Church Growth

The Mum effect is the natural human reluctance to share bad news with others, due to a desire to avoid a range of negative consequences, consequences affecting both self and the recipient of the bad news. Although the gospel is good news to those who believe, it may be viewed negatively by those who do not believe. Thus, Christians may be hesitant to share the gospel because of the negative consequences associated with the Mum effect. Because of the anonymity of the internet, social media is often filled with unre-strained criticism of Christianity. This may amplify the perceived negative consequences of sharing the gospel with unbelievers. In light of this cultural evolution, found now in the global north and increasingly present in the global south, Christian leaders can lead more effective ministries by distinguishing between outreach (building relationships in a way that makes the gospel attractive), witnessing (explaining how one has experienced God), and evangelism (sharing all that is necessary to make a decision for Christ), and by ensuring that all three occur in culturally relevant ways, carried out by individuals best equipped to do each, in a way consistent with the New Testament teaching on spiritual gifts. Specifically, outreach and witnessing can be done by all Christians who interact with non-Christians, whereas evangelism may be carried out, both on the individual level and in large groups, by those who are appropriately gifted. By addressing large groups in a more impersonal way, those gifted in evangelism may reduce the negative consequences of the Mum effect and build upon the outreach and witnessing done by others.

Management is a business function that provides leadership support to organizations’ resources to realize strategic goals and objectives. While churches are not precisely business organizations tied with specific management practice as requirements including other complex legal requirements such as filing returns and payment of taxes, they engage in activities that require adequate planning and execution if they are to be successful and impact to the Church's growth and development. Hence, there is a need for an effective governance system for churches that will ensure efficient and effective utilization of resources and management practices in the growth and development of Churches. This paper, therefore, aims at presenting an analysis of good governance, effective managerial strategies and church structure for church growth and development. This study will employ the use of content analysis of literature as the main components in the study in the areas of effective managerial practices, corporate Governance and organizational Structure and its impact on Church growth and development. The study will systematically answer various questions under the study, which eventually contributes towards the establishment of good governance, effective management and Church Structure on the growth and development of Churches. The study will, therefore, unearth the relationship between good governance, church management and Structure on the growth and development of churches. It will further recommend leaders of churches the elements of good Governance, management and the Structure of their Church that have to be taken into consideration in their decision making.

Keywords: churches, good governance, management techniques, church structure

This paper, “Exegesis Research Paper: Mark 4:26–29,” addresses the following: the literary genre and context of Mark 4:26–29; the relevance of its literary genre and context for its interpretation; an examination of its meaning relative to teaching regarding the spiritual growth process, the growth of the Kingdom of God, and implications, applications from the text to the life of the Christian, and conclusions.

Mark 4:26-29 illustrates that we evangelists can only spread the gospel and see the results of its growth, and that only God can provide the growth of his Church.

Everyone basically longs for and needs the best in everything, including education and also in the world of the church. Given the changing era and unstoppable development, new challenges must be faced by educational institutions and churches, so that the implementation of a Quality Management system is not an option, but is a necessity, an effort to improve Education and Church services to students and congregations in the context of equip and prepare them to survive in this modern era. Human Resources must be of particular concern in organizational expansion, in the maturity phase so that there is no decline and fall. Because, so that the organization does not die, people who work must be driven by the system (quality standards) in order to run well, and not people who drive the system. So, Quality Management for education and the Church in this modern era needs to be of particular concern where at this time during the Covid 19 Pandemic, all activities, both schools and Church worship activities, must be carried out virtually as an example. Abstract : Setiap orang pada dasarnya merindukan dan membutuhkan yang terbaik dalam segala hal, termasuk dalam hal pendidikan dan juga dalam dunia gereja. Mengingat era yang berganti dan perkembangan yang tidak terbendung, tantangan-tantangan baru harus dihadapi oleh lembaga pendidikan dan gereja, sehingga penerapan system Manajemen Mutu tidak menjadi pilihan, namun merupakan satu keharusan, satu upaya untuk meningkatkan pelayanan Pendidikan maupun Gereja kepada murid maupun jemaat dalam rangka melengkapi dan mempersiapkan mereka agar dapat bertahan di era modern ini. Sumber Daya Manusia harus menjadi perhatian khusus dalam ekspansi organisasi, dalam fase kedewasaan sehingga tidak terjadi penurunan dan kejatuhan. Sebab, supaya organisasi tidak mati, orang yang bekerja harus digerakkan oleh system (standar mutu) agar berjalan dengan baik, dan bukan orang yang menggerakkan system. Maka, Manajemen Mutu bagi pendidikan dan Gereja di era modern ini perlu menjadi perhatian khusus di mana saat ini di masa Pandemi Covid 19, segala aktivitas baik sekolah maupun kegiatan ibadah Gereja harus dilaksanakan secara virtual sebagai contoh. Kata Kunci : Manajemen Mutu, Pendidikan, Gereja, Era Modern

