Watering the Vine (Pentecost 9C)
[NOTE: This is an outline only. I am preaching on Carey Nieuwhof's book Lasting Impact ) I. Why Are We Not Growing Faster? A. Sensitive Subject 1. It's the subject everyone wants to know about, but no one wants to talk about. 2. Focus is not on growth for growth's sake, but for the sake of being effective in our mission and vision of reaching people who need to know the love of Jesus Christ in their lives. 3. Understand that most of us carry an innate sensitivity about certain subjects a. defensiveness on part of small churches b. "focus on quality, not quantity" c. Don't be cynical about growing churches d. As a rule, healthy things grow. (Jurassic Park - "Life Finds a Way") B. Church growth is a mystery... or is it? Is church growth just up to God leading people to our door, or is it on us to share what we love about our community and invite people to be a part of that? ...