Church growth experts, in determining The #1 Cause of Church Growth, have had the following measure in place for many years: How did you find out about us? I’ve asked first time attenders this question, but admittedly, I haven’t asked it enough to develop useful data.
How did you find out about FCC? We could come up with several possible answers: building location, website, programs, community involvement/service, special events, etc. All of these are good and important to have, but are any of them The #1 Cause of Church Growth. Nope. Not even close.
By far and away, the #1 answer is: Invited by a friend or family member. Are you surprised? I’m not. I think we greatly underestimate the significance of “a person with skin on them” personally inviting their friend or family member to church. Too often, however, we fall into a passive Field of Dreams kind of approach – “if we build it, they will come.”
So what are we to do? We must equip you and help you succeed. We must create a warm and welcoming facility and environment. We must offer an opportunity to worship God that is meaningful. We must be Biblically strong and culturally relevant. We must seek to meet the needs of others. We must build strong families. The list could be long and should require us to re-think everything about our church. In fact, this is exactly what our Leadership Team has been doing this year as we re-tool our mission, vision, and core values of the FCC. I’m excited how God is moving. You may not see it yet, but there is a “buzz” in the air.
Let’s not forget The #1 Cause of Church Growth – inviting your friends and family members.
