Darryl's Blog
The limits of church growth
My latest column at Christian Week:
Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways, argues that people in our culture generally have good perceptions of God, Jesus, and spirituality, but have very negative perceptions of church. Speaking near Toronto in late June, Hirsch argued that churches that are doing the best in places like Australia and Canada follow the contemporary church growth model, but even this approach appeals to only 12-15% of the population. God is using this model, Hirsch said, but it is limited in its effectiveness and will never reach a large proportion of the population.
I have found this recently at the church I pastor. We are promoting a summer camp in the community and have run into a lot of people who like the idea of a kid's camp, but want nothing to do with a church. Even in the States, which is arguably less secular, Gallup reports that confidence in the church is reaching an all-time low. In Canada, one-quarter of the population believes that churches contribute to intolerance and distrust.
Canadian Christian radio host Drew Marshall recently hired two non-Christians to visit churches and report on their experience. They visited one large church with a reputation for appealing to those who are cynical about religion and institutional churches to church. Even in this church, the non-Christian visitors were suspicious of what they saw. "All that razzmatazz kind of unsettles me," one atheist reported. "We live in a culture where distraction is often misdirection - like a magician who gets you to look at his left hand while he's disappearing something with his right. I found myself wondering why a group that liked its preacher so straightforward felt most at home in a medium of flashing lights and sound." "I had a little problem with their arguments involving material goods and our 'media saturated culture' as they make their Sunday services available on your 80 GB video iPod," the other reported. Even a church designed to appeal to cynical non-Christians failed to connect.
That's not even getting into the theological problems with structuring church to appeal to consumers. "When, in Seeker Services, do we pull out the cross?" asks theologian William Wilimon. "When, as we're touting all the benefits of Jesus, do we also say to them, 'By the way, Jesus said that anyone who bought into his message would also suffer and die'?"
Doing our Sunday services better is not going to make us more effective at reaching our population. No matter how appealing our methods, Hirsch estimates that 85% of the population who will not be reached by the contemporary church growth model. Yet this is the model that is being offered by many as the solution for the North American church.
Hirsch argues that our current model of church will not produce different results. "More of the same, only better, will not solve the problems of the church," he said. "If you want to dig a hole over there, it's no use digging this hole deeper."
Nor will the answers be found in leadership principles or business practices. These are not wrong in themselves, but they are not enough, nor are they characteristic of the times and places where the church has spread most effectively. Instead, they are characteristic of the times and places in which the church is in plateau or decline.
It is time to acknowledge the limits of the church growth model for churches in post-Christendom Canada. Acknowledging these limits will prompt us to explore other avenues. Theologians can help us relearn the Gospel and recapture a biblical theology of the church. Sociologists can help us learn from the explosive growth of the church within its first three centuries, and the growth of the church this century in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Missiologists can help us learn how to reach the majority of the population that are not being reached by contemporary methods.
Albert Einstein said, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." The church growth model will not solve the problems of the church in post-Christendom Canada. It's time to look elsewhere.
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"Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways, argues that people in our culture generally have good perceptions of God, Jesus, and spirituality, but have very negative perceptions of church."
I disagree with Hirsch then. I find that the people who populate our culture have unbiblical perceptions of God, Jesus and spirituality. If I'm right then their perception is bad, not good. People are blind and dead in their sins regardless of whether we live in a present post-christendom or implied past christendom culture.
Also, for the people who were dissuaded to send their kids to your summer camp maybe it's misleading to assume that this dissuasion due to church association is all negative and necessarily calls for change. If it's an evangelical summer camp with God's word central, why wouldn't you expect some rejection from nonchristians who are depraved by nature? Why can't God be glorified in their rejection? Why does growth have to be equated with results that are numerically-oriented?
I agree that the church growth movement is missing the mark, because culture has become the starting point for church mission and reform. Seeker-drivenness in the gathered church context is just plain wrong-headed. Why wouldn't we expect atheists to perecieve church cynically?
Been reading frost and Hirsch The Shaping of things to come - which focuses on being church and revealing God where we are rather than dragging folk out of their comfort zone into an alien (church) environment. Makes a lot of sense to me.
I agree with Dave. If people have good perceptions of God, Jesus and spirituality, but negative perceptions of church, why would we want them to come to church?
Darryl, what does that even mean, that people in our culture generally have good perceptions of God, Jesus and spirituality? When you tell people in our culture that Jesus Christ is the only way do they generally accept that truth?
Why do we want people to come to church?
Wow... someone better tell those mega-churches that are effectively proclaiming the gospel, living it, and.... GROWING!