Both the emotion of gratitude and the expression of gratitude produce benefits for the person who is thankful and the person being thanked. This study explores the degree to which various forms of gratitude expression are appreciated by those being thanked. In a survey-based study (N = 361), costly, private expressions of gratitude were more appreciated by people being thanked than less costly, public expressions. Higher levels of the HEXACO personality traits of Conscientiousness and Emotionality increased the degree to which people appreciated being thanked. Lower Honesty-Humility (e.g., narcissism) predicted a greater appreciation of receiving public expressions of gratitude while higher Honesty-Humility predicted a greater appreciation of receiving private expressions of gratitude. This information can be used by Christian leaders to help equip others for ministry.

For the first time since its inception, the Congregação Cristã no Brasil (CCB) has lost members – two hundred thousand members in the last decade – while other traditional Pentecostal churches’ membership continue to grow. Based on survey research data, this study explores the diverse views of church members and how institutional factors affect the growth of the church.

This church explores a new model for vitality and local impact for local congregations- The Ministry Hub.  In this approach, valuable resources such as buildings and other assets held by individual congregations are for more than exclusive use, but things to generously share with a variety of community partners in a way that is mutually beneficial and consistent with the Gospel Ethic of Sharing.

„Helge Stadelmann und Stefan Schweyer präsentieren ein Lehrbuch der Praktischen Theologe, das sich von anderen abhebt: Es ist aus freikirchlicher Perspektive geschrieben und ergänzt so die Lehrbücher für Praktische Theologie aus volkskirchlichem Kontext. Und die Autoren sind überzeugt: jede gute Praxis braucht eine gute Theorie, und in der Gemeinde wird gute Praxis immer auch theologisch reflektierte Praxis sein. Bloße Pragmatik genügt nicht. In das Zentrum ihres Entwurfs haben die Autoren den Gemeindeaufbau gestellt, und sie gehen dabei der Frage nach: Wie können Gemeinden qualitativ und quantitativ wachsen?“

Die zweite Auflage umfasst 35 Seiten mehr als die erste Auflage. Alle Kapitel und die Register durchgesehen, aktualisiert und gelegentlich ergänzt. Das Kapitel über Spiritualität (Kap. 15) sowie die gemeinde- und religionspädagogischen Kapitel (Kap. 17; 18; 21) wurden neu konzipiert und grundlegend überarbeitet.

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented need for innovations in churches around the world. Organizational innovativeness, a precursor of successful innovations in organizational contexts, is rarely studied in churches. This study of American church attenders (N = 244) found that perceived innovativeness of churches (conceived of as the elements of a church’s culture which promote innovation, specifically, creativity, organizational openness, future orientation, risk-taking, and proactiveness) was a very strong predictor of church commitment (conceived of as intentions to stay in the church, r = .60, p < .001). Of the moderators examined in this study (membership tenure, age of participant, church size, and gender), only gender moderated this relationship; the relationship between perceived innovativeness and church commitment was stronger for females than for males. This suggests that innovations that facilitated relationship development and relationship maintenance had th...

Church planting is often seen as the best way to grow the church numerically. However, there is surprisingly little research examining this claim in any detail, and the research that exists turns out to be not very well-founded or unclear in terms of sources, definitions, and so forth. Recently, research has been conducted in three small Reformed denominations in the Netherlands, comparing older and younger churches with regard to converts and returnees. The results show that the younger churches gained approximately four times as many converts and five times as many returnees as did older churches. Three explanations seem the most plausible: younger churches are more often in good demographic locations, they spend more time and energy on outreach, and their leadership is more entrepreneurial.

