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Church Growth Plan

Essay by   •  May 3, 2013  •  Research Paper  •  2,094 Words (9 Pages)  •  1,711 Views

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Church Growth Plan

The topic of church growth has been a very prominent subject ever since Jesus gave his followers the command to "go and make disciples of all nations". Ever since the day of Pentecost people have been devising numerous methods for stimulating the growth of the congregation. Some of these efforts have produced some very gainful results while others have failed leaving a bitter taste of discouragement and a return to the drawing board. When is comes to devising a church growth plan there are many methods that can be used which produce varying results. However, what is needed in a church growth plan a bibically grounded approach to foster the integration of the unsaved into the church.

Before a church growth plan can be devised a good working definition of evangelism needs to be established. According to MacArthur " any definition of evangelism or outreaching takes into consideration Matthew 28:18-20" (MacArthur, p. 248). Evangelism includes more than just dropping a few leaflets in the bathroom of a restaurant or grocery store. Evangelism and outreach includes fostering a relationship which makes disciples of the ones who have converted. Although, church growth is not necessarily focused on "the numbers" it is important to realize that every person, a number, matters in the kingdom of God. So, evangelism includes winning souls for the kingdom of God and showing people the true need for Christ in one's life.

There are four elements of outreach and evangelism that need to be looked at further so a proper church growth plan can be as efficient and effective as it possibly can. The first element to be explored is being proactive in our outreach. In Matthew 28 Christ tells His followers to "go" which is a word that implies action. One cannot "go" into all the world by never exploring or extending the walls of the comfort zone. Being proactive requires a hedging against the great possibility that unbelievers do not start flocking to them. Unfortunately, many church going members interpret that as "going" as far as the church walls will let them. The second element to evangelism is preaching the gospel.

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Unfortunately, many pastors today preach political correctness so that no one is offended by their sermon which brings about a sense of self-justification instead of true change the way God intended.

The third element in outreach is transforming lives. Despite being well known that God loves everyone and every sinner He has also called everyone to turn from their wicked ways and reconcile their relationship to him. This reconciliation can only come through a repentant heart that recognizes the need for change through Hos son Christ. The last element or outreach is ongoing discipleship which is fostering the growth of the reconciled relationship between sinful man and a holy God.

Now that there has been a basic exploration and into evangelism and outreach the boundaries of a church growth plan will will be easier to define. With a good working definition of evangelism this particular church growth plan will be based on several factors. Personal evangelism, public evangelism, church planting, planning for worship, and edification will be the guidelines in which will attempt to give clarity for reaching the lost ad growing the church.

Personal Evangelism

A response to the gospel of Christ is a very personal experience between the individual and the Holy Spirit. It is the reaction one has within their soul which allows the person "to see the glory of the gospel" (MacArthur, p. 251) for the first time. So, the personal evangelism section will focus on the one-on-one contact that a believer has with an unbeliever in leading them to Christ. This section will lay out a plan to implement this one-on-one interaction between a believer and unbeliever.

First, I propose that a way of encouraging personal evangelism is by encouraging the congregation to bring someone new to church or Sunday school every week. This will help people who may be timid, or unsure, on how to share the gospel with people. Then, preaching a sermon series on the subject or personal evangelism so that people can be better equipped as the do battle on a day-to-day basis. Of course, the tradition Sunday sermon does not really allow for people to interact with each other or freely ask questions that they may be having. So, the church will also start a small group/ Bible

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study which helps people in their personal evangelistic endeavors.

Second, is through a small group/ Bible study setting. The small group will be focused on ways that people can share their faith at work, school, and their day-to-day activities. The class will also explore the ideas that Christians are "held under a magnifying glass" and how they can over normal objectives as to why people do not want to become a follower of Christ. This small group setting will provide a more intimate atmosphere for individuals to share their personal experiences as they implement the new techniques that they have learned through the course and devise new ideas to use as they go back into the "real world" the following week. The class will be heavily promoted in the main services so that everyone knows about them and can make future arrangements to attend. In order to keep the class "new" and "fresh" and to make sure that everyone has a chance to attend the class will also be offered in the normal "Sunday school " hour.

Public Evangelism

The focus of public evangelism is on the collectiveness of a group as they share their faith with others. MacArthur suggests that " the Lord Jesus, the Twelve, and the early church made great use of public presentations of the gospel to large gatherings and crowds" (MacArthur, p. 251). In keeping with this theme I propose that the church hold an annual play that can promoted throughout the community. The annual play will host actors and talents from within the church so that each member of the church has an opportunity to contribute to the overall presentation of the gospel as it is collectively shared. I feel that this will give people an opportunity to share

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