our goal is to double our worship attendance in the next two years. We will sharply focus our resources to this end.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”   Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

Three keys to successful change

It is common knowledge that churches are averse to change but, then again, who isn't. The marketplace, education, military and government are all slow to embrace change. On the other hand, change (or adaptation) is essential to both organizational and individual survival. Some organizations are clearly better than others at managing change. In fact, I once wrote about how Baptists' ability to change enabled the denomination to grow and thrive for over 400 years.

It is sudden change that is usually viewed negatively. A slamming on of breaks, a quick acceleration, or a sharp turn sends people and objects forcefully in the opposite direction. Who likes that?

Churches that manage change successfully do so in small steps. In his book, Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, Peter Sims demonstrates how small changes allow organizations to adapt quickly and experience growth. They allow you to accumulate small wins while minimizing losses. Small wins add up without destroying the structures that are necessary for a church's survival. Small changes allow for course corrections as you navigate through troubled waters.

Churches that manage change successfully plan ahead. We must be like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what to do (1 Chronicles 12:32). Seek to understand what is driving the need for change. Determine what the influencers in your church are thinking. Once the details are worked out, let the influencers tell the story. Communicate the upcoming change through multiple media, pointing out the benefits to the church and its members. Afterward, tell stories of how the change had a positive impact on the church. Meanwhile, plan the next move.

Churches that manage change successfully understand that not everyone will be on board. There will be a small group who will immediately love the idea. They will be followed by the early adopters who were recruited by the first group. As momentum builds, a good idea will spread and the majority will embrace the change. There will always be a small number of laggards. Some will never accept the change and might leave but most of them will stay.

How do you adapt to the changes in your life?

The Thriving Church

I recently heard a speaker say something about churches that were thriving but not growing. The phrase caught my attention. Growing churches are the ones that usually get attention. Fast growing churches get the most attention. It is generally assumed that if a church is thriving it is growing numerically but that's not always true.

One piece of advise I received early in my ministry was that, if I wanted a growing church, I needed to be in a growing community. That makes sense but God wants churches everywhere even in communities that are not growing.

Those words, “thriving but not growing,” made me think of churches that are numerically small but still have vital ministries. One is Vieux Carre Baptist Church in New Orleans' French Quarter. Their geography puts them in an are of need but not growth. They converted some Sunday School space into dorms and installed showers. They serve the homeless community and provide lodging for mission teams visiting N.O. They have a vital ministry and are thriving but not growing.

Many downtown churches provide a vital ministry to their communities. They no longer have the large numbers and sizable contributions as they did in their hey day but they are still a relevant symbol of God's love and grace. They minister to their aging congregations, minister mercy to their neighbors and share their now excess space with others who benefit the community. First Baptist Church of Bennington,Vermont, is a church that is thriving but not growing. They rent space to non-profits and find ways to minister to their clients. For example, they offer cooking classes to the teen moms that come to one program that rents space.

Baptist Temple is experiencing some numerical growth but more important we are thriving. We have hundreds of people in our building almost every day of the week (Saturdays are still a little slow). The hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, and the lost are saved. Our church has become, once again an important part of our community.

Gideon's reduced force of 300 were able to defeat the larger Midianite Army and a young David was able to defeat the giant Goliath. “'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty” Zechariah 4:6.

Not every plateaued church is dying and not every fast-growing church is living.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

Growing Pains 3: Thriving on the Unexpected

Some unexpected things are good. I was taught as a Navy Chaplain to have purchase requisitions ready in case there is money available at the end of the budget year. The department that’s prepared will profit from the windfall.


Thinking quickly and building on past experience can lead to opportunities for mission teams, grants, and new volunteers. I have acquired four church buildings over the years to start new churches. Three had been turned over to the local association when the church disbanded after deciding it could not reach the neighborhood.

These buildings were in need of repair and remodeling but were rent-free. Using grants, donated materials and volunteer labor, they were brought up to acceptable standards. One church building was refurbished because a mission team’s construction project fell through. In a few hours I was able to arrange for daily lunches and snagged the team.

Urban ministry is filled with unexpected opportunities. There are two things that an urban minister must do in order to become aware of opportunities.

1. Network: Show up at ministerial meetings and listen. Get to know people and let them get to know you. Go to meetings in your denomination and multi-denominational ones as well. You will learn about grants, free furniture, available buildings and more. No one is going to come chasing after you with an opportunity.

2. Say YES: There is power in saying yes. This includes yes to helping others and yes when help is offered. When a seminary student asked if they could do an internship at my church, I said yes and it led to many more students over the years. When a denominational worker asked if I could use a group of students whose plans changed at the last minute, I said yes and some much-needed work was accomplished. I know pastors who have said no to both. The long-term result of saying yes is that people will call you first when an opportunity arises and you will get a can-do reputation.

There are three lists you can create that will allow you to say yes to opportunities more frequently.

