7 Strategies + Ways to Grow Your Church
7 Strategies + Ways to Grow Your Church
How can you grow your church?
Discover and eliminate the barriers that keep your church from growing. Whether you’re a church planter or pastor of a 30-year-old church, these 7 strategies for church growth can be implemented in your church.
Wait! Doesn’t God Grow a Church?
Only God can give growth, but it’s your job to position your church for that growth.
Think of it as an Acts 6 kind of moment dynamic. As the early church grew, the Apostles became overwhelmed and burdened by the practical demands of ministry. So they restructured, recruiting other leaders to tend to the daily distribution of food to those in need so they could focus on teaching and prayer. And when they did, they kept growing, and everyone was better served. They structured bigger to grow bigger.
That’s what this is about…
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+ The 5 Barriers to Church Growth PDF Guide
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— Things That Kill A Leader’s Growth
— How to Find Great Leaders When You Don’t Think You Have Any
— #1 Barrier to Church Growth
Church Leader Toolkit: https://careynieuwhof.com/the-church-leader-toolkit/
Your work has the mark of excellence we see in Joseph and Daniel. Hugely appreciated.
Thank you, Pastor!
thank you so much sir
Another tip: PICK UP A PHONE WHEN SOMEONE CALLS LOOKING FOR IDEAS AND INFORMATION !!!
DON’T just say to someone "Oh! Go to our website! It has everything you need!"
Personally if you say "go to our website", that simply means your are not really interested and I’m not worth your time.
Honestly, directing somoene to your website, and not offering to discuss with them thier concerns and needs is just lame.
These are super helpful, Carey. Thank you so much!
Thanks for this information. Sharing is caring. I think churches must move from money orientation to more out reach programs
thanks so much
Passionate champions
Mission serve.
Clear path to involvement.
New year.
Next step
Baptise
Join group
Program based church model.
Uncomfortable to disengaged
Preach action not knowledge.
Use active language.
Action changes city.
Celebrate it publickly.
Attendance
Engagement
Celebrate.
Showing up.
Changing your language is really important! A lot of businesses have language that no one else uses, and some churches do the same thing.
I think faith is a calling (Romans 8). And our faith asks alot from us. Time, service, resources, ect. So members want to feel they have a personal stake in what they’re doing for the Church. If members are receiving impressions that their input or work doesn’t matter because they are not leaders, members will become discouraged to engage. It goes back to what Jesus said, "if anyone wishes to be great, they must take the last place."
Thanks for sharing, God bless you!
Connect to groups, serve to volunteer, invite a friend, give to donate….
Become a Christian, join the mission, bring a friend, choose a community, give generously
Awesome!❤
Very helpful. Thanks Carey
The world wide Church of Madison avenue.
Strategies to church growth
1. Challenge people to serve in the church.
2. Involvement: Show them how to serve by mentioning the units to serve and the benefits of serving in such groups
3. Focus all your program around your vision and mission
4. Make it uncomfortable for people to stay in the church without service by keep talking about it. Expect them to serve.
5. Preach action oriented messages not knowledge. Raise doers not hearers.
6. Use active language. Connect, serve invite and give. Join the mission serve, bring a friend, join a community and give generously
7. Reward Progress: celebrate progress publicly. Shot videos, celebrate new members and those who bring someone. Celebrate with your key leaders.
How about just growing true disciples of Jesus Christ? How about doing the will of God as led by the Holy Spirit? Isn’t He the Lord of the harvest?
Most churches in my life have had a small group of overfunctioners (especially when it comes to giving, volunteering, or inviting) and a large group of underfunctioning attenders. I love the idea of communicating an expectation for these actions through language and invitations. This spoke right to something we’re working on. Thank you for this!
Join the Church Jesus founded 2,000 years ago: the Catholic Church
What about Jesus? All 7 steps should be about proclaiming the Gospel. Growing your business is probably not going to grow His Church.
Thank you for this video, Pastor Nieuwhof. I have subscribed as well and thank you for this helpful information. God bless you exceedingly, -Bryan, NC
That was a really helpful list thank you Carey. Your wisdom really came through in this video.
If I have the opportunity I am going to shamelessly rip off some of Carey’s concepts. I liked New Here, and Next Steps (I imagine that really capable people at the Next Steps desk could have a whole host of paths down which they could direct people – into all kinds of service and participation). I liked the series of two word statements as a guide for what commitment to the vision of the church looks like. I hadn’t before stopped to think about the way in which connect groups can become selfish – and that service is a helpful way of maintaining the self-giving nature of things. (Groups can also be a connect and service combination – for example a connect group could hit the streets monthly instead of meeting in a home – or do prison visits – or old people visits – the list is endless). I liked how one of the two word phrases related to INCLUDING. Much is often made of inviting and welcoming people – but in some contexts including is overlooked. The church I grew up in taught me about the power of including – our youth group grew from just over twenty to over three hundred people in the space of a decade and my sense is that two key elements were a key part of this – we were taught that faith was not some hobby – an all of life thing – and also we were instructed to not just invite, and welcome – but also to include. And we did – people would be asked to be part of things that were happening at other times during the week and on the weekend – we weaved people into the group.
