Church Life: Errors of the “Church Growth Movement”

Errors of the “Church Growth Movement”

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14) “Is it any wonder that the doctrine of eternal damnation is de-emphasized in preaching today? Is it any wonder that God is spoken of mostly as a God of love, and seldom as the God of indescribable eternal wrath? D. L. Moody, the turn-of-the-century American evangelist, set the pattern by refusing to preach about hell. He made the preposterous statement that “Terror never brought a man in yet.” That a major evangelist could make such a theologically unsupported statement and expect anyone to take him seriously testifies to the theologically debased state of modern evangelicalism. It has gotten no better since he said it.” (Gary North, cited by Kenneth Gentry – The Greatness of the Great Commission, pp. 158-159) Proponents of the church growth movement are to be commended for two things, their zeal for evangelism and their desire to understand those to whom they minister. Having said that, we must ask some serious questions regarding their methods, and even more importantly, their results. It is tempting to look at churches that are growing numerically as signs of Spiritual Health. But what kind of “fruitful results” does the church growth movement bear? Their methods do seem to cause particular churches to grow, but does “church growth” equal true conversion? Some startling research polls (yes, research polls can tell us a lot) suggest otherwise. Half of born again Christians (46%) agree that Satan is “not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” (2007) 37% of born agains believe that if a person is good enough they can earn a place in Heaven. (2007) 26% of born agains agree that “while he lived on earth, Jesus committed sins, like other people,” compared to 41% of all adults. (2007) Born again Christians are more likely than non-born again individuals to accept moral absolutes. Specifically, 36% of born agains said they believe in moral absolutes, compared to just 16% among non-born agains. (2006) (Barna Research Group on Born Again Christians) As we can see, about half (at least) of our “born again Christians” are not born again, yet some churches are growing. The real tragedy is when these poor goats actually believe that they are sheep because of a repeated prayer or a “decision for Christ”. Furthermore, the church growth crowd can’t seem to tell the difference. Here is a summary of errors that are presumed by the church growth movement: 1.) It assumes that unsaved people are a good judge of their own Spiritual needs. We have twice examined the marketing questionnaires used by church growth pundits, and they are clearly a promise to give the “unchurched customer” what he wants. The result is that the world begins to influence (and even dictate) to the church how to operate in regards to worship, preaching, and evangelism. What the “unchurched” person needs is not a church that makes him feel comfortable, convenient, or fulfilled. What he needs is to be born again, and that information cannot be obtained by marketing research. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) For the rest of this interesting article, please visit  View article…