Table of Content

INTRODUCTION

1. The Sunday School Factor

1.1. What is a Sunday School?

1.2. Sunday School Focused

2. Effective Pastoral Leadership

2.1. The Function of Pastoral Administration

2.2. The Pastors and God’s plan for Church Growth

2.3. The Pastors and Leaders

2.4. What Can You Expect From Your Pastor?

2.5. The Bible and Deacons

3. Principles of Growth
3.1. Biblical Roots of Church Growth
3.2. Principle of Bible Study Priority

4. Different types of Leaders

4.1. Training Leaders

4.2. Vision and Goals for Effective Church Growth

4.3. The Elements Necessary for An Effective Church Growth

4.4. Qualities of Church Growth Leader

4.5. The Vital Signs of the Healthy Church
CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION

Church Growth is more than an increase in the number of people who attend weekly. It’s
measured by the ministry of the church members, the impact of the church on the surrounding
community, and the church’s ability to reproduce daughter churches. Effective churches are
healthy churches; healthy churches are growing churches. They make more and better disciples.
Most churches today are centralized rather than decentralized. They are run by a centralized
bureaucracy or clergy which operates the programs. The entire organization is dependent upon
the flow of ministry through each organization unit. By studying this paper, we can find out and
realize the different department and duty of the Church.

1. The Sunday School Factor

R. Wayne Jones says that “If the Sunday School is to become more evangelistic, then the
importance of the Sunday School must be communicated all the way to the grass roots, where
every Sunday School member accepts responsibility for reaching out to others with the good
news.

1.1. What is a Sunday School?

Perhaps part of the critics’ problem with Sunday School is perceptual. For some, Sunday School
means listening to a long and boring lecture on the Bible in an uncomfortable metal folding chair
in a room with peeling paint. We asked the leaders of these evangelistic churches specifically
how they defines Sunday School. Their responses focus on four general characteristics:

Sunday School includes systematic teaching of Scripture. They have some level of accountability
and organization in place to insure that such teaching is offered to everyone. Sunday School
gives regular Bible teaching for all ages. This is the “cradle to grave” concept advocated by
many leaders.

Sunday School provides small group ministry and fellowship within each class. Multiple small
group may be necessary in larger classes. Sunday School ensures regular outreach beyond the
people in the class.1

1
Thom Rainer. Effective Evangelistic Churches, (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996)82.

2
Sunday School generally takes place on Sunday morning prior to or following a corporate
worship service. Many major denominations consider this Sunday morning Bible study times as
the key program of the church. It has played an essential role in the life of churches for years.

Southern Baptist have viewed Sunday School as the building block of the church growth and
development since their beginning in 1845. The early Sunday School programs of Southern
Baptists were not so refined as those they have now. But, Bible study through a Sunday School
medium has been foundational for them for over a century.

There are large, independent or nondenominational churches that have built their strength
through a heavy emphasis on Sunday School. But, Sunday School alone is not enough. An
overview of potential or real problems must be consider.

1.2.Sunday School Focused

Sunday School is too often focused on a church school for children. Ken Chafin, once said, “ The
Bible is an adult book.” Many view Sunday School as a place where sweet, little Bible stories are
taught. This is especially truth of unchurched people. It really does not matter that it is not true.
The fact is, they perceive Sunday School this way and no casual efforts will change their point of
view.

2.Effective Pastoral Leadership

What do followers expect and deserve from leaders? This question is crucial for pastors, whose
organizations lie well within the definition of a service industry. At the top of the list of what
followers expect from leader is honesty. The perception of dishonesty in government may be the
single largest complaint that governed peoples lodge against the politicians who govern them. In
Kouzes’s and Posner’s survey, 85 percent of the respondents indicated the first thing followers
expect of leaders is that they be persons worthy of their trust. Followers expect both transparency
in communication and honesty in action. A pastor’s behavior, on stage and off, is what provides
the evidence of honesty in life-style – a consistency

3
between words and deeds.2

2.1. The Function of Pastoral Administration

Jesus Christ, the supreme practical idealist, said, “I will build my church.” He taught and
preached and healed, but he did not propose to build a school or a lecture forum or a hospital. At
the climax of his ministry he said with quiet confidence, “I will build my church”- an organized
body of baptized believers equal in rank and privileges, administrating its affairs under his
headship, united in the belief of what he taught, covenanting to do what he commanded, and co-
operating with other likes bodies in kingdom movements. Jesus knew full well that without such
an organized body through which to continue what he began to do and teach, his redemptive
purpose would fail. He gathered about him a group of men whom he took into partnership in this
greatest of all enterprises –the building of his church. From Christ, the master church builder,
they caught the vision and learned the secret of church building.

