How does a Reformed church grow?

[KMK]

I think that Reformed Churches need to starting stealing Evangelicals away from their churches.

I think it would be best to wait on the HS to do that. But I understand your frustration.

Keon, if you were a pastor, how would you handle someone leaving the local PD chruch to come to yours... Would you admonish him to go back to his pastor and try to work things out?

 

[py3ak]

In actual fact, don't Reformed churches grow by having babies?

 

[Herald]

In actual fact, don't Reformed churches grow by having babies?

Ruben - I suppose they do, but what implication does that view of church growth have on evangelism? If we view church growth through a strictly familial model then we have an insular church that may have absolutely no relevance in its community. To be sure this has happened in some Reformed churches. Should a church have relevance in its community? Should the gospel be taken to people who would otherwise not come into a church? I am not advocating Finneyistic revivals, but certainly there must be ways for churches to reach out beyond their four walls.

 

[kvanlaan]

But we are not called to be 'relevant', we are not called to conform ourselves to the world/community around us so that they will come and listen. We are called to preach the gospel. He that has ears will hear.

This is not to say that we should be completely insular; the Great Commission doesn't allow it. BUT why do we need programs, etc. that, while they may influence the world positively (may, not will), our contact with the world will definitely influence us, because we are trying to play their game on their turf to wrap around our words.

A church of 250 members has 250 mission programs built right in. In the grocery stores, in the workplace, as we go about our lives, these are our mission fields. That is rubber-hitting-the-road evangelism.

Churches full of joyful families are relevant and a witness to the world that children are a blessing (the Church) and not a burden (the World). It is Christ's love shining through without getting into 'marketing' the Gospel in a worldly way and without 'going down to Egypt'.

 

[Herald]

This is not to say that we should be completely insular; the Great Commission doesn't allow it. BUT why do we need programs, etc.

Kevin - your opinions are appreciated. It seems to be that by saying "[not] completely insular" that you're not criticizing an insular approach. Don't misunderstand me, I am not advocating a programmed approach to ministry, that is if you don't consider preaching the word of God outside the four walls of a church building as a program. But when I read of people driving up to an hour (one way!) to church I have to scratch my head and wonder what is going on.

I don't believe "sidewalk" or front porch conversions are the norm. Ideally a sinner will sit under the preaching of God's word and be called to "the repentance that leads to life." But I didn't exactly decide to wander into a church because I had nothing better to do. Someone else urged me to come to church. Is a one-on-one invitation a program? How about visiting prisons, nursing homes, or orphanages? Open-air preaching...different...not normative these days, but it is proclaiming the gospel. What I am not advocating are glitzy or dishonest attempts at getting a persons interest only to give them a Christian "mickey." Kevin - perhaps we are on the same page?

 

[kvanlaan]

Bill, to me I see our time with the world (ideally) to be spent in witnessing to them. Thus I am fairly insular but can't take it too far without getting away from Scripture. At work is where the line blurrs the most. To not teach class because I am busy witnessing is to dishonor a contract. But to work with someone all year and not speak of my faith is (to me) sin.

I don't think that these workplace conversations will lead to workplace conversions. I am here to plant a seed and answer questions that seem to invariably pop up. I am not here to drag co-workers off to be baptized (I know that's not what you're advocating!)

I am only here to pass out mustard seeds.

But when I read of people driving up to an hour (one way!) to church I have to scratch my head and wonder what is going on.

Agreed. But think - if you have a pentecostal church here or a reformed church an hour's drive away, I would walk to the church an hour's drive away. I know that's not the case that you're referring to, but where do we draw the line?

Someone else urged me to come to church. Is a one-on-one invitation a program? How about visiting prisons, nursing homes, or orphanages? Open-air preaching...different...not normative these days, but it is proclaiming the gospel. What I am not advocating are glitzy or dishonest attempts at getting a persons interest only to give them a Christian "mickey." Kevin - perhaps we are on the same page?

A one-on-one invitation is, to me, a believer in motion. That's the 1/250th of the mission program that I would endorse. I think we may be on the same page indeed, Bill! Woohoo!

My concern is that 'programs' often begin in a benign and well-meaning enough manner but if they don't work, they are diluted until they appear to be working (by which time there is little Gospel left, in most cases) - people are indeed coming in, but what are they hearing?

But yes, I would agree, there's too often a crossing over to the 'frozen chosen' Matthew 28-less 'gospel'.

 

[blhowes]

Well, having been in several Reformed churches that did not grow (numerically for sure, and the spiritual growth was lacking in many areas as well), I can say one thing that many Reformed churches (Presybterian that is, I have no experience in the Reformed baptist world), big and small, seem to have a problem in the friendliness area. You walk in and you don't feel welcome. If you don't feel like there is the possibility of fellowship, it's unlikely you'll return and stay. This is not a church growth method--just simple common sense and principles of biblical fellowship that would be good for Reformed churches to make more of a habit.