One danger to be kept in mind (continuing from what you said Carey about how leaders will get what they celebrate) is we must not communicate in what we say and do that we are happy for people to support OUR vision for church (as distinct from God’s vision for the church) by regularly offering an hour of their week and some of their spare cash. Our message must never deviate from “What are you planning to do with the rest of your life?” As an illustration of how churches do divert from the whole of life message consider how senior pastors will often complain that there are many people in their city who are only around for a couple of years before moving on. But that is to some degree the leaders’ fault if the leaders are allowing their people to believe that work and career comes before church participation in the life of a faithful disciple. Leaders should be saying to people that while they aren’t suggesting that only lifelong commitment to their church is faithfulness – they shouldn’t negotiate on the belief that lifelong commitment to A church – and ahead of career – is faithfulness. We should be moving cities and countries for church just as much or more than we should be moving cities and countries for work.
I haven’t had the opportunity to prove it but I think that one thing that particularly men want BEFORE being asked to be a subpart of the vision – is the opportunity to fully understand the vision/strategy – the ENTIRE mission of the church. When they are given this chance – and they are convinced by its viablity and wisdom they will then become defenders and evangelists of the vision. Related to this leaders need to show absolute respect for their people both in making sure that ALL events at church are really worthwhile use of people’s time – and start and finish on time – the strategy of the church must reveal godly wisdom – and real effort in how the implications of the strategy have been considered IN DETAIL. Leaders must show EXACTLY why there is good reason to believe that the vision will work. People must be converted not just to Christ but to the strategy the church is adopting to serve him – to see his kingdom expand. While God will still expect us to back the less than perfect strategist leader there isn’t any benefit in leaders testing their people in this area! When the people are convinced they will then truly engage – not merely in serving in some part of the total picture – but I suggest just as importantly they will begin to defend and evangelise the vision of the church with others. And really importantly – they will then ASK people to come to church.
The thing that made me aware of this need to share the whole vision was actually a negative example – analysis of failing UK churches. It was pointed out that when women were senior pastors it led to the men getting the message that their unique contribution as men was not welcome. Men would then stop coming. At that point it was only the mother in the family who was trying to get the children to church – with the father at home watching sport – or whatever – pulling in the other direction. Men then ended up causing the whole family to end up not going to church. But when men ARE convinced about the vision – when they can see exactly what place they have in it – they will end up ensuring their entire family is coming to church – and moving towards God.
So then healthy churches have leaders who instead of top downing the vision constantly – as if the vision is only breathing as long as the leader is speaking (when that is the case that’s a sign that something isn’t right) – effectively RELEASE the vision among their people – enabling their people to then lead in defending and fulfilling it. When people are effectively invited into the vision they are no longer bound – with everything they do continuing to be overseen by leadership. The people can act in the name of the church being confident of what is required in doing so.
More of this stuff please!
Serve when? How when the church only has 1 service Sunday morning, no service Sunday Night, and Wednesday bible study every other week. I have talked to several local Pastors about this and the response is some kind of excuse of why they can’t have additional church services. One of the assistant pastors said they have small groups instead of a midweek service. Sorry, small group is not the same as a complete church service. One churches a large church already and the Pastor said they "can’t afford" the expense of an additional service. ( They can afford a sound and multimedia ministry that probably has several hundred thousand dollars of equipment.
GROWTH of tge church is not goal. 1. Preach the true Gospel. 2. Each member has the obligation to build up one another. It is their duty. 3. Leaders should not take upon themselves to make the church grow. They just need to be rooted in the scriptures. Avoid programs. 4. Encourage members to meditate on the scriptures with encouragement to apply the scriptures to their lived.
1)Challenge people to serve, 2)Involvement 3)Focus on mission 4)Disengages 5)Preach action 6)Active Language 7)Reward Progress
thanks for sharing am struggling with church growth. i pray GOD will use this knowledge and multiply us
The main reason Christian churches are failing is that so much of the church is opposed to everything Jesus said: judge not, love your enemy, take care of the outcast, etc. Too much of the church now worships Donald Trump, the embodiment of hate, greed, lust, etc.. much of “Christianity “ is now a MAGA cult that hates the actual teachings of the Christ of the gospels
Thanks Carey! Do you have a pic of your kiosks at your church??
If you kisok by any means pls share pics
It was a wonderful encouragement to serve God purposely. Shalom.
Thank you so much for sharing
Rewarding engagement rather than attendance; this is key! If 75 people came to your restaurant but didn’t order anything, that wouldn’t be means to celebrate. We’d wonder what we did wrong.
You only need one strategy not seven. LIft Jesus Higher and He will draw all men.