1. How would you spend $10,000 if someone offered it to you?

2. How would you use a mission team of 30 youth if you had a week’s notice? (or no notice?)

3. How would you use a church member who called during the week and said they’d like to work at the church all today?

Growing Pains 2: Surviving the Unexpected

Another factor that brings growing pains is dealing with the unexpected. New people and new ministries are exciting and worth the adjustments. However, unexpected breakdowns and accidents can elevate the stress level exponentially.

During a busy summer of mission teams and day camp, a water pipe came apart in the kitchen ceiling. The ceiling came apart, everyone was getting wet and there was momentary panic. I found the water cutoff (under a fire ant mound) and the panic subsided. This was an event that was unexpected and unbudgeted. The mission team repaired the pipe and the ceiling paying for all costs.

These things happen. That pipe would have come apart anyway. The timing, while seemingly unfortunate, turned out to be good. Otherwise the church would have struggled to find money to pay for the repairs.

An urban church leader must be unflappable and help others to cope when surprises strike. Planning ahead is always best but some things cannot be anticipated. Back up plans and hip pocket sermons are good to have around when a guest speaker fails to show up or a program runs embarrassingly short.

When heat broke down in the winter (in Chicago) we kept our coats on and worshipped anyway. When a dog came in the open church door during worship, I kept on preaching. (The dog left.) When my music leader quit a month before the launch of a new church start, we sang acapella until two church members learned to play the guitar.

When something breaks raise money to fix it. When a leader leaves, train new leaders. Always keep the mission in mind and your eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). All seem lost in the aftermath of the Crucifixion but victory was 3 days away.

"As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." John 9:4

Growing Pains

A growing church must constantly adjust. Classroom space must be found, space usage has to scheduled, increased activities wear on the facilities and staff, and more money must be raised. The potential for conflict follows closely on the heels of growth.

This has been a crazy month at Baptist Temple. The office had to be rearranged to accommodate a growing paid and volunteer staff. We have 90 short-term missionaries staying in the church that have created some scheduling and parking challenges. Previously unused space is being cleaned up and painted. Workers are being trained for new Wednesday night mission programs for children and youth.

The results are ministry in multiple directions and numerical growth. Both can become an inconvenience if a church allows itself to become inwardly focused. The temptation can be to cancel ministries and go back to sleep mode. This is why so many churches close every year.

Churches that take missional action may suffer through growing pains but they show steady growth in numbers and budget with a ministry reach that extends beyond their walls. More importantly, missional action is what makes the difference between a church and a private club with a religious theme.

Growing pains at Baptist Temple are signs of renewal and faithfulness to the gospel.

The number one way to grow your church

Most people report that they came to faith because of the influence of a friend or relative. Rarely do people report that they became Christians because of a direct mailing or an advertisement. Moreover, several surveys have indicated that many unchurched individuals might go to church if they were invited by someone they know and respect.

Clearly the way to grow your church is to get regulular atendees to invite people they know. This happens frequently but not often enough. One way to increase the number of people who are inviting others to church is a campaign that motivates your members and coaches them through the steps of effectively reaching out to others.

One excellent program that is simple and can be done at no cost is called The 4XFour Challenge. Imagine if everyone of your regular attendees invited four unchurched people in the course of a year. Check out the link for details.

“Then the master told his servant,
'Go out to the roads and country lanes
and make them come in,
so that my house will be full.'”
Luke 14:23

Cast your nets on the other side

Peter and some other disciples were fishing one day but were having no luck. Jesus comes to them and says, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some (John 21:6a).”

I don’t know what Peter thought but I would suppose I would be thinking things like:
“I’ve been fishing here for years. I know what to do.
“I’ve already tried that side. It didn’t work.”
“I’ve always thrown my net on the left side of the boat.”

The disciples may have been skeptical but they were obedient and cast the net as Jesus said. The result was phenomenal: “they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish (John 21:6b).”

Ministry is like that. When we are obedient to Jesus’ teachings the results are greater than we can imagine. Sometimes that means doing something different and sometimes it means doing it again. There was a church in an association up north that had a very large building in a downtown area. The neighborhood was growing but the church was declining. They concluded that the people in this urban area could not be reached so they moved to the edge of town where there was new growth.

They sold the building to another church. That church exploded with growth. They partnered with other groups to develop ministries that impacted the neighborhood. They preached the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. They worshiped as if they were glad to be alive in Christ and hope filled that building for the first time in many years.

People from the community joined the church because they got to know the people. People from the surrounding suburbs joined the church because they wanted to be a part of God’s work in transforming lives. People from other churches volunteered in the various ministries and contributed money to the work. They outgrew the large building and went to multiple services while purchasing other properties adjacent to the church. Their catch was bigger than their net!

The church that originally occupied the building struggled to connect with the community where they had relocated. They were still casting the net where they wanted. We need to drop the net on the side of the boat that Jesus tells us to.

*******************

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

- Luke 5:4-11 (NIV)

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Missional Churches Demonstrate a Bias to Action

Coaches and business leaders have noticed that high achievers have a bias to action. They can't wait to get started and want to take action now.

People who have a record of successful achievement in sports, business or any other field display a can-do attitude. Their motto is, “Strike while the iron is hot!” While some people have a need to plan out all the details before acting, high achievers tend to jump into projects, making adjustments along the way.

