Why isn't my church growing?

After reading Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof, you can reflect on reasons for lack of church growth and here are a few that hit home.  I understand this a hard subject to talk about, but here are some reasons to think about:

• You're focused on yourself
  There are a number of churches that are self-focused organizations that happen to be filled with self-focused people. People need and want to feel welcomed, valued and included.  We have to focus on people outside on the walls of the church if we want to grow.  
• You don’t take risks
  Fear and pride often gets in the way of taking risks.  You have to trust God and leave the results to Him.  Sometimes, our greatest fault is our current success because it gets in the way of the future success.  
   
• You talk more than you act
  We under-think and underact. Effective leaders act and don’t spend a long time debating issues.  
   
• You don’t think anything is wrong with your church 
  Church leaders often think there is nothing wrong with the way they are doing things or the way they are leading.
   
• You have the wrong focus
  You're focused on growth so much that you have forgotten about God and His mission.  We are called to lead people to Jesus, not to our own mission or church.  The focus has got to be Jesus for lasting life change.  It's time to take an honest evaluation of where your heart is at.  

Are you about your mission or God's mission?

Do's and Don'ts for Ministry Growth

In my 10 years of ministry experience, church growth is the number one topic that is talked about. Here are a few do's and don'ts for ministry growth...

1. You don't need a logo. A new logo isn't the key to having a successful ministry. Life change happens in the context of relationships. Only Jesus changes lives. Don't get me wrong, there are times that you need to update your branding, but it will not make or break your ministry.

2. Your fancy flyers won't help. Statistics show that 80% of people that show up to your ministry are coming because they were personally invited by someone. If people aren't inviting their friends, it may be a ministry problem, not a promotions problem. 

3. Put people first.  People over programs wins every time. If your ministry isn't helping people connect relationally, inside and outside the church, then it will be hard to see your ministry grow.

4. Lead your ministry. People want to be led. You should focus on leading your ministry. Spend more time being with people doing ministry and less time worrying about promoting your ministry.  

RELATIONAL MINISTRY

If you are in ministry you hear the term "relational ministry" used a ton.

I guess my question is...what is relational ministry? Is it a bunch of programs that bring lost people in and share the word of God?

I think that relational ministry goes a lot farther than that. I think that it is getting into their life and investing in them. It means meeting them where they are currently in their lives.  Sitting across the table and sharing a meal goes farther than
anything I can ever do on a Sunday morning. Going to coffees, lunches and meeting with them in a small group setting... that is relational ministry.

What are you doing to get inside their world and on their turf?

Growing up, I can't remember one message that my youth pastor said, but I can tell you the times we hung out. I think that we have to figure out how to do relational ministry since Sunday morning programming is only going to go so far in the lives and memories of the students we teach.