The establishing of large churches in urban Metro Manila was a phenomenon that imperceptibly began in the 80s.  After more than two decades, these large churches had become a permanent, visible, and influential feature of the church scene.  It became a subject of interest to identify the leadership attributes of these pastors and to analyze the development these qualities.  Significant are the consequent implications to educational providers on leadership.
The purpose of the research is to discover the leadership qualities of pastors of large churches in urban Metro Manila, determine the development of these qualities, and define the emergent guidelines for designing a pastoral leadership development program.
The research design employed a mixed-methodology executed in three phases.  The first phase, quantitative and utilized two instruments, a Basic Demographic Survey and the Leadership Practices Inventory.  These instruments identified the leadership attributes of the pastors.  The second phase, qualitative and employed the Appreciative Inquiry interview questionnaire.  It analyzed the developmental process of the leadership attributes.  The third phase triangulated the combined data of the two previous methods.  It generated design elements for a pastoral leadership development program.
The selection criterion focused on member churches of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches that have a minimum of 800 attendees in their Sunday worship services and led by the same pastor for a minimum of ten years.  The criterion yielded a population size of 20 churches (N=20), sample size 19 pastors (n=19).  A nonrandom purposive sample circumscribed respondents that were information rich.
The leadership attributes, from highest to lowest, were enabling others to act, modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, encouraging the heart, and challenging the process.  Top 30%: the percentile ranking of these pastors.  The observer results, from the highest to the lowest, were inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way, challenging the process, and encouraging the heart.  Grouped according to demographic variables, the ranking of the leadership attributes is rearranged.
The leadership attributes were developed through informal, non-formal, and formal education.  Six pastors have ministry-related doctorates, five have credentials from Bible colleges and other similar institutions, three have secular masters degrees, and everyone have attended some form of non-formal ministerial trainings.  Responding properly and intentionally to the developmental stages of the church further contributed to formation of leadership attributes.
The emergent guidelines on designing a pastoral leadership development program are expressed through the acronym LEAD.  Link the learners with their calling.  Enlist teachers based on recognized expertise.  Adapt relevant content and strategies.  Develop objectives in line with ministry.

This paper investigates leadership transition and the growth of the church in ECWA Kafanchan District Church Council. The study utilized a quantitative research design. The population of this study consists of the Elders, Pastors, Agency leaders, and Retired Pastors within the ECWA Kafanchan District Church Council. Stratified random sampling technique was used to draw sample from the population. A total of 68 respondents were used for the study. The researcher used a structured questionnaire as an instrument for data collection from the respondents within the DCC. The validity of the instrument was determined by experts" appraisal and the reliability was ascertained through a process of a pilot study. The data collected through questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that leadership transition in the Church is the entire process of handing and taking over between the outgoing and the incoming leaders, (Predecessor/Successor). A smooth leadership transition in the church sustains both the relationship of the leaders and their subjects. The paper recommended that leadership transition should be made a constitutional matter duly supervised and emphasized. And workshops, seminars, retreat about leadership transition at the levels of both the leaders and the led to be a priority to fulfill or prevent the hazard of Hosea 4:6 "My people are perishing for lack of knowledge."

A scripture guide with links, to bring an individual to the point of deciding to be baptized in order to become a Christian. All photos were personally taken by the author. Permission is granted to freely print and distribute this publication.

Bemerkung: ich habe über die Orthodoxie aus der römisch-katholischen Kirche herausgefunden und nach einem kurzen Intermezzo in der russisch-orthodoxen Kirche verstehe ich mich jetzt als bibeltreuer Christ in einer Brüdergemeinde in Straßburg.

