The U.S. population over the past forty years has increased greatly, while the presence of the evangelical church has painfully decreased. One key in this decline is what I refer to as he westernization of Christianity. Instead of following God’s design as written in His word, The Holy Bible, perhaps the majority of Christian believers today form their own God based on personal preferences and comfort.
God, in His word, through His Son, Jesus Christ, gave us a commission, our marching orders, The Great Commission. The Great Commission has in it three mandates for each believer and the church, Share the Good News of God allowing the Holy Spirit to lead people to faith in Christ, baptize the new believers as an illustration of the change made in the person, and continually teach them to grow in Christ throughout the remainder of life.
One missing key element in most churches today is a Great Commission strategy. In Turnaround Journey[i], I shared that most churches know how to plan, but few strategically plan for an effective implementation. A Great Commission strategy includes what Gene Mims wrote about in Kingdom Focused Church[ii], and sometimes referred to as the 1-5-4 principle.
The Great Commission is to be our one (1) driving force. Everything we do should have as its aim, to fulfill the great Commission. The strategy should have as its foundation, the five (5) functions of the church. Prayer is a vital part of all five, not an add on. Included in the strategy each church should include representations of four (4) areas of results.
The four area of results are, 1) Spiritual growth – as you and I individually and as a church grow spiritually, we impact the Kingdom. 2) An outcome of this spiritual growth is ministry expansion, the need for more ministry opportunities to be fulfilled, 3) A further outcome when a church experiences spiritual growth and ministry expansion is missions awareness. As believers grow in Christ their awareness for mission service develops into a passion.
The fourth area of results is an outgrowth bi-product of the first three, numerical growth. As we grow in Christ, expand the ministry based according to God’s direction, and endeavor into missions opportunities at home and abroad, God will add to our numbers, not for our sake, but in expanding His Kingdom.
A question to ask ourselves, “Is my church putting more emphasis on raising our numbers or striving for individual and corporate spiritual growth?” Only the second one will lead into an effective Great Commission strategy. The numbers will be a bi-product whether your church is decreasing in numbers or increasing
[i] Turnaround Journey, George Yates, Sonlight publishing
[ii] The Kingdom Focused Church, Gene Mims, B&H publishing
George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.