Pastor Mike, the founding pastor of 25 year old Solid Rock church was perplexed that the church couldn’t seem to break the 500 mark. I’ve witnessed this query with churches wanting to break the 45 mark, 60, 100, and other numbers. For Pastor Mike, we put together a team and worked through the Reaching the Summit Process. The first order in the process is always, get the church in a consistent deeper, than their normal, praying mode.
After this, the team looked at where they were and through some tough questions and rigorous debate, identified a couple of areas that needed adjustment. Mindsets would need to change and traditions given some serious attention. Pastor Mike knew some of this and wanted someone from the outside to come in and ask the tough questions. Some of the questions he himself would have to struggle with.
As we prayerfully worked through identifying issues and possibilities the first five months the team entrusted the church with greater prayer responsibilities. There were no definitive, “we’ve got to do this or that…” There were some minor adjustments made including one new seating plan change for the worship service.
At the next monthly team meeting, the pastor came in excitedly and asked, “Did anyone notice that we have been over 500 the last two weeks in a row?” (It even startled him.) Now, mind you he was not boasting in the numbers. Quite the opposite, he was bragging on God. The church had tried repeatedly in man’s ways to reach a certain number, but it was not until they through church-wide prayer turned the matter over to God asking to break them to be the church God wanted, did God give the increase.
I have witnessed it in churches of various sizes, cultures, and economical status, God’s ways are much higher than any of our ways. It is easy to drift while thinking we are doing it God’s way.
In his book, The Antioch Effect, my friend, Dr. Ken Hemphill wrote, “Church growth is not something we do to the church; rather it is the by-product of a proper relationship with Christ…the growth is not an end in and of itself, it is the result of a super-natural empowering.”
Last week’s post spoke to that same topic; the numerical growth of any evangelical church is always the by-product of a right relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit leading members and the total church in spiritual maturation, ministry expansion, & missions awareness.
When Solid Rock entered into a new deeper commitment to church-wide prayer, God began to put the pieces together and gave the increase without any fanfare or special events or programs – simply hearts asking to be broken and renewed. Each church is different and God works differently in each church, but you too can see signs of God’s design. Perhaps you simply need a small adjustment in your spiritual walk. Small adjustments bring super-natural results.
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.