Kurzrezension von Rod Dreher: Die Benedikt-Option. Eine Strategie für Christen in einer nachchristlichen Gesellschaft. Mit einem Vorwort von Erzbischof Georg Gänswein. fe-Medienverlag Kisslegg 2019
Die online publizierte Langversion ist anliegend verfügbar. 
Jede Generation kann mit einigem Recht sagen, jetzt sei es schlimmer als früher: Unsere Großeltern in den Weltkriegen und den Christenverfolgungen in „roten“ oder „braunen“ Diktaturen. Das 19. Jahrhundert mit den Folgekriegen der französischen Revolution und der Verelendung der Arbeiterschaft durch die industrielle Revolution – aber diesmal ist es wirklich NOCH schlimmer: Diesmal trifft es nicht die Gesamtgesellschaft, sondern die Christenheit und gerade in den freien „liberalen“ Demokratien. Und es kommt zu keinen starken geistlichen Erweckungsbewegungen wie im 20. und 19. Jahrhundert weil das westliche Christentum eben durch diese liberalen Gesellschaften von außen UND von innen vernichtet wird: Seit fast 2 Generationen sind alle beobachtbaren Parameter christlichen Lebens (wie Gottesdienstbesuch) im freien Fall und entweder wie in Frankreich nahezu verschwunden oder wie in Deutschland kurz davor [1]. DAS gab es noch nie, und wir haben es noch nicht mal gemerkt – und wo wir es gemerkt haben, begreifen wir weder, wie es dazu kam noch was wir tun könnten, obwohl doch der Grund offenbar ist: die unermessliche Verführung durch die „Welt“ – die Massenmedien tragen überall überallhin alles nur nicht die Botschaft Jesu. Und weil dieselbe liberale Gesellschaft, weil sie liberal ist, für sie ganz natürlich auch theologische Ausbildungsstätten finanziert und wir uns gerne helfen lassen ... aber sie damit zugleich Einfluss auf deren Lehrpersonal bekommt, das dann zwangsläufig auch nach „liberalen“ Kriterien ausgewählt wird. Und dann der neuen (Theologen)Generation Bibelkritik, Relativismus und schlimmeres beibringt.
Darum ist es Zeit, zu „Erwachen“, wie der Untertitel der Einleitung des Buches „Die Benedikt-Option“ von Rod Dreher lautet, in den USA ein Verkaufsschlager, der derzeit in diverse Sprachen übersetzt wird und dessen deutsche Auflage auch im einzigen deutschsprachigen orthodoxen Buchverlag „Hagia Sophia“ vertrieben wird  - ist doch Rod Dreher einer von uns. Aufgewachsen in einer liberalen post-reformatorischen evangelischen Großkirche, hat er sich in seinen 20ern zum Katholizismus bekehrt, ein Erwachsenenleben als konservativer katholischer Intellektueller verbracht und hat etwa zeitgleich wie die Hagia-Sophia-Gründer zur Orthodoxie gefunden.
Im Einzelnen aber mit der gebotenen Kürze sei erläutert, was der Buchtitel in einem Satz sagt: Zunächst: Wir Christen prägen nicht mehr die Gesellschaft, auch den USA wo das noch vor kurzer Zeit anders war – im Gegenteil, wir sind gerade im ehedem freien Westen am Rande der offenen Verfolgung. Stichwort „Antidiskrimination“. Seit 2005 wird z.B. in Frankreich bestraft, wer öffentlich Homosexualität als der Heterosexualität moralisch unterlegen bezeichnet, oder wenn ich in meiner Praxis eine „ungewollt Schwangere“ überzeugen möchte, nicht abzutreiben, gar Hilfsadressen von Lebensschutzorganisationen gebe und die meldet das, dann bin ich vielleicht beim ersten Mal noch nicht meinen Beruf los, aber bekomme mindestens ein Jahr Berufsverbot. Und es wird schlimmer – in den USA ist es schon schlimmer, durch die Macht der 5 „GAFAM“ - Großkonzerne die in der ganzen Welt mit ihren riesigen finanziellen Mittel massiv z.B. die LGBT Bewegung fördern, großen Politik- und Medieneinfluss haben...
Wir müssen also Strategien entwickeln, als Subkultur und Minderheit in einer feindlichen Mehrheitsgesellschaft zu überleben (womit ja gerade die Orthodoxie reichlich Erfahrung hat, von Nordafrika über Kleinasien bis zum Balkan …), denn schicksalhaft-unabwendbar ist der Niedergang nicht [2].
Wir sollen unsere Kräfte nicht (mehr) zuerst in den politischen Kampf z.B. gegen Abtreibung stecken (Dreher schreibt für US-Verhältnisse), stattdessen den Reichtum unserer christlichen Tradition nicht nur wiederentdecken, sondern effizient weitergeben – durch christliche Schulen. Wir sollen möglichst enge Gemeinschaften bilden, über unsere Gemeinden – in „Ghettos“ werden wir nie abrutschen, dazu ist die Gesellschaft viel zu offen – , geistig, moralisch und selbst physisch: Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl, gemeinsam beten, Bibel und Kirchenväter lesen…, aber auch bevorzugt bei christlichen Unternehmern einkaufen und vor allem, wenn irgend möglich, physisch nahe der Gemeindekirche wohnen. Je mehr wir so zusammen sind, desto einfacher ist es für uns, Dreher beschreibt seine eigene Erfahrung, und zeigt, dass diese typisch war [3]. Unsere Gemeindepriester sollen nicht nach dem Prinzip verfahren „Reizthemen meiden um so viele wie möglich noch zu halten“ sondern wie die Apostelbriefe und der Herr selber in den 7 Briefen an die Kirchen Kleinasiens das Gute loben, lehren was unbekannt ist oder vergessen wurde  und öffentliche Sünde tadeln. Ganz besonders im Bereich „Sexualität“. Enthaltsamkeit und Keuschheit bis zur und in der heiligen Ehe, und nicht nur wegen der massenhaften Trennungen und Alleinerziehenden als Armutrisiko Nummer 1. Ich teile die Meinung Drehers – 10% des Buches widmet er dem  Thema – dass die 68er mit ihrer Enthemmung aller Triebe im allgemeinen und der Sexualität im Besonderen eine zentrale Rolle bei der Entchristlichung spielen, aber die Begründung sprengt hier den Rahmen und es sei dafür auf die Langversion dieser Rezension auf der DOM-Webseite verwiesen. Wenn die Prediger nicht mehr sagen, dass und warum wir bis zur Ehe enthaltsam und vor wie in der Ehe keusch leben sollen (und dass Gott ALLES vergibt, wenn wir Ihn nur darum bitten), woher sollen wir Überzeugung und Mut zum Anderssein nehmen??
Didaktisch geschickt und geistlich angemessen – Ziel ist ein Leben in engster Verbindung mit dem Herrn Jesus - macht er sein „Maßnahmenpaket“ an der Klosterregel unseres orthodoxen Heiligen Benedikt fest – geordneter Wechsel von Arbeit, Gebet, Studium in stabilen kleinen Gemeinschaften, die sowohl Askese wie Gastfreundschaft üben, mit Bibliothek und Klosterschule.  Und auf die Umgebung eine Strahlkraft hatten und immer haben werden. So wurde schon einmal das heutige Abendland christianisiert, mag auch die Benediktregel kein Idealtypos des echten orthodoxen (athonitischen) Klosterlebens sein (Stichwort: „Jesusgebet“ – fehlt der Regel). Für unsere Zwecke – wie ÜBERLEBEN wir als orthodoxe Christenheit = wie bleibt die nächste Generation Christen – genügt das Buch, und überhaupt schreibt Dreher so, dass er Christen aller vier „Konfessionen“ (katholisch, evangelisch-großkirchlich, evangelisch-freikirchlich und orthodox) anspricht. Dadurch die Hundertausende verkauften Bücher ... (Limitiert auf 1000 Zeichen: siehe Datei).
1 Wie sich das in den USA dann für die Orthodoxie darstellt siehe www.pravmir.com/can-church-survive-usa
2 Mönche und Klöster leiten die Wende ein Siehe diese Dokumentation über Ephraim von Arizona: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf9cHnvZFW8&feature=youtu.be
3 Originär sind nicht so sehr seine Gedanken, als ihre summierte geschickte Darstellung als Buch. Vergleiche z.B. www.pravmir.com/why-do-sincere-long-time-believers-leave-the-church

