Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/79

Contributor - Will Kroon

Title - Thinking For Church Growth

Topic - The Church in the World

Church Growth does not just happen although we may not always be able to explain why it happens or why it does not happen. There are many factors that help or hinder a congregation in growth and these factors are explained by many people in many ways.

Perhaps some of you don't Fare a great deal about the discussions about Church Growth. You may prefer to be left alone. However, this cannot be done. The mission of the Church affects you. You are part of it. If you don't help the mission of the Church you will hinder it. Your indifference will become a stumbling block to others. At least that is how I see it.

The Whole Family Must Be Involved

Many of you know what it is like when you get visitors from Europe. For weeks you are busy getting everything ready. You plan for the visit, you make room for your guests and you inform others of their coming.

However, what will happen only the parents do the planning and leave the children out of it? What will happen if they become angry that you took their room away and that they have to snare their beds with another in family? What will it do to the atmosphere if the children keep on asking the guests: "When are you going home again?" What I would like to point out is that the whole family needs to cooperate if the visit is going to be an enjoyable one.

Is this any different in a congregation? Someone once said: "you cannot invite life chickens and put them under a dead hen." A consistory or pastor may be able to invite outsiders to the activities of the Church but if the members are not able or willing to receive them it will all be in vain.

The congregation needs each f you to make room for others' L know of a pastor who attracts a great number of visitors during Easter. In order to make them feel welcome, he asks the faithful in the congregation to leave some of the best parking spots for them and to leave a spot for them in the sanctuary. The whole congregation co-operates in making visitors feel at home.

A Willingness To invite

We all get visitors who come, even though they are not invited. They come, for they have a feeling that they will be welcome. They sense whether we are open to them or not. However, most of our guests drop in because they are invited. Even if they are unable to accept our invitation. they still appreciate our invitations.

Most people have more connections outside their own family than they realize. Look how many people show up at weddings, funerals and at other special occasions. They don't think anything of it to invite guests and friends to special occasions in the home. Look what would happen if they would use the same freedom for inviting them to events in the Church. People have the connections but they don't use them to the fullest.

Is Planning Necessary?

Planning is hard work and we may not always be in the mood to give ourselves to it. And anyone who has had much experience in planning will have experienced that planning alone will not do the job. A plan is little more than just a skeleton. We need some meat on the bones to get some life and action. We need motivation, enthusiasm, and willing workers as well.

Since I was raised on a farm I learned early in life of the importance of planning. Seeds had to be ordered and fields had to be plowed, cows had to be milked and pigs had to be sold. Ail these things were planned.

The work in the Kingdom of God has been planned as well. Indeed, God has a wonderful plan for the world and He wants to involve each one of us in it. He planned His coming and we know that He plans to come again.

Could it be that many of our congregations need a healthier attitude toward planning? It is still difficult to convince Christians that planning is just as important a gift of the Holy Spirit as the gift of giving aid. Look how effective Billy Graham has been through combining the gift of evangelism with the gift of planning!

Planning is a must before any major task can be accomplished. However, something else must be added. A good plan is only a good plan if the congregation has become part of the plan and is willing to support it. Or, to put it differently, a plan only works if it can be "sold" to those who are going to have a part in it.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CHURCH GROWTH

1. Being at the right location. Some congregations find it hard to hold their own, not because the people are not dedicated, but because they worship at the wrong location. Towns die, stores close and whole factories are re-located when people move or when situations change.

The congregation I am serving has re-located at least three times during the last 25 years. This is easy as long as the congregation does not have its own building or when a present building is no longer adequate. It is more difficult to re-locate when most people are happy with the present building even though it stands in the way of future growth. Yet, I believe that some of you may have to re-locate your congregation if you want to become a dynamic congregation. This will take courage but it may be necessary.

2. People with a vision. It is true that dreamers can be disturbers in the Church. But what would we do without men and women who have dreams and visions? Encourage those people, yet ask them only to promote those visions that are down-to-earth and workable.

3. Unity in the Church- A congregation with 40 members who are united can do more than a congregation with 400 members who are divided. That does not mean that all members have to feel the same or think the same. It only means that the members don't let their differences stand in the way of united actions.

A SPIRIT OF UNDERSTANDING

Many pastors and lay people will get more joy from their work if they would receive more understanding. It would be helpful if others would see that irrelevant suggestions are not helpful at all. In -fact, they frustrate more than they help. Things that work in California will not always work in Canada; what works in a small town will not always work in a large city. What works for the Montreal Canadians cannot always be applied to a church league. The former club is able to hire a professional staff and pay high salaries for the players. A church league has to operate under different circumstances. If you see this you won't blame the coach for attracting small crowds.

What I would like to see is that the experts translate their visions into the situations where we find ourselves. If they can show me that great things are being done by the Christian Reformed people for instance, I am interested. I am interested, for those people are with me in the same ball park. It may be nice to listen to a person who does well growing rice in California - but it is not helpful. It is only helpful if that person can show me how I can grow it in Stoney Creek. Give me people who understand this.

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