Note: My experience is obviously limited to just that, my experience. This is not to say that all Reformed churches suffer from this. But I have come across many that do.

My experience is much more limited than yours, having only been to one Presbyterian church. The folks there were very welcoming, introducing themselves and chatting after the service. I'm sure my experience is probably the norm and yours is the exception (based on ... umm ... personal anecdotal data).

In the churches, though, where you experienced the less-than-friendly welcome, I wonder if there's any connection between the reformed teachings and the unfriendliness. Do you doubt it too?

 

[shackleton]

In actual fact, don't Reformed churches grow by having babies?

I don't know if you are serious or being fesicious. I have had reformed people tell me this, asking, "How would the church grow if we did not have children?" My first thought was, "Well...Through evangelism."

 

[py3ak]

I am simply making an observation. Reformed families often have many children; and in some cases, at least, that is where most of the numerical growth in a given congregation is coming from. It is certainly not a bad thing; but I would be sad if that were the only sort of growth in a congregation because of a lack of Scriptural effort on the part of that congregation.

 

[KMK]

Churches full of joyful families are relevant and a witness to the world that children are a blessing (the Church) and not a burden (the World). It is Christ's love shining through without getting into 'marketing' the Gospel in a worldly way and without 'going down to Egypt'.

 

[KMK]

It could also be that Reformed churches don't grow because they actually preach about fornication, and God's sovereignty, and male headship, and tithing etc. Most people do not want to hear about those kinds of things and do not return. And the local Purpose Driven church is NOT preaching about these things so these people have an alternative. Why should they go to a reformed church when the PD church down the street never brings up sin?

 

[AV1611]

A Reformed Church grows like this...

to that, brother!

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

Wonderful thread...speaks to my heart...and situation of the church we are planting.

After being in this city (Limassol, Cyprus) for about three years, and studying the church situation (attending one assembly for about a year, then another for two years, and visiting many others), I was so grieved at the "gospel" being taught in the various places, and the condition of many of the believers I knew, and most of all, that the glory of God's grace was not being proclaimed, that I purposed to plant a church here that proclaimed and taught the Reformed gospel.

In November we'll have been open for a year. Besides my wife and I, and my co-elder and his wife (both he and I elderly: 60, 65), we have about six core people committed to us -- two others have recently been deported as their work visas expired. We have a couple who are not saved, to whom we are very close, and regularly get together with.

One of the main problems is that the language of this country is not English, but Greek! And that those who join us are generally either British ex-pats or English-speaking foreign nationals here on temporary work visas. We have an Arabic congregation in the evenings on Sunday, though it seems that may be dwindling.

I am very encouraged reading (in this thread) that the most important thing is to keep our Reformed distinctives unsullied, and to trust the Lord to add to our number. Still and all, we do seek ways to reach out to the lost and hurting in this land. I was reading a while back (in preparation for teaching on the Lord's Prayer) that when we say, "Hallowed by Thy name" we do not want it hallowed only in our own hearts, but in the hearts of many others who walk God's earth -- it being fitting He be glorified so. And so, we Ask Him to help us do this.

When my wife's caregiving is finished here (mother with Alzheimer's, grandmother 97 and slowly failing), I have given her my word we will return to New York. It is very hard for her being here, and being away from the PCA church she loved in NYC. I would like to leave something here that will last after we go.

The gospel is a precious deposit entrusted to us; I would use the "talents" given so as to bear much return to Him who gave them. And this nation is spiritually impoverished, for all its religion. I really want to impact the English-speaking Greek Cypriots (and perhaps they could reach their Greek-only countrymen). My thought is to give public lectures (with the gospel in them) in a public hall. Is my purpose to "grow" the church? No. But to proclaim the glory of God's grace to wretched and lost sinners. Of course those whom the Lord draws to Himself will need a place to grow in grace and the knowledge of Him. There is no other Reformed church in this city; all the rest are Arminian, or Pentecostal, or amorphous evangelical ("non-denoms").

 

[KMK]

This...

(both he and I elderly: 65, 60)

and this...

I really want to impact the English-speaking Greek Cypriots (and perhaps they could reach their Greek-only countrymen). My thought is to give public lectures (with the gospel in them) in a public hall. Is my purpose to "grow" the church? No. But to proclaim the glory of God's grace to wretched and lost sinners.

do not add up, Mr. Rafalsky! May the Lord keep you young!

 

[SEAGOON]

Hi All,

I know that our "Building Old School Churches" blog has already been referenced in this thread (sorry to bring it up again) but there is actually another post there that more directly addresses the subject of how Conservative Reformed Churches grow. Specifically, in the thread entitled "Some Rudimentary Thoughts on Church Planting" I gave the following opinion:

"How Old School Church Plants Grow

For most conservative Reformed churches, transfer growth, which is how most new churches get members, is probably going to account for only about a quarter of your new member growth. This is obviously low compared to the tremendous percentage of new members who will come from transfer growth in a new broadly evangelical church in a Reformed denomination. That is because they offer a familiar and comfortable environment for evangelicals who have moved to the area and for evangelicals already in the community looking for a new church.