This same attitude can transfer into ministry. When encountering a man born blind (John 9), Jesus’ disciples wanted to discuss the circumstances of the situation, Jesus demonstrated a bias to action by healing the man. Jesus taught to act whenever confronted by an opportunity, whether it is feeding a crowd or healing one person.

Peter also demonstrated this bias to action. When confronted by a crowd that gathered on the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached the gospel (Acts 2). When a lame beggar asked for money, Peter healed him (Acts 3).

A missional church should be able to take quick action when a ministry opportunity presents itself. If you need to wait for the next business or board meeting, the opportunity will disappear. If you are afraid about what a few of the more critical members will think, little will ever get done.

When church leaders see a ministry opportunity and ask, “What would Jesus Do?” instead of what will Mr. X think, things happen. In one church a family called and asked if the church had a nursery. Although the nursery had not been used for some time, the pastor said yes and made sure it was cleaned and staffed that Sunday. That was the beginning of a growing nursery ministry.

People in a missional church
- see a need and fill it
- anticipate a problem and head it off
- make adjustments to improve ministries
- are not afraid of failure

When great is the enemy of success

I was at a church planting conference recently where I was placed in a team of peers and given a task to perform. It was a practical exercise in teamwork and leadership. At one point, when we were struggling to move from planning to action, someone said, “Good is the enemy of great.” He was quoting the first sentence of Jim Collins' book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't. Many pastors, including me, have read this book.

Earlier that day we had been told that 80% of new church starts fail. With that fact in mind I had an epiphany, “Great is the enemy of success.”

Willow Creek and Saddleback stand as models for the “great” church. Many pastors and church starters want to get their churches to that level. In fact, megachurches and their pastors have much in common with great companies. However, megachurches are rare and pastors and church starters who are merely "good" become disappointed and give up.

Typically, a talented church planting team is placed in an area into which large numbers of young families are moving. In one particular case, it was expected that a new church start would attract close to 300 people on the launch date and double in three years, launching other church starts at that point. The church failed before the five-year mark even though they had $500,000 in outside funding, three full-time staff members (and their wives), and every modern gadget found in church today.

On the other hand, other new church starts in the same area survived the five-year mark. The difference (according to a study by the Center for Missional Research) might be expectations. Church starters who expect to be leading a large church within a certain amount of time tend to fail at a much higher rate than those who were committed to serve in a given location regardless of size or financing. Those who are satisfied with "good" succeed at a higher rate than those who expected "great."

Great is also the enemy of success when we over plan and fail to act. “Analysis Paralysis” is how one colleague liked to put it. Successful leaders have a bias toward action: “Ready, fire, aim.”

Some planning is needed but every question cannot be answered in advance. Plan what you want to do, and then take action. Be flexible enough to make adjustments as you go. Missional churches are able to take advantage of ministry opportunities as they arise and that requires a sense of urgency. Urgency that leads to action generates excitement in the congregation and the community and creates momentum.

“As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4 (NIV)

Turnover seems to be the norm for growing churches

Pastors are often dismayed and troubled when families to whom they have faithfully ministered leave the church. Some move away for work-related reasons, some leave in a huff over an offense (real or imagined) and a few confess that they need something different than what the current church has to offer. There’s the practical loss of a worker and financial contributor and the emotional loss of a member of your spiritual family followed by the nagging fear that others will follow and the church is about to crumble.

I have noticed however that growing churches seem to have a high turnover of members. After a three year absence from one church I served, I noticed that the church had doubled in size but many of the faces I remembered were gone. When I returned a year later the church continued to grow but more old timers were gone.

On the other hand I have noticed that stagnant and declining churches have a more stable membership. Few people come and go.

Gary McIntosh (One Size Doesnt Fit All) identifies three signs that a church is stagnated.
1. 50% or more of the congregation has been in the church for more than 12 years
2. 33% or more of the governing board are related to main families
3. 10% or less of members have joined in the last year

Every time my current church has broken through a growth barrier we have lost some key families. At first I mourned but then I realized that they preferred the church to be smaller. I have learned to let them go with a blessing and help them find another small church they can help grow.

Some people join a church because of the vision of what it can become; most join because they like what they are presently experiencing. As the church grows some will leave because the church has changed and newcomers will join because they like what they are presently experiencing.

People who like things the way they were and decide to stick around will fight hard to maintain control and bring the church back to its lower numbers. Often these individuals will become disgruntled and complain about many things without realizing that the root of their problem is that they don't want the church to grow. If they persist newcomers will leave and the church will stagnate.

While I’m not sure of the ecclesiological soundness of it, I am sure that this is the current reality in the American church. It helps me to view the church as being greater than my own local church. I am grateful for those individuals who have served alongside me and are now serving elsewhere. I am open to working with them again.

I recommend Gary McIntosh’s, One Size Doesnt Fit All, as a conversation starter for churches that are stagnated and want to know why. It is a good book for leaders to read together. The book is short and easy to read, describing the common characteristics of churches of similar size and what it takes to get to the next level.