Studying Church Growth

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Studying Church Growth

• Considering Fellowship and Group Dynamics

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3 Main Levels of Infrastructure

• Level 1- Sharing group, avg. 5-15, spiritual
  sharing

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• Helps in fulfilling the following mandates
• Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the
  law of Christ. (Galatians 62 ESV)
• Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those
  who weep. (Romans 1215 ESV)

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3 Main Levels of Infrastructure

• Level 1- Sharing group, limited in number, avg.
  5-15, stretch to 30-40, purpose? spiritual
  sharing
• Level 2- Fellowship group, limited in number,
  avg. 30-80, stretch to 200, purpose? acceptance
  and belonging
• Level 3- Assembly group, unlimited in number,
  Purpose? To worship, encourage, edify, proclaim
  Christ

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How does GROUP DYNAMICS play out in church growth?

• Level 1, sharing group, is a small church
• 30-40 members with less than 100 attending
• Emotionally saturated, difficult to be inclusive
• Close, personal relationships are valued and are
  the greatest barrier to growth
• Over 50 of all churches are in this place
• Growth is plateaued unless change comes

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How does GROUP DYNAMICS play out in church growth?

• Level 2, fellowship group, a mid-sized church
• Stretched w/100-200 attending
• Offers surface sharing, acceptance, belonging
• until emotionally saturated
• Saturated fellowship w/nothing to offer is the
  growth barrier for this group
• 80 of churches never go beyond this level
• 85-90 churches of Christ never break this level
• Most dont feel need to break this fship level

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How does GROUP DYNAMICS play out in church growth?

• Level 3, assembly group, a large church
• Moves beyond 300 attending w/small groups
• Uses new unit principles to encourage growth,
  i.e. fruit often comes from new vines, new
  people, and new groups

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2 Part Study on Groups, Growth, and Bible
ClassesRichard Meyers, Christian Theological
Seminary, Indianapolis, IN

• Bible classes were combined to make fewer classes
  and used fewer teachers
• Classes shrunk to their original size

• Bible classes were divided to make more classes
  and use more teachers
• Classes grew to their original size

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2 Part Study on Groups, Growth, and Bible
ClassesRichard Meyers, Christian Theological
Seminary, Indianapolis, IN

• A suggested correlation between
• number of classes and Bible class attendance
• Groups/teachers and attendance
• Bible class attendance and overall growth

• Conclusions? Churches need to find ways to
• Increase Bible classes, teachers, and programs
• To get more members working and doing for
  themselves

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Verifies what weve always said and encouraged

• Teachers always learn more from a class than the
  students,
• The more teachers a church has the more knowledge
  and experience is available
• The more knowledge and experience that is
  available the healthier a church will be!

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Conclusions from this examination of group
dynamics

• God desires growth, 2 Peter 39.
• Every level of fellowship group has strengths
  that can become barriers to growth.
• Some growth barriers are not doctrinal, but
  personal, traditional, comfort zones.
• It behooves every Christian to seek our Fathers
  agenda above our own comfort zone.