Grows
(Acts 2:41 NIV) Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
(Acts 2:47 NIV) And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved
“Growth provides evidence of life in the church”
Three Major opinions on how church growth must work
1) The church should be concerned about
2) The church needs to
3) The church needs to reach out to the world of
5 Church Growth Principles
(Acts 1:8 NIV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Principle 1: Rely on the
(Colossians 2:19 NIV) They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Principle 2: Evangelize through your most
(1 Corinthians 9:19 NIV), I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. 22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.
(1 Corinthians 9:19 The Message)I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
Principle 3: Stay
(Acts 10:15 NIV) “When God says that something can be used for food, don’t say it isn’t fit to eat.”
Principle 4: Deepen your
(Jude 1:20 NIV) But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23. Save others by snatching them from the fire
Principle 5: Understand what is
(Hebrews 9:27 NIV) And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
(Mark 9:43 NLT) If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.
(Romans 3:23 NIV) For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
(John 3:16 NIV) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(Romans 10:9 NKJV) if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.