Do you ever wonder why one church grows and another doesn't? Why God seemingly puts His hand of blessing on one local church body, while leaders in another church across town are nothing but frustrated? I often find myself wondering these things for some reason. In Ed Stetzer and David Putman's new book "Breaking the Missional Code," they look at a number of case studies and simply ask the question "What Happened"...
CASE STUDY #1
Mountain Lake Community Church was planted by Shawn Lovejoy in 2000. It is located just north of Atlanta. In 2000 it started in a primary sc hool cafeteria with a handful of mostly unchurched people. From the primary school, the church moved into a high school, where it grew to nearly five hundred in worship attendance. After moving into its first building (built to accomodate approximately 500 adults and children), the worship attendance exploded to nearly two thousand in less than two years. What happened?
CASE STUDY #2
Northwood church was planted by Bob Roberts. Over the past fifteen years, it has grown to over two thousand in attendance while planting eight churches within two miles of their main campus. On any given Sunday, over five thousand people are in worship within this two-mile radius as a result of their efforts. In addition to this local growth, they have planted over fifty-seven churches, with another ninteen scheduled to be planted this year. Recently, this group of daughter and granddaughter churches has joined together to forum GlocalNet, a group of churches committed to seeing the first global church-planting movement by planting churches around them and around the world. As a result of the network, over one hundred churches per year will be planted around the world. What happened?
CASE STUDY #3
Neil Cole, founder of Church Multiplication Associates, began planting Awakening Chapels in Long Beach, CA. He focuses on reaching out relationally to those disconnected from Christ in an urban coffeehouse setting. His goal has been to see disciples and churches reproducing quickly. By the end of 1999 there were nine Awakening Chapel churches; by the end of 2000 there were fifty! From 2000 till 2005 three hundred more relation-based churches have been planted "with the number now doubling each year. These churches focus on small, communal, reproducible structures and target unreached 'pockets of people,' mostly in America's southwest. What happened?
CASE STUDY #4
For its first 150 years, Woodstock's First Baptist church was like most country churches. That changed when Johnny Hunt became pastor in 1986. He emphasized preaching, visitation, and Sunday school. When he came, attendance was around two hundred... Johnny is an enthusiastic country preacher (lots of yellin' and stompin' and sweatin') who presents a clear and complelling message -- and thousands come to Christ each year. He has broken the North Georgeia cultural code, and he is effectively reaching the unchurched, both in the upper and lower socioeconomic strate. Since Johnny's arrival, Woodstock has grown over 1,300 percent and recently completed an 8,000-seat auditorium. Their 13,500 membership is larger then the city of Woodstock. The church is consistenly one of the top 100 churches in baptisms within their denomination. They offer many outreach-oriented ministries for the unchurched in their community, have planted a number of significant churches, have a variety of compassion ministries, and have an incredible global impact through their mission efforts. What happened?
Each one of these leaders represents a new bread of pastors in North America who see their contect through missional lenses. They have the ability to read the culture and translate ministry into a biblically faithful and culturally appropriate expression of church.
Many churches that break the code will look similar -- particularly if they are in similar areas. There is nothing wrong with learning from other churches. What is different is the process.
Sometimes a pastor will get excited about a model or a method learned at a conference. Then the pastor will come home and import that model into the community. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't Most of the time, it does not work as well. Why? Because the methods and models that Goduses in one place does not mean He will use them in another place. The fact that a missional breakthrough occured in Sattle does not mean that God will use the same methods in Sellersburg, IN.
Here is a better process to learn from others:
1. Calling from God
2. Exeteting the Community
3. Examining Ways God is Working in Similar Communities
4. Finding God's Unique Vision for Your Church
5. Adjusting that Vision as You Learn the Context
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