As I was reading recently in the book of Acts, I asked myself the question: What drives church growth? I am sure there are many answers to this question, some more earthly than spiritual to be sure. However, in the first chapter of Acts, a couple things are clear.
First, church growth requires a vision from God (not man). In the book of Acts it would have been easy for the early church leaders to be in a very defensive mode. After all, their leader was leaving them to go to heaven and they were being persecuted by the religious leaders. Having not received the Holy Spirit yet, I am sure they we very much in a survival mode. Yet Jesus called them to be on the offense, not defense. He instructed them that they were about to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and even to the remote ends of the earth. He painted a very different vision for them. This was no man-made vision; it was a God-given vision. Let’s take a closer look…
Man-Made Visions:
- Are created based on human gifts and skills
- Are fulfilled by staying ahead of others
- View similar organizations as competitors
- Aim to grow the organization and generate revenue
- Cause stress to emerge both inwardly and outwardly
- May be dropped for something bigger and better.
God-Given Visions:
- Are received as revelation from God (they are bigger than human effort)
- Are fulfilled through obedience
- View similar organizations as complementary
- Aim to serve people and advance God’s rule
- Are accompanied by inward peace and outward opposition
- Compel and captivate others until fulfilled.
Second, in receiving and fulfilling His vision, Jesus gave them only one requirement: obedience. He instructed them to wait for His empowerment through the Holy Spirit. Once empowered, they were to “get after it”. They did both. They returned to Jerusalem, prayed, and waited for the Holy Spirit. Once they were empowered, they “got after it” in a big way. The world has never seen men with comparable courage, confidence, and conviction in fulfilling their vision. Most of them died a martyr’s death in fulfilling the vision. These 11 men, who only days earlier were cowards in hiding, boldly started a movement that has since impacted hundreds of millions of people.
What made the difference? And how does it apply to New Community Church?
Please leave a response below or email me at csonger@new-communitychurch.org
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