Develop a Customized Status Quo Church Growth Program^©

If your church is not growing in numbers, why not set a goal for the church to not grow which will signify the church is being successful. Feeling that you and your organization are successful is a good feeling. Achieving goals is a sign of being successful. The church could implement a Status Quo Church Growth program. The standards that could be used could be selected to match the skills, attitudes, and energy level of the church leaders and members.

The following are potential tasks that could be used to develop a customized Status Quo Church Growth program for your church. You could look at the church activities from previous years to select other activities that did not prove to be successful.

            Appoint the same church members to the same church teams.

            Appoint the same church member to the same church teams’ leadership positions.

            The church’s organization’s leaders will look at last year’s activity schedule, and where

                        possible, assign the same activities with the same goals to the same week of the

                        same month. The activities will fit into church members vacation schedule.

            When planning the individual activities, do not ask the organization’s team members and

                        church members to do anything that was not done last year.

            After evaluating the tasks for last year’s activities, adjust the tasks so this year’s activities

                        will operate within last year’s budget.

            Do not allow creative members to be involved in planning the church’s services and

                        activities.

            With a little luck, the results of the selected activities will not exceed last year’s results.

            Do not provide any additional training to the activity’s leaders.

            Do not attempt to increase the attendance at each activity.

            Do not change the ways church services and activities were promoted.

            Do not increase the church’s budget.

            Do not ask church members what they want to change about the church.

            Do not develop or update the church’s Mission Statement and its related goals.

            Church members will be encouraged to take the year off and relax. Church attendance

                        will not be required.

            When a visitor visits the church, the church members will not to act like they are glad he

                        is visiting their church and will not encourage him to visit again.

            When planning, do not include any advertising or promotion of the church’s services and

                        activities.

            Church members will not be encouraged to act enthusiastically about attending church

                        service and activities.

            Church members will participate in church events, but they will not invite people to

                        attend the events.

            Pastor will not preach about evangelism, outreach activities, church growth, church

                        member spiritual growth.

            The church deacons, if they take their position seriously, are not to focus on either the

                        church members or nonmembers.

            Sunday School teachers will not encourage their class members to invite people to attend

                        the Sunday School class and will not do anything to encourage visitors to visit

                        again.

            Sunday School teachers will present each lesson so the class members will enjoy their

                        Sunday morning nap.

            Sunday School teachers will support activities the class members want to plan and

                        conduct.

            Sunday School teachers will arrive no later than ten minutes after the scheduled time to

                        start the class.

It is not typical for people to accept trying to not grow as being successful. There are some church members that are not happy about their church going backwards in attendance and influence in their community. Why do businesses that go backward in profit often go out of business? Why do churches that go backward in attendance and continue to say they have faith in God’s power, but they do not change their ways of operating the church?

What is the behavior of your church?

Dale “The Saint” Lee

A former resident of Pot Neck, Tennessee

Last Date modified, March 25, 2010

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