Most current church growth consultants have developed strategies they believe will enable any church to fill both their buildings and their budgets. And though these modern strategies contain slight variations, many can be grouped into fairly common categories. Recently, one consultant listed his top six steps to ‘pack any church’. Listed in ascending order, these steps were…
6. Always let your audience know that you are seeking to meet THEIR felt needs.
5. Use illustrations freely.
4. Stimulate positive feelings in your audience.
3. Always be positive.
2. Never be controversial.
1. Don’t preach. Tell stories.
Doubtless, there must be abundant evidence to verify that these steps work. But, I wonder if pragmatism–that it works–has quietly lured us into neglecting one eternal truth: ‘It’s not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord’ that these things are accomplished. Zechariah 4:6
May we be a people that utilize what the Holy Spirit offers us to use to ‘fill the church’: HIMSELF.