People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Remember What It Takes
by James W. Moss, Sr.
The University
of Maryland men's basketball team just won the national NCAA championship. Their
theme was RWIT — “Remember What It Takes!” They had journeyed to
the final four the year before. They experienced a crushing loss to Duke in a
game they had led by 22 points. Coaches are motivators. They wanted a return
trip to the Final Four. But this year that would not be enough. They wanted to
win the Final Four. “Remember What It Takes” became their theme as they
successfully pursued their goal of a national championship.
I have consulted with, coached, and mentored a number of pastors over the last 25 years. Each responded differently to this effort. Some were very successful for a period of time. Then their churches plateaued and sometimes declined. I sat down with them at a later point and discovered they had departed from the very aspects of their ministry that had brought them success. RWIT
My family and I were on a vacation trip through New England. We stopped at a Shaker compound near Cambridge New Hampshire. I remember the visit distinctly. The compound which had at one time had nearly 500 members was then down to 3 women in their 80’s and membership was closed. The guide carefully explained the sociological reasons for the demise of the Shaker’s. In reality, the guide was saying they had departed from everything that worked for them. Predictable results followed. RWIT
I went to pastor the Carrollton Church of God. Worship was about 50 and Sunday school about 30. We carefully expanded the number of Sunday school classes from 3 to 8. Worship attendance went from 50 to 100. Sunday school attendance went from 30 to 80. We ran out of room and stopped adding classes. At the time I made no connection between the increase in classes and the increase in attendance. We stopped doing what had worked for us. Growth slowed significantly. RWIT
It is easy to believe we have arrived. We don’t need to continue all the hard work that helped us to get to where we are. We are beyond that now. Then the predictable plateau will occur as one turns aside from doing the good stuff. I watched a ball player who had been quite successful for a number of years. Then he had a very disappointing season. The rumors that he had stopped doing the appropriate preparation quietly surfaced. RWIT
A pastor recently asked me, “Why is it that some pastors are able to take a church to 75, others to 150, still others to 500, and some few even beyond that.” I immediately responded. There is often a difference in the God given ability to lead. But, thinking about this question now, I know that some could have gone further if they had continued working the things that had worked. RWIT
In the early stages, the pastor does most of the work. If the pastor continues to do most of the work, that plateau will occur when the pastor can no longer keep up. Gradually, the pastor will have to transfer the things that have worked to others. That means identifying potential workers, recruiting them, training them, deploying them and celebrating them. Then the cycle begins again. RWIT
Another fact must be remembered. Frequently, a church in its early stages of growth focuses on reaching people who don’t go to church. Most of the new people are people who have never been to church or haven’t been there in a long time. This effort requires a great deal of energy and work. There is frustration as some people come, find Christ and mature but others depart from this journey. This effort to reach lost people takes a massive effort and is very faithful to the calling of Christ. RWIT
However, there is a very subtle transformation in the life of such churches. As many positive things happen in the life of a church, it becomes very attractive to churched Christians. These Christians are not pleased with their churches, many of which are not functioning effectively or are experiencing conflict. So these people begin to drift toward these churches that are doing good ministry. These churches continue to increase in size. But the concern to reach lost people outside the kingdom gradually diminishes. After all, the church is growing! The subtle transformation is from conversion growth to transfer growth. Conversion growth requires a great deal more time, work and effort. RWIT
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April 9, 2002. Volume 5, Issue 5. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way with proper credit. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.