Anon:
"Wow... someone better tell those mega-churches that are effectively proclaiming the gospel, living it, and.... GROWING!"
I don't usually allow anonymous comments - please use your name and e-mail next time.
The church growth model will reach up to 15% of the population that need to be reached, and that's a lot of people.
Dave and George:
Hirsch wasn't arguing that people have accurate perceptions of Jesus. He was talking about a study in which people claim to think positively about Jesus. Of course, I agree with you that they might not really like all that he has to say!
The point is that we may need to think beyond the church growth model. It isn't all bad, but it hasn't been, and won't be, enough.
Seriously Darryl, why do you want people to come to your church? Why do we want people to come to church?
Everyone seems so bent on figuring out what we need to do next, like we just can't figure it out.
We went through a series in our church a while back that was titled "Out with the new and in with the old" Our pastor took us through the book of Acts and indicated to us that "the call on our church is to strive to be a God centered, vertically-focused ministry, where His power is demonstrated. Forget about new human strategy, its about humbling ourselves before God, where we delight in Him increasing and ourselves decreasing."
I think he was right on. Too many Christians and too many churches are so concerned about what people will think about us. Much more concerned about that then they are about what will God think. Man centered, through and through.
The reality is that if we truly do humble ourselves before God, declare to Him that we desperately need His help to reach a lost world, but that it is truly our desire, we want for people to come to receive the truth that can set them free. Only God can make that happen. He does it through His church but how?
I think its through a group of people that are truly sold out for Him. A church where there is a zeal for Him and for His glory. Where we seek to worship Him sincerely in spirit and in truth and when He sees that sincerety, He shows up. It is an awesome thing to be a part of. To se God at work. What's that verse in Chronciles "We don't know what to do but our eyes are set on You." That's it right there. Spirit led. Its God that is going to bring genuine growth. Man made strategy might bring people in but they might never get truly changed, truly saved.
In 3 years at our church we have seen incredible growth as we have sought to glorify God. We seek to make quality disciples and not worry about quantity. When people are fired up about God and see God at work in their midst, that spurs them on to bring their unsaved family and friends. God then uses that and lives are changed. If we concern ourselves with the quality, God takes care of the quantity. Its just so clear. We don't need anything new, we just need to look up and do it all for His glory, its all about Him.
And does anyone seriously think that Drew Marshall experiment had any merit whatsoever? Like we need to be listening to atheists about how to do church? Please.....
George:
"Too many Christians and too many churches are so concerned about what people will think about us." You're absolutely right.
"Forget about new human strategy, it's about humbling ourselves before God..." The power isn't in the strategy, but I know that your group of churches has one. I'm not so sure the problem is with strategy, but that (a) some of us have really bad ones and (b) we tend to put our trust in them more than God.
"And does anyone seriously think that Drew Marshall experiment had any merit whatsoever?" To be accurate, they aren't atheists. Yes, I think there is some merit in the experiment. The experiment challenges the idea that if we make our Sunday services appealing and relevant, that this will appeal to people like Sabrina and Taylor.
One final thing: while it isn't our goal to be culturally accepted, Jesus did say that people would see our good works and glorify God. I would argue that not every criticism of the church by unbelievers is wrong. They are often able to sense if our lives and behaviors are congruent with what we say we believe.
"The power isn't in the strategy, but I know that your group of churches has one."
What is your understanding Darryl, of the strategy that our group of churches has?
Hi George,
All the Harvest churches are characterized by similar approaches, such as contemporary worship, bold (some would say confrontational) preaching, and elder-led church government. Services are structured in similar ways. Pastors are trained according to the Harvest approach before beginning, and share some of the characteristics of James MacDonald (as you would expect). Up until now, Harvest churches have been suburban, although I hear there is one starting in north Toronto, a more urban setting. The newer churches are sometimes formed out of churches that have been in crisis.
In other words, there is a "Harvest approach." Nothing wrong with that, but there is a strategy.
I went to a Harvest Bible Chapel here in Ontario this summer and the Pastor used the exact same lingo as James MacDonald. There were hardly any older people because the music definitely left em out.
I don't intend to pick on Harvest or to evaluate them here. My only point is that many of the churches that say that you don't need a strategy do in fact have a strategy. A strategy isn't necessarily a bad thing; trusting the strategy rather than God is a very bad thing.
I think a strategy is exactly why I left church.
I was sitting in a meeting when the sr Pastor stood up and talked about the vision. We would grow by 500, and have 100 new believers.