Paul, chief interpreter of Christ, exalted the church and gloried in the privilege of constituting
churches wherever he went. He conceived himself as “master builder,” laying enduring
foundations on which others completed the superstructure. Men 3of practical minds throughout
the centuries have realized that there must be churches if Christianity is to accomplish its basic
purpose, and also that these churches must have ministers who are master church builders. What
higher tribute could be paid to God’s called man than to say of him, “He is a master church
builder”?

Church Planting develops new leadership. Many studies have confirmed the fact that the most
important institutional variable for the growth and expansion of the local church is leadership. In
the local church no individual is more important for growth than the senior pastor, but effective
senior pastors make it a point to see that lay leaders also take responsible positions in the
ministry of the church. For the most part existing churches have unconsciously placed a ceiling
on both clergy and lay leadership, and as a result outward mobility of new people in to positions
of ministry is difficult. But new churches open wide the doors of leadership and ministry
challenges and the entire Body of Christ subsequently benefits.

2
Robert E. Logan. Beyond Church Growth, Action Plans for Developing a Dynamic Church (Old
Tapan: Fleming H. Revell Company,1984).38.
3
Gaines S. Dobbins, Building Better Churches (Broadman Press, Nashville, 1948), 45.

4
Church Planting stimulates existing churches. Some are reluctant to start new churches for fear
of harming those churches that are currently located in the target community. They feel that
doing so could create undesirable competition between brothers and sisters in Christ. I will
develop this in more detail later on, but suffice sait to mention here that in more cases than not, a
new church in the community tends to raise the religious interest of the people in general and if
handled properly can be a benefit to existing churches. That which blesses the kingdom of God
as a whole also blesses the churches that truly are a part of the Kingdom.

2.2.The Pastors and God’s plan for Church Growth

The Pastor teaches the believers, and then each believer takes a new convert and disciples him,
teaching him to disciple another. The goal of the pastor is to be a pattern for the people. God
chose people in His Church to share the great part of the responsibility of building the Church.
He has entrusted the gospel to humans who are filled with His Spirit.

At the same time we must remember that the growth of the church is neither human nor secular.
Although there are favorable conditions that the pastors helps create, and methodologies that
advance his efforts toward reaching the goal of church growth, without Christ and the Builder,
the results are only numbers, philosophies, and methodologies. Christ must build His Church!
Christ can work without us, but most of the time He chooses toward through us to reach the
world.

God wills that his Church Grow. The pastor is the key person in the growing church. With God
on our side, we cannot lose. The destiny of the church can be changed with God’s help. God has
a plan for each pastor’s ministry and his people. Primarily, God wants the church to be a spiritual
center. The church is a fueling station, where believers go to be encouraged, to study the Word of
God, to be injected with power, and to mature in living as well as witnessing. It is a center for
sharing burdens with one another and leaving them at the Cross. There are sinner can find pardon
from his sins. The church is a powerful force in worship and evangelism.

5
The Lord will lead pastor in every aspect of planning for church growth. The pastor will be able
to develop a plan for reproducing the church and its membership. God wants His Church to be a
church in mission.

2.3. The Pastors and Leaders

God always calls pastors and leaders to carry on His work in His Church. You, the pastor, play
an important part in this. You have to create the right conditions so that your people can clearly
hear God talking to them. They need to know God wants to use them. The job of the pastor is to
train them, provide opportunities for them to serve, and guide them to be open to the Holy Spirit
and His leadership. Although the pastor needs the ability to plan and think and organize people,
God can take all abilities and use them to help the work grow. If the pastor lacks certain abilities,
he can surround himself with others to make up for his shortcomings. Each pastor needs to know
his own weaknesses so that he can choose strong leaders especially in these areas.

