Where Fruit is Found

November 3, 2018

Techniques, programs, and the social sciences all have their place in Christian ministry, but they don’t occupy the highest ground. That belongs to the Word of God. In the last century, Donald McGavran was a missionary to India, having grown up there as a child of missionary parents. He was curious as to why in some areas of India the church saw explosive growth, while in others, the church barely limped along. He developed theories that were the foundation of the Church Growth movement that has continued to this day. 

He learned that no matter whether the church grew or stagnated, those involved in the various works attributed their success or their failure to their faithfulness to the Gospel. There had to be more to it, he figured. He worked to discover what that might be. Fast forward to the early 1990s, when I was foundering in ministry. It felt to me like I was at a dead end, spinning my wheels doing the right pastoral things, but seeing little significant results. I was exposed to McGavran’s thought, and decided to take the plunge. The church I pastored began to experience significant growth in an area of the country where the population was (and still is) declining. People were telling me that this shouldn’t be happening; we were defying the demographic odds. 

Then came a crash in 2003 when we lost nearly half our congregation, and I began to wonder if all this church growth stuff was merely a flash in the pan—techniques and strategies that produced only results that wouldn’t last, or whether I had just stopped doing the right things. I’m still not sure, but one thing I know from my Scripture reading for the day: Jesus promised that if we abide in him, we will bear much fruit (John 15:4-5). The techniques, the strategies, the planning are all good as long as the foundation is abiding in Christ. Looking back, I think I spent more time reading church growth literature than I did meditating and soaking up the mind of Christ. I don’t think I violated any unseen rules; I just got out of balance. My reading today brings back into focus where the priorities should lie. I’m not ready to abandon the church growth movement or all the excellent sociological studies that have been done. But I know that for growth to be permanent, it must be rooted in a deep walk with Christ. That’s where the fruit is found. That’s where I’m going. That’s why I’m giving thanks tonight.