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many changes in the present socio-cultural context point to the importance of innovation in churches. A theoretical framework for understanding innovation in churches is presented, featuring 6 key elements. These elements include the cultural context of the church and the church's target audience, a culture of innovation within the church, innovations in church programs, processes, and personnel, social capital (social ties) which permits church members to navigate the changes associated with innovation, program loss (that which is lost when programs change), and progress toward the church's goals. The church's goals and the church's context determine which innovations would be most appropriate. A culture of innovation and strong social ties permit innovations to be implemented successfully. Program losses may reflect aspects of the church's goals that are neglected when innovations are implemented.

While the dramatic growth of church-planting movements (CPMs) in non-Christian contexts around the world provides ample opportunity to explain their emergence and significance, a missiology of these movements is struggling to keep pace. This article argues that CPM is a unique feature in the field of mission studies that emerged in the later 20th century. Although it shares some of the same characteristics as the early Church Growth Movement discourse, CPMs today are a specific type of movement occurring mostly in least-reached Muslim and Hindu contexts. CPM missiology contains a number of features and unknowns which demonstrate that the discourse is both evolving and invaluable for how the global church understands mission. Keywords: church-planting movements, disciple-making movements, people movements, church growth movement, contemporary history of missions

Este seminario consiste en un taller con ideas y preguntas prácticas para llevar a la hermandad a concretizar la organización de una nueva iglesia en su comunidad.