When God calls a person to the ministry, he has to come to the place of complete surrender to the
will of God to preach the gospel. That call should enable him to evangelize better. It is true that
the pastor needs to catch a vision of the lost going to hell to wake him up to the great need for the
church to grow.4

2.4. What Can you expect from Your Pastor?

Nowhere does one’s perspective weigh heavier in local church life than in how members view
their pastors. Let’s be candid : when you say, “He is a good pastor,” you really are saying , “He
meets my expectations as to what a pastor ought to be and do.” The comment, “He is a bad
pastor,” is saying, “He does not meet my expectations as to what a pastor ought to be and do.”

This whole era is critical to church health. All church growth consultants agree that the pastor-
people relationship is a leading (if not the preeminent) factor in determining whether a body will
be effective. If the constituency of the church believes their pastor is doing what he ought, they
will gladly follow him. When people follow their pastor, good things happen. Each of us knows
of a dictator who ruined a perfectly healthy church. Nonetheless, the Scripture seems to be quite
clear that God wants pastors to lead. When you discover a growing church, you find strong

4
Louie E. Bustle. Keys for Church Growth, (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1990).

6
pastoral leadership. You also discover a willing “followership” within the congregation. What
causes intelligent, gifted people to follow? The answer is simple: trust. What creates trust? The
people perceive that their pastor is what he ought to be and is doing what he ought to be doing.5

2.5. The Bile and Deacons

Likewise the deacon must be the deacons be grave, not doubled-tongued, not given to much
wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let
that also be proved, and then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless. Let the
deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. (I Tim 3:8-
13).6

3. Principles of Growth
Undergirding all the growth of New Testament churches was a fervent faith in Jesus Christ. The
church believed He had come, lived a victorious life, died on the cross for people’s sin, risen
again, and would return soon. There was a fervent believed in Jesus Christ.

The Church of Rome was started by laymen. When Paul rot there, he found four functioning
congregations stared by laymen. Laymen would preach the Gospel. Laymen would baptize new
believers, they would instruct new believers. That’s the second principle; much lay leadership.

We must see the New Testament church as an assemblage of house churches. This didn’t mean
that if there were 20 or 30 house churches

In Corinth, the church was fractured. Paul always speak about it as one church, the church in
Corinth. It was one church even though it met in many different places. As archaeologists dig
back into those early cities, they find no church foundations before A.D 160. That means for the
first 120 year, Christians met exclusively in houses, and this was a great advantage to the church.
It met in many different circumstances. It was not burden with the need to build churches. It gave
a large number of people to the opportunity to lead.

5
Gene Wood. Leading Turnaround Churches, (Church Smart Resources, 2001), 25.
6
Agar A. Fredrick. The Deacon at Work, ( The Judson Press, Philadelphia: 1923),98.

7
God wants the Church to be healthy and to grow. He wants to bring increase. God is interested in
numbers. The Bible has a whole book on it! Each number is a person whose life matters to God.
The early church as recorded in the book of Acts, had people being added to it every day. (Acts
2:47). That’s a minimum of 365 converts every year! Eventually, there was such a congregation,
you have a responsibility to help ensure that your member’s funds are being used properly and to
set an example of good financial practice. A Church must grow up in a place and fashion its
ministry in such a way that is natural to the community. A fundamental truth used in different
locations may have to be applied in a different manner, use different words, involve different
time frames, and use different types of leaders. The principle or fundamental truth supporting the
method may be biblically sound, theologically accurate, and work magnificently somewhere
else. But, if it fails to be viewed as indigenous to the local situation to which it is applied, it will
not produce growth. These principles must be considered as part of a mixture of factors that can
create a climate for church growth, launch a church into growth, and maintain growth as a
continuous life-style in a church.7

3.1. Biblical Roots of Church Growth

The overall purpose of God for the unsaved people of the world is basic to New Testament
Christianity and also to church growth. “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost”, Said Jesus Himself (Luke 19:10). The Lord is long suffering, Peter adds, “not willing
that any should perish, thus that all should come to repentance” (2Peter 3:9). The God we see in
the Bible is a seeking and a finding God.

