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Interacting With Planting Fast Growing Churches Research
By jason | May 12, 2008
Based upon the research found in Stephen Gray’s book, Planting Fast Growing Churches, I ran across a power point version of the research that was extremely encouraging to me and where we’re at a church plant (see also 21 differences in fast growing and struggling plants).
Criteria for “fast growing”:
- Self-supporting in 3 years time (from time of public launch).
- 200 in average attendance after 3 years from public launch.
Right off the bat this is helpful for me to consider as I look at LifeConnection. The “official” research considers 200 in 3 years time as “fast growing.” So as I look at where we’re at we shouldn’t become discouraged that we’re not exploding to that point just yet.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying our goal is to just get a large attendance, because it’s not. But to say our goal is to hover where we’re at is also inaccurate. Attendance is a marker, not the marker
I recognize that I can’t read back into this data, as if we can say, “we’re doing this therefore we must grow.” But at the same time I found this data helpful as I consider what our expectations should be at this point in the game (3 months into it).
Expectations
One of the most overlooked aspects in church planting are appropriate expectations. Many plants fold up simply because they have inappropriate and under-realized expectations. That is, church planters have expectations that are maybe too lofty and then when those lofty expectations are not met they bolt.
It is natural for us to have big dreams (dreaming, ideation, and the like seem to be the norm of most planters). Will our dreams serve as catalyst or exit ramps for the process?
“We will have 200 people by 6 months…”
“We will start 2 churches in the first year…”
“We will have 100 leaders within a month…”
Whatever the expectation I must evaluate what will cause me to quit. And not only that but I have to evaluate how I communicate to our team about these expectations, especially those that go under-realized.
Well this is a bit of what I’m learning and the questions I’m asking myself.
Topics: Church Planting, LifeConnection, Uncategorized |
May 13th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Goals are a beautiful thing. However…
The darkside of them for me is why do I have the goals I have? I also struggle with the compare game. Look at them we are no where close or look at them we are kicking butt. This can be very dangerous for me. Just being honest and am working hard at keeping this in check DAILY!
I need to get better at seeking the expectations God has for us and not what man is ranking as effective or growing or working or whatever else they bring to light.
Any thoughts?
May 13th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
This definitely brings up some good points, things which every Christian should probably read and consider. But at the same time, I wonder if it is possible to quantitatively measure a church. I can conclude that, based on the most obvious evidence, church A is better than church B, because church A has a regular attendance of 1,000 people and church B rarely tops 50. But at the same time, only God can really know “success” in churches. Church B may only have 50 members, but only God can measure “seeds planted”.
The other obvious concern is that, when we are measuring churches, it’s awfully easy to start the comparison game - “Church A ranks higher than church B on divine scale of church quality”.
At the same time, I don’t see this as all bad. It’s good to have goals and to consistently be evaluating and re-evaluating yourself (or your church). But if a church is not self supporting and does not have 200 in attendance after 3 years, does that mean it is automatically a failure? I don’t think so.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Marty, I’ve continually struggled with my motivations on so many levels. In fact that was the biggest thing, in retrospect, that really kept me from making the leap to start a church.
At some level it has to be a healthy sign that you’re even asking about your motivations. If we’re not asking the question I think we’re bound to hit some trouble.
Melinda, I agree, from personal experience, that it is easy to jump into the comparison game. And also that it is good to have some goals. And I think you’re right, just b/c we don’t have 200 by 3 years doesn’t necessarily mean we’re a failure (the avg church size in the US is still around 90 from what I understand).
May 19th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Jason,
I appreciate your post. I was wandering around the net and ran into this post. Just a quick comment. I choose the 200 mark at a 3-year period in order to set a proper bar. There are a few churches that have reached 300 within months from public launch, but these church plants are rare indeed. Two-hundred is widely accepted as the hardest barrier for any church to break. Ask most mega-church pastors and they will tell you that 200 was their toughest barrier. That being said. let me say two things.
1. Not all church are meant, by God to reach this level. That may make some uncomfortable, but we have to able to accept God’s design for our ministry. However, that should never be an excuse for lack of motivation, or hard work.
2. Just because a church plant doesn’t hit 200, doesn’t mean that they are a failure. It’s hard to call a church plant a failure when you can’t measure the spiritual/eternal impact you have made. In fact, the book makes it clear that the research was not a measure of success or failure. Only God will know the spiritual impact our work, this side of the gave. God never called us to be successful, just obedient.
I appreciate your blog and pray God richly blesses you as you do His work. Keep the Passion!
May 19th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment. Have really benefited from your research I’ve read so far and look forward to reading the full length book treatment.
thanks again.