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This seminar consists of a workshop with ideas and practical questions to lead the brotherhood to concretize the organization of a new church in their community.

Mission is God’s work of coming into the world to make a difference in the lives of the people he created to have relationship with him. This paper is about God's work among the Lisu of SW China who recently celebrated more than 100 years of Christian work among them. Of particular interest is the ministry of CIM missionaries who worked among them in Yunnan Province.

In every sphere of life, supervision is an avenue to build on ones' aptitude and knowledge to grasp the future. The sustenance of the future is proportional to the effective Management of resources and personality. The Church's growth has been stagnant in recent times. One would question from a business-perspective how the Church has been managed over the years. Does Management concern the Church? Management, as a business function provides leadership support to organizations' resources to realize strategic goals and objectives. Although churches are not precisely business organizations tied with specific management practice as requirements including other complex legal requirements such as filing returns and payment of taxes, they engage in activities that require adequate planning and execution if they are to be successful and impact to the Church's growth and development. Hence, there is a need for an effective governance system for churches that will ensure efficient and effective utilization of resources and management practices in the growth and development of Churches. This paper, therefore, aimed at presenting an analysis of good Governance, effective managerial strategies and church structure for church growth and development. The study employed the use of content analysis of literature as the main components in the study in the areas of effective managerial practices, corporate Governance and organizational Structure and its impact on Church growth and development. The study systematically answered various questions under the study, which eventually contributes towards the establishment of good Governance, effective management and Church Structure on the growth and development of Churches. The study, therefore, unearthed the relationship between good Governance, church management and Structure on the growth and development of churches. It further made a recommendation for leaders of churches on the elements of good Governance, Management and the Structure of their Church that must be taken into consideration in their decision making.

The case of a dying church is peculiar but not unique. This is because many researches show that generally there is a general decline in church attendance in the UK. For this reason, the purpose of this project is to review and report the principles used for revitalising a Christian church using street evangelism and door to door evangelism. The desired outcome is to raise awareness about the Church within its community, so that it can grow.

For this reason, we were first trained in evangelism and church revitalisation best practice, in order to equip us for participating in the project. Then we were mobilised to evangelise within the community. The good thing is that the principles that we used, are transferable and applicable to other dying churches. This thesis details my findings during the practical project and my research findings from various literatures.

Church growth is a trending area that many churches and mission want to know about and experience, and there are many authors who has written on this, far fewer have attempted to give detail on the impact of use of Information Communication Technology on the church of Christ. Equally important, among those few authors who have attempted to research on the relationship of the church and ICT, there is paucity of any experimental or empirical work on how the use of ICT affect church growth in rural. Jesus’s words, “…..upon this rock will I build my church”  is magnanimous. The creator may use any of His creation – technology, to fulfill His words. In relation to ICT, identifying the perception of the church, usage level and opportunities for church growth requires a thorough work.

The objectives
1. To identify the perception of church leaders on the use of ICT in the church
2. To achieve new insight as to the impact of enhanced ICT use in rural local church
3. To compare the church communication knowledge, perceptive, usage in Nigeria and United Kingdom based on selected case studies

The Indigenous Church is rapidly growing in India. This article provides a  brief historical perspective of the inception of the Indigenous Church dating back to the very first century A.D.  The Indian Indigenous Church finds its roots in the "Thomas Tradition" attributed to The Apostle Thomas who is believed to have proclaimed the Gospel first In India.

This paper follows on the Great Commission in the 4 Gospels, and Church Health Not Church Growth. It identifies the 9 areas of discipleship for a spiritually healthy church. These 9 areas are 9 essential spiritual disciplines that every disciple of Christ need to cultivate, practice, and live by. These 9 are not arbitrary ideas but are drawn from the study of the Bible, especially of the New Testament, and the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.

