Growing Churches Should Ask

by Tony Morgan

I read an article in Fast Company magazine about a year ago that really challenged my thinking about the ministry of the local church. The brief article included a list of the ten make-or-break questions businesses needed to address in order to be successful in a competitive marketplace. As I read through the list, I began to ask myself: What are the questions growing churches should be asking to reach people for Jesus in today’s fast-paced culture? What are some of the key questions that churches need to address in order to build growing, innovative ministries that transform lives?

In addition to the foundations like Christ-centered teaching, prayer, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, I strongly believe that there are some strategic questions growing churches can address to more effectively impact the communities around them. It takes more than faith to grow a church. In fact James 2:17 confirms it suggesting, “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” That’s not only a personal challenge but also a corporate challenge for the local church. Sometimes it’s not about the size of our faith as much as it is the barriers that need to removed in our ministries in order for us to be effective in our mission.

In my role at Granger, I help oversee WiredChurches.com, our ministry to resource other churches and leaders throughout the country. Through that ministry, I’ve come in contact with hundreds of local church ministries. Additionally, I’ve personally experienced the rapid growth that has happened at Granger in recent years jumping from about 1,400 to 5,000 people in attendance. Given that experience, I’ve seen some very strategic steps to help the church continue to experience growth not only in numbers put in the spiritual maturity of those who’ve committed their lives to Christ.

With that in mind, here’s where I’ve landed on the top ten questions I think churches need to address in order to maximize their ministry in today’s culture. Here are the questions:

1. Is your ministry strategy creating buzz in your community? If people aren’t talking about what’s happening at your church, they’re not inviting their friends. What are you doing to create dialogue and make people think “I need to check that out and see for myself”?

2. Do volunteers own the ministry of the church? You can’t hire enough staff to accomplish all the ministry that needs to be accomplished in a growing church. With that in mind, you need to create a culture where the volunteers expect to do it before staff.

3. Do you exceed the expectations of your first-time guests? Whether we like it or not, our guests are consumers before they’re convinced they should become learners or worshippers or servants. That means they’re walking into your doors for the first time expecting an experience that meets or exceeds what they’re getting at the theatre, the restaurant and the mall.

4. Are you attracting the very best talent to your team? This is about both staff and volunteer team development. Ministry success begins with gifted people who are committed to the vision. Are you getting and keeping the best?

5. Are people having fun? You have to give people hope, encouragement and the chance to laugh. We live in a fast-paced, stressful culture. If people can’t find health and balance in your church, they’ll find it someplace else.

6. Does your team know, embrace and champion the church's established vision and values? Leaders need vision. Resources will follow vision. Churches divide because of lack of vision. You have to figure out where you’re going to know if you’ll ever arrive.

7. Do people accept change as normal? Believe it or not, even churches can develop a culture where change is both expected and embraced. And change is certainly critical in a culture that is continually morphing.

8. Are you addressing the real issues of real lives? People are looking for more than a three-point message that exegetes the biblical text. They’re trying to parent their kids, save their marriages, deal with losses and illnesses and addictions. They’re trying to find purpose and fulfillment for their lives. Is your message relevant to their lives?

9. Are you as committed to developing effective systems as you are to innovation? As churches grow, they need to move from a purely entrepreneurial approach to one that also values the development of effective systems and strategies in area like structure, staffing, technology and finances. Through systems big churches remain small enough to personalize the experience for every attender.

10. Have you built a church of leaders? You can’t do it alone. It takes a team of empowered leaders to take ministry to the next level. What are you doing to multiply and release the leadership potential in your church? And, are you creating an environment where high-capacity leaders are welcomed?

These are the questions that have been challenging my thinking in recent years. I don’t know that our ministry has completely arrived in any of these areas, but I know these have been the issues we’ve tried to address along the way to continue the growth cycle we’ve experienced. Hopefully, they will challenge your thinking as well.

Tony Morgan is the Executive Director of WiredChurches.com and Granger's Pastor of Administrative Services. Learn more of Tony's insight on church growth through the Simply Strategic series including Simply Strategic Stuff, Simply Strategic Volunteers and Simply Strategic Growth.