Immediately after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and fell into sin, God called out to Adam
in the garden, “Where art thou?” (Gen 3:9). Ever since then, he was actively been seeking people
separated from Him by sin. He was so serious about it that He finally sent “his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Thus, it is crucial that all lost people in the world hear the gospel and hear in such a way that
they will repent of their sins and place their trust and commitment in Christ as their Lord.

3.2. Principle of Bible Study Priority

7
Charles L.Chaney, Lewis Rons. Design For Church Growth (Broadman Press, Nashville, Tennessee,
1977).45.

8
Bible Study must be more than Sunday School. Study the Word of God is too integral a part of
church growth to be organized for Sunday morning only. The issues churches are facing is a
need for more opportunity for Bible study for members and nonmembers. It is incorrect to
assume people are not interested in Bible study when they do not attend Sunday School. It may
be their response is more directed towards the time of day, the setting, the quality of teaching,
and the curriculum used, or the quality of acceptance.

Bible study groups are surfacing all over American. No denomination has all their Bible study
groups organized. Many people are seeking the word from God for their lives. The Bible study
groups are not to be viewed as an adversary to Sunday School. They are allies. Sunday School
cannot meet the total Bible study needs among the church or unchurched peoples. Obviously
there will be some of these groups that create disturbances within the church. But, the truth is,
they already are creating disturbances, it is just not to public as a singular group can make it
seem.

Bible study is the foundational function of reaching people for Christ and responsible church
membership. Creative strategies to get the Word into more lives is a crucial building block for
church growth. Designs for creating Bible studies that are built around fellowship with Christ
and one another are essential to church growth. Training teachers to be skilled in leading Bible
studies in non-organized setting is a critical need in the growing church. Growing churches place
heavy emphasis on Bible study inside and outside the church building. Non-growing churches
should consult their Bible study priorities. If the emphasis is on Sunday School, this is not
enough. Bible study must be more than sharing biblical information.

Bible study is not centered around expounding historical information. Bible study that attracts
un-churched people is not focused on the exact location of the showdown David and Goliath.

Church Planting develops new leadership. Many students have confirmed the fact that the most
important intuitional variable for the growth and expansion of the local church is leadership. In
the local church no individual is more important for growth than the senior pastor, but effective
senior pastors must make it a point to see that lay leaders also take responsible positions in the
ministry of the church. For the most part existing churches have unconsciously placed a ceiling
on both clergy and lay leadership and, and as a result upward mobility of new people in to

9
positions of ministry is difficult. But new churches open wide the doors of leadership and
ministry challenges and the entire Body of Christ subsequently benefits.

Church Planting stimulates existing churches. Some are reluctant to start new churches for fear
of harming those churches that are currently located in the target community. They feel that
doing so could create undesirable competition between brothers and sisters in Christ. I will
develop this in more detail later on, but suffice it to mention here that in more cases than not, a
new church in the community tends to raise the religious interest of the people in general and if
handled properly can be a benefit to existing churches. That which blesses the kingdom of God
as a whole also blesses the churches that truly are a part of the kingdom.8

4. Different types of Leaders

In concern with the topic, we can distinguish four types of leaders in the following ways;

1. A directing leader. This kind of leader iss a visionary force who sees the big pictures and
motivates people with great passion. They are full of ideas but may have difficulty
working out the details of how it will happen.
2. A strategic leader. This kind of leader has a high analytical abilities and is able tto wisely
plant and put information in to logical order. Sometimes this kind of person may tend
towards perfectionism and may lack people skills.
3. A team-building leader. This kind of leader is able to communicate really well and has
the ability to develop good relationship with others. Because of this they are able to
mobilize people effectively. Their weakness may be that they become too emotionally
involved with people and they may lose sight of the big picture.
4. An operational leader. This kind of leader is good at management structure, organization
and creating efficiency. Their weakness can sometimes be that they are too cautious or
that they fail to have long term vision.9

4.1. Training Leaders

As pastor you will learn to recognize and train leaders. So many times the pastor wants church
growth because he feels pressure from leaders in authority. The inspiration for church growth
8
Robert E. Logan. Beyond Church Growth (Old Tappan, Fleming H. Revell Company,1984),25.
9
Ibid 55.

