Mark's Blog

A church in Eastern Europe invited a campaign group of American Christians to come for about a week. For the last weekend of that effort, the campaign group’s schedule predicted simply “Baptisms.”  As was expected, over 1000 people were baptized that weekend with great celebration. Less than a year later, however, not one of those people was attending that church. Without judging what God did in the hearts of the baptized, we can say for sure that this growth strategy for the local church was not effective.

Another foreign church plant that we have worked with had virtually no growth for the first ten years! But the next ten years have seen an abundant harvest.  I would like to suggest that great churches understand two principles that help them develop strategies for real growth.

1.      Great churches understand that harvest is the result of a process that is particular and cannot be abbreviated.   Notice in this generic website explanation of how to achieve “successful growth” of seeds, what seem to be God’s laws about growth, then apply them to your efforts:

A seed is an embryo plant and contains within itself virtually all the materials and energy to start off a new plant. To get the most from one’s seeds it is needful to understand a little about their needs, so that just the right conditions can be given for successful growth.

• One of the most usual causes of failures with seed is sowing too deeply. . . .
•  Another common cause is watering. Seeds need a supply of moisture and air in the soil around them. Keeping the soil too wet drives out the air and the seed quickly rots, whereas insufficient water causes the tender seedling to dry out and die. . . . .
• Most seeds will of course only germinate between certain temperatures. Too low and the seed takes up water but cannot germinate and therefore rots, too high and growth within the seed is prevented.  . . . .
• Some perennials and tree and shrub seeds can be very slow and erratic in germination. This may sometimes be due to seed dormancy, a condition which prevents the seed from germinating even when it is perfectly healthy and all conditions for germination are at optimum. The natural method is to sow the seeds out of doors somewhere where they will be sheltered from extremes of climate, predators, etc. and leave them until they emerge, which may be two or three seasons later.

2.     Great churches have a strategy for each stage of development. The process begins with ground preparation and seed planting. After germination (length varies), the young plants must be cultivated and protected. Finally, the time—the right time–for harvest arrives.  Churches that hurriedly skip from one stage to the next—sometimes even omitting the more time-consuming steps—if they have any results at all, often  produce genetically weak Christians.

Two Questions:

1. What are the implications for mission philosophies that set specific timetables for new church plants to mature?
2. What are your church’s specific strategies for each stage of development in the people you hope to harvest for the Lord?

 Next:  #4  Great churches are the result of group efforts, not individual efforts.