I put up my hand and asked, "if we're only getting 100 new believers where did the other 400 come from?" He looked very embarassed and came back with Brampton is a growing town. I didn't pursue it, but Brampton isn't growing more Christians... Hindu's and Muslims but not Christians.
A very large church in Brampton told it's leaders that we were looking to grab people from other churches and add them to ours. That was the beginning of the end.
My question for these mega-churches and churches in general, where is your growth coming from? Church shoppers? New believers? Transfer growth?
I'm not an outsider lobbing stones, I'm an insider lobbing very heavy rocks at church structures that are destructive.
I've read shaping of things to come and those are churches I'd be interested in. I just haven't seen a practical outworking of one yet.
Rob
Hey Darryl, that's actually pretty good. I would definitely take issue with the confrontational bit but you had that in parentheses anyways so that's ok.
It's true that there is a certain tone that seems to be consistent with many of the Harvest preachers. Personally, I love it though. They are all about proclaiming truth in love. They are all very different guys with very different life backgrounds but they all seem to have a similar kind of passion for Jesus Christ. That's the other part I love, their passion for Jesus Christ, its been a real inspiration to me.
Here's the strategy of Harvest, its their mission:
"The focus of the ministry at Harvest Bible Chapel is to honour God by fulfilling the mission the Lord gave His followers to make disciples, baptize the disciples and teach them to follow His ways. Matthew 28:19-20
Our obedience to the Lord's command is revealed in our lives as we worship Christ, walk with Him, and work for Him.
We believe the disciples of Jesus Christ should minister to one another in the local church. It's not about one or a small number of pastors bearing total responsibility to care for the entire congregation. It's about all disciples using their God-given spiritual gifts to provide mutual ministry in the context of the vibrant and strong local church. Ephesians 4:11-12"
I think the strategy of looking to Him for the answers will always work. He will lead to the degree to which we are devoted and surrendered to Him. I am learning that in my own life and am so grateful. God is great
By the way, Darryl, stay tuned for some exciting news regarding Toronto and how the Lord is at work. I can hardly restrain myself, but I will for now.
I don't have a problem with 10-15%. In 300 years of apostolic era church growth, 10% of Rome had been reached.
Yes, Jesus came and died for all of us, but the Bible is pretty clear that not everyone will accept him. If 85-90% of people think that the church is evil, then they ain't going to come no matter what church is like. Making church "not church" is just going to tick those people off when they realize they have been duped.
How do you change people's minds about their negative church mentality? One person at a time. Personal relationships. Personal acceptance of the Great Commission. Personal. It does not matter what your church looks like, feels like, is or is not. What matters is the Body of Christ, one individual at a time, goes out to its community, and meets people one person at a time, forms relationships, and gives them a new picture of what a Christian looks like. I think this is why I don't like emerging church talk. It blames the wrong things for problems. It ain't the church, or the building, or the theology. It's the adversary. That's it.
Shane:
It's not that 15% are being reached; it's that 15% are even within reach of church growth methods. They will never even hear the gospel using the method of attracting people to a Sunday service through making "church" more attractive to them. If this were the only biblical method, then I could live with this, but it's neither the biblical model for evangelism, nor is it effective.
I think you may have misread me. I'm not arguing for making church "not church." I'm in fact arguing that this is what has happened in some circles. We think that if we produce better church services, we will win more people. It works with some but I'm arguing that there's a better way.
I think you highlight what the better way may look like in your last paragraph.
Quality in presentation, whether worship, preaching or whatever is admirable, I agree. I don't see the need to change the way church is "done" on Sundays though, as the main driver for the growth of the Kingdom (perhaps that's a better way of looking at numeric growth - church growth implies an interest in growing giving congregants which has a self-centered connotation) is going to be the people, and their relationships. If anything were to be changed, it seems to me it needs to be how we equip the saints. We need to strengthen our discipleship, and that in the main is not done on Sundays anyway.
I've never read the great commission as a an evangelism commission. It is a discipleship commission. Our first duty is to raise up fully trained followers of Christ, not people who have "accepted Jesus into their heart" or "go to church".
George:
You are in a Harvest congregation? The Oakville one?
None of my business which one, but if you'd answer my first question, I'd appreciate it.
Darryl: I'm trying to find someone to do an interview with Scott Thurmma and David Travia about the reception of their Beyond Megachurch Myths.
(don't pani, I'm not asking you, you are so good at no, you've won:^)
I like a lot of the Hartford research, getting them to respond to an email is impossible, so I chasing people in the US with clout. The story is less their book than the reception it's getting, challenging misperceptions is never easy.