“We may not have a lot of people at our church.  But, we don’t care about quantity.  We aren’t all about the numbers like some other churches.  We care about quality people and ministries.”  Unfortunately, this seems to be a pervasive attitude among many plateaued and declining churches in North America.  The argument can go on all day concerning quality versus quantity in a church from a philosophical perspective, but for those that hold to Scripture as instructive and authoritative, the church must develop a more robust theology of church growth.  In other words, what does the Bible have to say regarding outreach and numerical church growth?  This lesson will seek to provide a summary of the biblical perspective of outreach and church growth.

Inspired by the bestseller book REAL CHRISTIANITY, this book attempts to restore Authentic Faith. Published on June 1, 2018, Dr. Guzman dedicates this spiritual guide to all Christians who have the earnest desire to become "Children of God." *****Pages 7 to 34 are excluded for COPYRIGHT INTENT*****.
OUR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION SHOULD ALWAYS have a responsibility not only to nurture members but also to evangelize and revive. This 3-month Bible Study series is a spiritual awakening for all Christians in order to build a real foundation in Christian life. This is a back-to-the-basic bible study series. This means that we are to recapture the fundamentals of Original Christianity. Every lesson is aimed to evangelize, revive, and nurture our people. Authentic faith should be restored. Christian faith has already been derailed by an anti-Christian culture which eclipses the manner of becoming an authentic Christian. Many of us became Christians, NOT OF THE STANDARD SET BY CHRIST. We joined the church without the real foundation of Christian faith. Spiritually, we never had encountered Grace in the person of Jesus Christ. We never had experienced regeneration; the reason why we remain "Christians-only-in-name." Faith is not inherited; it is experienced. Faith is not earned by good works; it is by Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith is the fruit of change: from an old nature to a new creation. Faith is the result of the feeding of the word, conviction of guilt, repentance, cleansing, and forgiveness of sins.

The church is the company of all the redeemed. Fellowship, prayers, teaching of the word can be identified in Acts 2: 41-47 as growth factors. There are many authors who have written on factors such as leadership, evangelism, small group, far fewer have attempted to give detail on the impact of using Information Communication Technology in the church of Christ. “To what extent is the use of ICT in churches of Nigeria and Nigerian initiated churches in United Kingdom, and how far can it contribute to church growth?” Survey questions were used to identify how Christians use media technologies for personal and spiritual purposes. Links to monkey survey and typeform were share on social media platforms. 200 responses were fed back into platforms from Christians in Nigeria and United Kingdom. Hard copy of the survey was also administered offline in the community. The research also looked to identifying the perception of church leaders on the use of ICT in the church. Church communication knowledge, perceptive and usage were compared between set samples in Nigeria and UK. The result shows that about 92% of the online respondents use internet on a daily basis while only 7% visit a church/ministry website. The result shows a downward slope on frequency in usage of internet (92%), social media (89%), and electronic bible (57%). Christians in Nigeria reads other ‘spiritual books’ (books other than the Bible authored for spiritual lifting) more than Christians in the UK. Technology in itself is neutral and should be encouraged in a SMART way for the growth of the church.

The contemporary church in Japan faces a formidable challenge. A steadily
declining membership has thrown many churches into a crisis of survival. In a context of dynamic social change, churches are forced to reconsider their character, purpose, and mission. While many churches seem trapped in a mode of maintenance, others have seized the opportunity to boldly engage the social change around them repositioning their church to connect to the needs of a postmodern society. In so doing, they are cultivating a fresh understanding of what vitality ought to be for the contemporary church in Japan. Such churches are the core concern of this dissertation. While much of the church in Japan is in decline, these churches are growing numerically, spiritually, and relationally. This dissertation works at understanding what it behind this new growth. In the broadest sense, vitality in a church should mean giving hope to those who are suffering, challenging injustice, and proclaiming God’s redemptive
plan for humanity. In this sense, vitality in a church arises from its being.
As an investigative descriptive study, this dissertation offers a description of the present condition of the churches included in the field study, integrating these findingswith the background research. A survey of relevant issues in Japanese society and religion and the development of the Protestant church in Japan is also given, along with a discussion on contemporary perspectives of church vitality and the biblical notion of faith
community. All of these areas are integrated with the intent of moving toward a deeper understanding of church vitality in the contemporary Japanese context.

