CHURCH GROWTH FACTOIDS:
Take a look at this new Factoid:
Factoid: CHURCH HEALTH STATS
For a church it might be that health for us is an annual growth rate of 5%, with half of that growth coming through evangelism, annual offerings of $1,000 per person (based on average Sunday morning worship attendance), 40% of adults in small-group Bible studies, and average pastoral tenure of at least nine years.
Source: (Anderson, Leith. A Church for the 21st Century. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1992, p. 128.)
Leith Anderson lists five factors which he considers necessary in a definition of church health. These factors are: 1) Attendance Growth; 2) Conversion Growth 3) Financial Commitments; 4) Small Group Participation; 5) Pastoral Tenure.
Let's look at why each of these might be important definitions of chuch health:
1st - Attendance Growth
If you want a healthy church, you must have people. If people are satisfied and happy, and feel like they are getting some spiritual benefit out of your church, they will tell others about it.
Proverbs 14:28 says: "A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined."
2nd - Conversion Growth
I am very glad to see him include this. There is no point in just "shuffling the saints". We want to add to the Kingdom of Heaven by seeing people trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Conversion growth is a critical measurement of success. But the fact is that many churches do not count conversions, because the results would be pretty embarrassing.
3rd - Financial Commitment
Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:21). If people are not willing to give to the cause of Christ at your church, then something is wrong. There are two possible reasons: first, their hearts are not fully devoted to Christ; second, they have some doubts about the spiritual impact of your church. Both would be negative factors on church health. So financial commitment is a good measure of church health.
4th - Small Group Participation
Why is this one here? It is really in the context of small groups that people have a chance to learn and practice the 'one another's' of Scripture. This is where the love in your church can grow and bloom. Small group participation (or some regular group involvement) is a good measure of the health & well-being of your congregation.
5th - Pastoral Tenure
This one might seem surprising, but it makes sense that if the main shepherd can be there a long time, he can provide long-term care for the flock. In a study of the twenty largest churches in America, in all cases except one, that pastor of each church had been there for more than 20 years. The one exception was a pastor who had been there 13 years, which is still a long time. So pastoral tenure affects not only church health, but also church growth.
How does your church rate on these five measurements? Are these helpful or not? Are there others which could assist us in determining church health?
Dr. Bill |
