Introduction
What do you think of when you hear the words "church
growth"? What kinds of associations do you make? The question is an
important one because the phrase has come to signify one of the most popular
and, at the same time, provocative ideas in the recent memory of American
Evangelicalism. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Western Meccas
of suburban mega-churches, while others have, for one reason or another, decided
to remain warily aloof. But the importance of the church growth question
lies not merely in developing an educated opinion about a current methodological
fad. Rather, the question of how we understand, value, and pursue growth
in our churches has to do with the way we read our Bibles, what we think a
truly converted Christian is, and what we think the local church should be
doing. In other words, our model of church growth strikes at the very heart
of what we say we believe, and what we intend to do about it. The way we
define church growth will determine the way we measure it. The way we measure
it will determine how we pursue it. How we pursue it will determine our effectiveness
in achieving it. And what it is that we actually achieve will determine whether
or not our churches honor God's plans, goals, and values for the local church.
As you can well see, there is much more at stake here than initially meets
the eye.
God warned Moses to build the tabernacle after the pattern he was shown on the Mount (Ex 25:9, 40; 26:30; Acts 7:44; cf. esp. Heb 8:5). Moses was not free to choose any pattern or method that suited his fancy or worked best with his culture. God had a pattern for the tabernacle because He had a plan to inhabit it - Moses was to build it for God's pleasure, not man's. We believe that God has a similarly normative blueprint for His New Temple, the Church. Just like the tabernacle, the blueprint for the Church is tailored to the personal specifications of the Master Architect Who plans to move into it. And that blueprint should serve as our normative guide for the way we go about building the New Temple - for the way we understand and promote growth in the local church. From tools to design, from materials to the finished product and its intended use, God has a plan for the raising of His Church, and it is important that we know what that plan is, and how to put it into practice.