Conservative, Old-School churches on the other hand are – to the extent that they don’t resemble the culture or more importantly, the evangelical sub-culture – “alien” and tend to make visiting evangelicals uncomfortable. For instance, I’ve privately estimated that perhaps almost half of the people from a PCA background moving into Fayetteville end up attending one of the larger non-PCA charismatic mega-churches in town because they most closely resemble the kinds of PCA church many young PCA members are familiar with. These mega-churches have a culture and an approach to worship that is already familiar to these PCA members, and therefore they tend to be very comfortable attending them. My suspicions in this area tend to be confirmed by the fact that the most common question I get from a new PCA resident of Fayetteville enquiring about our church is, “tell me about your music ministry” or simply “do you have contemporary worship?” Ironically, I have never had this question from a non-Christian inquiring about our congregation, their most common question is “What do you believe about…?”

So an old-school plant will probably see some transfer growth, but they had better not be depending on it. If they are, they will end up failing.

So where will real growth come from? I am increasingly convinced that conservatives who wish to see church growth need to abandon the policy of merely doing what they can to collect or assimilate the conservative Reformed Christians already in their city. They should also probably abandon hopes of attracting the broad consumer-oriented evangelical to their congregation. I am not saying that these evangelicals will never come to their churches, far from it, they will no doubt see a small amount of growth in that area simply from Christians who have grown hungry for real spiritual meat, and have not found it in their churches. But in most communities, solely relying on these two groups to populate a new congregation is a sure recipe for disaster.

So who should old-school churches be primarily trying to reach, who should be our main focus in the harvest? The unchurched or simply unconverted.

How can we reach these people? Well you should be in the phone book at the very least, and that with an actual box ad stating time, location, contact number, and a brief, substantive, and intelligible description of your church. Try to write something that even a non-Reformed individual can understand. For instance: “Christ Centered” is a better choice than “Christocentric” and to give you a local example – although I sincerely love the people of this plant - “A Distinctively Reformed Ministry” is generally meaningless, even to evangelicals, and indicates that your aim is to gather-in the already Reformed (which as we have mentioned is a common conservative church planting mistake) when in many cities there aren’t enough of them to make up a solid new church. Use common scriptural language in your advertising. And please don’t lie about who you are in an effort to attract people. For instance, one of our local non-Reformed churches describes itself as, “exciting” in its advertising. Now perhaps you really are excited about your church, but does a subjective term like “exciting” really provide an accurate description of your congregation or its aims and ideals?

Additionally don’t require that readers have a theological glossary to hand. For instance, “We Believe the Bible is the Word of God” isn’t a bad thing to admit and people will generally know what you mean. Include a website location – most of our visits have come from our website. Include pictures of people on the website, including the Pastor and his family. People want to see that your church is composed of real human beings, and finding that it is will go a long way towards making people feel comfortable going there. Include directions, statements of faith, etc. and be sure to vary the content between meat and milk.

But what is going to be your primary means of growth? It has been my experience that the primary agency for your growth is going to be word of mouth. Your church will grow when you members actively invite friends, relatives, co-workers, and acquaintances to your church. And then when they visit, make sure they are warmly greeted and sincerely welcomed. HOSPITALITY will make a much greater impression on visitors than even the preaching (and point out the stark difference between the world and the church.) Invite visitors over for lunch after the service. Ask questions about them and their lives. Few things will be as counter-productive to the growth of your church as making your visitors feel ignored and unwelcome. I also need to stress the fact that the pastor cannot be the only person attempting to welcome visitors. Visitors know full well that the majority of their interaction will not be with the pastor but with the members of the congregation, and if they get the impression that they are not going to enjoy that experience very much, then you can be sure they won’t come back. You don’t need to change your service, or dumb anything down or “create a coffee hour for people who hate coffee” to be welcoming. Just be warm experimental Calvinists, preach the Gospel, convict of sin and call men and women to faith in Christ. Let unbelievers see a genuine love for one another within the church and a willingness to be poured out for the sake of others. Strive to become people who are making a positive proclamation of the gospel in word and deed.

Dedicate yourself to maintaining all three marks of the true church, including mark number three. Church discipline, biblically exercised, is actually an asset to church growth. Discipline problems, passed over or coddled kill new churches. To that end, make discipling a primary objective and really make sure new members know what they are doing when they take their vows. Scripture warns us that “a little leaven, leavens the whole lump” and I’ve actually witnessed the process of ungodly leavening going on in small groups. Remember that church plants are fragile and often will not survive the kind of scandals an established church might be able to weather."