This article from Outreach Magazine is recommended by the PSEC office.
10 Characteristics of Growing Churches
1. They have leaders that lead!
“For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee!” Not sure where I heard that…but it’s true!
2. A desperation for God’s power!
Prayer isn’t a good luck charm that is attached at the beginning or at the end of something–people are legitimately desperate for the power of God. They pray Habakkuk 3:2 prayers every day and…
3. They believe that greater things are in store.
They don’t just pray big prayers, but they have a sense of anticipation that is contagious! They don’t read Acts 2 and think “those were the good ol’ days” but rather they think, “That’s where God STARTED this thing…we should be WAY ahead of this!”
4. They are full of ordinary people.
God always uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Jesus didn’t choose one scribe or Pharisee when He launched the church, and Acts 4:13 talks about how He used ordinary people to absolutely turn the world upside down. The staff LOVES the church so much so that they would actually attend there even if they were not on staff!
5. They leverage technology.
They don’t view technology as of the devil but rather as a tool given by God to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. By the way, isn’t it funny that some churches are against the use of technology, yet all of them rode to their church in a car, and their church building has air conditioner?
6. The church is full of passion.
People in the church actually LOVE the church and do not attend because they feel like they have to! The only reason people get angry with the fact that you love your church is probably because they have no idea what it is like to actually love their church.
7. They take ownership of the Great Commission.
They REFUSE to be “keepers of the aquarium” and instead embrace the COMMAND of Jesus to reach the world for Him.
8. There is a willingness to change and adapt…
…even when it means they have to go against the very “innovative” ideas that they themselves once established!
Anyone can change the traditions of the past, but true innovation occurs when we’re willing to change the ideas that we once thought were innovative and groundbreaking.
9. Generosity is embraced.
The world has never been impacted in a positive way by people that were greedy.
10. The people in the church are OWNERS, not merely “members.”
Members have rights; owners have responsibilities. The people in these churches understand that it is not the pastor’s job to minister to the people but rather the body’s job to minister to the body! And as a result, people serve Jesus by serving others instead of sitting on their “blessed assurance” and expecting to be waited on hand and foot.
