Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Is growth a sign of a healthy church?



To what degree (if any) can you decipher the health of a church from the change over time of its number of members? Large churches often justify themselves (and it’s quite natural to do so) by pointing to their growth, but people sometimes respond that popularity and devotion to God aren’t the same thing. Small churches often justify themselves (and it’s quite natural to do so) by saying that this world will reject the Gospel, but people sometimes respond that a healthy organism like the church should be growing. So, who’s right? Should we even care what size a church is? What things that are wrong might make it large? What things that are wrong might make it small?
.
Motivated in part by Learning to Count to One (Christianity Today)


No comments: