Christian churches today are going through hard times.
In the United States alone, out of the 350,000 churches about 80-85% is declining or is stagnant.
This is quite an alarming trend that's observed in both North America and Europe considering that there are still a lot of people who are looking for enlightenment, majority of who end up in other religions or turning to the occult.
The stagnation and decline that majority of churches are currently experiencing has brought confusion, discouragement, and frustration to a lot of pastors and church leaders prompting some of them to leave the ministry while at the same time hindering younger people from ever entering into preaching.
Such a depressing reality has led a lot of people to ponder what they may be doing wrong with their churches while others seem to be successful in theirs.
The answer is pretty simple, but often overlooked.
The influential and successful churches have been using secrets to church growth that are rooted in the bible and applicable to present times.
You too can utilize these secrets, some of which are listed below, regardless of the size or condition of your church in order to transform it into an effective, thriving, and fast growing ministry.
1)Organized An effective church has some form of system or organization on how they do things.
Church growth can not be had with a sprinkling of unplanned and scattered efforts no matter how numerous or grand they are.
If you will look at the most successful churches, you'll find that they have a structure quite similar to a business organization.
There are leaders who oversee everything and there are committees for specific concerns of the church.
This structure allows for division of labor, which in turn makes everyone effective at their task.
It will be good to have special council dedicated solely to matters of church expansion who will lay out the plans as guided by the four inescapable need principles - caring, training, prospecting, and participating.
2)Maximizes potential of its members An effective church knows every member of its congregation including their talents and potential.
This is done through the establishment of a membership committee, which gathers information from everyone who attends the services by making them fill out forms.
Remember that everyone has something to contribute and this forms a very large pool of resources for your church.
3)Reaches out Church growth is only made possible when churches learn to reach out.
That is after all the great commission given by Christ to his disciples.
Outreach missions and community programs make this possible.
4)Strong foundation in the bible along with practical application In the end, a successful church is not the biggest nor the richest, but the one who was able to fulfill what the Lord has commanded in His word for them to do.
Churches that adhere to the teachings and mandate of the bible and learn to use them in everyday practical situations are truly effective and successful.
5)Technologically savvy In order to survive the challenges of the modern world, the church should be able to keep up with the changes and advances occurring almost every day.
This takes into account the use of technology such as the internet and all the services that goes along with it in order to reach a lot people quickly from different parts of the world.