Dear editor:
Unstoppable church growth is not easy, but it is not really a secret. In our discussions about how to grow our congregations, suggestions are often made about ways to make guests comfortable and want to become involved. I used to print on the bottom of my email: “If we want people to join us in the adventure of following Jesus, we ought to be the kind of people that people want to be with!”
But as I think it over, perhaps there is something even more basic than making our churches and ourselves attractive and accessible. I am not sure how to express this, but I think the sense of growing in a personal relationship with Jesus is an even stronger motivation than just being part of a church community.
I realize this may sound simplistic, and I hope not too pedantic, but my point is: If we bring people to church, they may or may not come back, depending on whether they like us or our particular ecclesiastical product. But I am pretty sure if we bring them to Jesus, we won’t be able to keep them away from our church, provided our church is actually helping them to learn more about how to love and be loved by Jesus.
If people find Jesus in our midst, they will come to be with Him, even if the rest of us are still showing our imperfections. We may feel some social awkwardness in getting this personal with people, but what they think of Jesus is probably more important than what they think of our church.
Once we get a glimpse of the wisdom and compassion of Christ, we are apt to tolerate all manner of circumstances and people as long as it means we are learning to follow Him, remain in His love, and be guided by His wonderful purposes for our lives.
Jesus’ church has not stopped growing since its beginning because disciples who love Jesus make the next generation of disciples who love Jesus and follow Him to the cross.
By Rev. Dell Bornowsky