La Missio Dei es la acción de Dios a favor de un mundo caído en pecado. Consiste en Dios Padre que envía a su Hijo a morir por el pecado del mundo. Y mediante la resurrección y glorificación del Hijo, el Padre y el Hijo envían el Espíritu Santo para que, por el oficio de la predicación (kerigma) apostólica, la Palabra divina llegue a todos los hombres, los convierta y los incorpore al seno de la iglesia a través de los medios de gracia y la fe, la cual ha de ser alimentada por esos mismos medios en cada etapa de la vida cotidiana. De esta manera la iglesia va creciendo desde y hacia Jesucristo, a fin de que se cumpla el objetivo divino de “que todos sean uno” (Jn 17:21) hasta la consumación definitiva del Reino de Dios. Frente a esta perspectiva bíblico-confesional del crecimiento de la iglesia, actualmente se levantan otras voces que reclaman un paradigma de crecimiento de la iglesia alternativo, basado en criterios científicos, la experiencia y la razón, alegando que dicho paradigma es de iure divino (de derecho divino), o instituido por Dios. El presente trabajo, en particular, realiza una crítica constructiva a la propuesta del programa de iglecrecimiento Desarrollo Natural de la Iglesia de Christian Schwarz.

The Missio Dei is God's action in benefit of a world fallen into sin. It consists of God the Father who sends his Son to die for the sins of the world. And through the resurrection and glorification of the Son, the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit so that, by the office of Apostolic preaching (kerygma) God's word comes to all men, to convert and insert them into the heart of the church through the means of grace and faith, which is to be strengthened the same means at each stage of everyday life. In this way the church is growing from and towards Jesus Christ, in order to accomplish the divine goal "that they all may be one" (Jn 17:21) until the final consummation of the Kingdom of God. Given this biblical and confessional perspective of the church growth, now there are another voices claiming for an alternative paradigm of the church growth, based on scientific criteria, experience and reason, arguing that this paradigm is de iure divino (by divine right), or instituted by God. This work, in particular, offers constructive criticism to the proposed program of church growth Natural Church Development by Christian Schwarz.

ABSTRACT
Over the years, various denominations have evolved from various Church tradition. However, denomination as a concept is said to be religious subgroup that follow some basic religious doctrines. On the basis of this research, some nagging problems arose which makes the growth of the Church seems hindered and these include but not limited to leadership problem, economic, and social problems among others. This study therefore examines denominational practices and its significant effects on Church growth. Also, it examines the relationship between Church growth and Church health. The methods implored here are historical, phenomenological and interpretative approaches. In the course of this research, it was discovered that Christianity which was introduced in Nigeria over 150 years ago has grown over the years to claim an estimate of between 40% of the population. It is worth noting that Christianity is a major religious tradition in Nigeria and has significant impact in lives and culture of people. The work therefore recommends that the Church is the theatre of the Holy Spirit irrespective of denominational differences. Hence, people should seek the Holy Spirit and also growth of the Church should not be based on orthodoxy, rather on orthopraxis to change Nigeria for better just as this research helps us find out that at its best, the Church Growth Movement (C.G.M) and the Church Health Movement (C.H.M) grew out of missional understanding of the Church. 
Keywords: Denominations, Church, Diversity, Church Growth, Church Health

Over the past decade, the field of megachurch studies has matured and become global in its scope and orientation. The number of texts produced on megachurches since 2010 is nearly triple the number produced before that date, and many of the newest texts decenter North America. Megachurch studies today, therefore, is a properly international and cosmopolitan field. The article has four interrelated aims: (1) to provide a thorough overview of major themes and work in megachurch studies, with special emphasis on works emerging in the last decade; (2) to update two excellent state-of-the-field reviews by Stephen Ellingson (in 2008 and 2010); (3) to make visible the now thoroughly global nature of the field by attending fully to its international focus, something done only briefly and tentatively in Ellingson's reviews; and (4) to develop (in the ample footnotes) something of thorough bibliography of key texts in the field of megachurch studies.

Divine Healing is significant teaching and feature of  Classical Pentecostal churches. The practice of divine healing has contributed to the church's growth in different parts of the world. This dissertation looks into the origin and development of  Classical Pentecostalism, Theology, and other pentecostal perspectives on divine healing and how it contributed to the establishment and growth of Pentecostalism in Kerala.
There seems to be a significant contribution of divine healing in the establishment and growth of pentecostal churches all over Kerala. Divine healing remains a significant tool for the Mission and Evangelism. Divine healing proves not to be a myth or psychological manipulation. But a reality that happens through divine intervention.