CLIMBING PAST 400 IN NEW CHURCH ATTENDANCE

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CLIMBING PAST 400 IN NEW CHURCH ATTENDANCE

• By
• Dr. Tom Cheyney

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The 400 Participant New Church is the Most
Precarious of Church Sizes!
It can either Decline
Or it can Grow
It Will Not Remain The Same!
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Role of Leveraging

• Up to this point, what you personally do has been
  the key as the planter.
• Family Church cat size church
• Pastoral Church lap dog size church
• Program Church yard dog size church

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Ninety-four percent of the Churches in the United
States today, have an attendance of 350
participants or less.
George, "Beyond 400 Helping the Middle Size
Church Break Through Growth Barriers" A Church
Growth Conference, Indianapolis. The Fuller
Evangelistic Association
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In the Southern Baptist Convention there are
1,039 of our churches that hit this mark.
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Around the 400 barrier in attendance growth, many
churches start to realize that their is a new
group of challenges to be faces. Issues that were
before now minor, now are smack before our eyes
requiring immediate attention!
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400 Size early Yard Dog 200-1,000 participants

• From this point on, what you arrange to have done
  is the key.
• Crucial Question Do more people in attendance
  mean more work for you?
• Or does it mean more ministers?

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Sizing Up A Congregation

• The Family Church
• The Pastoral Church
• The Program Church
• The Corporate Church

Arlin J. Rothange
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The four pivotal issues to be considered are

• Pastor Tenure
• Church Administration
• Additional Staffing, and
• Characteristics of Worship

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The four pivotal issues to be considered are

• Pastors Tenure

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Paul Powell says, "the most important factor in
determining whether a church grows or declines is
its leadership."
The Nuts and Bolts of Church Growth
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C. Peter Wagner makes a similar statement when he
says, "in America, the primary catalytic factor
for Church growth in a local church is the
pastor."
Wagner, Your Church Can Grow
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The four pivotal issues to be considered are

• Church Administration

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• As a church moves past the 200 barrier in church
  growth and approaches the 400 barrier, it needs
  to make particular organization moves in order to
  continue growing.

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• One of the most challenging for the church
  breaking the 400 participant barrier is how will
  the church be administrated for effective
  ministry?

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• To grow beyond an attendance of eight-to twelve
  hundred, a church must have a staff-initiated
  leadership. The long process of making this
  shift, both in attitude and administrative
  structure, must begin when a church is crossing
  the four-hundred mark. It must begin to operate
  in a way that the staff is not driven by a
  volunteer-controlled board.

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Eight Roles

• 1.Authorize Policy
• 2. Nominate others
• 3.Select the senior staff

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Eight Roles (Continued)

• 4 Resolve staff conflicts.
• 5. Implement Mission and plans.
• 6. Approve budgets.

• 7. Be a safety valve.
• 8. Participate in a growth regimen

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The four pivotal issues to be considered are

• Additional Staffing

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The four pivotal issues to be considered are

• Characteristics of Worship

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One writes of his visits to thirty six of the
well known churches that are growing rapidly in
the United States, "there was an excitement in
the air--people were eager to get inside to
worship and to fellowship with one another."
Bryant Wright
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Three Key Ingredients to Worship in Growing
Churches!

• The Worships Setting
• The Worships Content
• The Worships Spirit

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The Role of Leveraging

• The ideal Leverage yourself through staff who
  replicate themselves through lay volunteers.
• Summary Jesus model of making disciples is
  still the most effective leveraging system,
  available.

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Mega-church Formation
Receptor Megachurch
Feeder Churches
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Pattern of Non-reproducing receptor churches that
show growth for a time

• Frequently become refugee camps for disgruntled
  people
• Must show care in dealing with the baggage they
  bring into a new work.
• Most common mistake planters make is allowing too
  much time before they are placed into service.

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Why Do Some Churches Grow?
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Attitudes that Contribute to Growth!

• Attitude of the Membership
• Attitude of the non-member participants
• Attitude of the pastor
• Wants growth
• Desire to empower lay leaders
• Has strong future orientation
• Opportunity oriented
• Doesnt surrender vision under pressure
• Keeps the Strong Leader Role

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Changes in this century that will affect the
Churches reaching ability

• Quest for Power We must communicate
  through contemporary rhythmical music
• Quest for Experience Participants desire
  participatory experiences
• Greater use of Women in the church
• Presence of strong numbers of
• Single Adults and Teens
• Blended Families
• Single-parent families

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Frequent Comments Made By Church Shoppers

• Worship Music
• Friendliness or lack there of
• Childcare
• Bible Study

• Sermon format and content
• Parking
• First words spoken
• Laity follow-up

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How Big Is This Church?
Atmosphers of opportunity -verses- atmosphere
of scolding or guily/duty
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Let's Look At the Subject of Worship!
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Questions to consider

• 1. What main themes are you hearing so far?
• 2. Which idea makes you most uncomfortable?
• 3.Which idea would you like to hear more about?

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CLIMBING PAST 400 IN NEW CHURCH ATTENDANCE