10
must come through the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the pastor and people. God’s plan
for all leaders is to reproduce themselves. First, the pastor should look for the workers from
whom he can reproduce himself with another pastor. Lay workers should also be trained to
involve others in the work by training, motivating and reproducing themselves. This is the only
way the church can be assured of making a great impact on the world.

God’s plan for believers is to support church growth. There are at least three ways people can do
this. The first is through doing. A team plays ball together or it will not be a team. If the whole
church is working, then the work will be accomplished more rapidly as well as more efficiently.
The people have to forget the idea that the pastor is trained and therefore the only one who can
do the work. Everyone can be a worker for growing the church.10

The second way to support church growth is through financial giving. Everyone can participate
in this means of support. Without the tithe the church struggles to pay the local bills with little
lift for outreach. Too many times funds are inadequate to pay the pastor. Churches should be
taught to support the pastor well. Offering of love should be given above the tithe in order that
God’s church can march to victory and growth.

The third method of supporting church growth is by prayer. Prayer is so important that it cannot
be overemphasized. The time spent in prayer is directly proportional to church growth. Prayer
prepares the heart of the people to receive the message. When prayer increases, the church
grows, especially if the other conditions are met. The pastor needs to start groups praying for his
church now!

4.2. Vision and Goals for Effective Church Growth

A vision is the ability to imagine the possible future. A goal is set by the pastor who has a vision.
Goals are methods or instructions for fulfilling a mission. The Lord can help us motivate our
church to see a vision for the work, to see the possibilities for growth. God expects every pastor
to pray for a vision what God wants him to do. One may see the possibility of a particular church
reaching an attendance of 100persons, while another may well see the possibility of reaching
1,00 people for the church. There will be different visions with some pastors bearing greater
responsibilities. Goals should be developed for outreach. New contacts are necessary for
10
C.Peter Wagner, Your Church Can Grow ( Grand Rapids, 1972).

11
reaching goals. As vision is received, we need to set goals to accomplish that vision. Most
churches that are not growing have pastors and congregations who do not expect to grow. 11

Your goal is to see each person ministering or contributing to the church. Most churches need
volunteers in each era of ministry, so encouragement the members of your Cell Group get
involved. Your entire cell group can also contribute to the wider ministry of the church on a
regular basis. In fact, Cell Group can take on much of the ministry of the church and help avoid
the continual addition of more and more departments and ministries that tend to complete for
resources. There is so much to be done. No church that I know of has enough volunteers. Your
goal is to see each person contributing to society in a positive way. This may be in their
neighborhood, their school or their work place. God wants each Christians to use their gifts and
abilities to help others outside the church. We each have a ministry to the world to be salt and
light. We do this through good works and our witness for Jesus Christ,

4.3. The Elements Necessary for An Effective Church Growth

According to the view of George Peters, he considers the following eight elements necessary for
an effective strategy for evangelism.

1. The setting of clearly defined long-range and short-range goals

2. Preparation of a realistic timetable to achieve these goals
3. The discovery of all possible resources to realize the goals
4. The mobilization of personnel and means to actualize the work toward the goals
5. The designing of the an appropriate training program of all mobilized personnel to assure
the unity, the effectiveness, and the coordination of the work and the accomplishing of
the goal.
6. The adoption of the most efficient methods to effect the goals
7. The setting up of an appropriate organizational structure in keeping with the dynamic
function of the Holy Spirit to carry through the program and consummate the goal.
8. The gracious operation of the Holy Spirit in all personnel involved and in all methods and
means employed.12

11
Ibid.45.
12
Ibid.50.

12
 4.4. Qualities of Church Growth Leader
Those who do so usually have combined a certain set of personal qualities which give a kind of
identity to church growth leaders. Here are three qualities of the Church Growth leaders. In other
words, if you meet a church growth leader, you can recognize him or her by:
1. Single-minded obedience. Church growth leaders take the Lordship of Jesus Christ
very seriously. They have counted, as Dietrich Bonheoffer would say, “the cost of the
discipleship.”They are willing to pay the price for doing whatever is necessary to
obey and fulfill God’s Great Commission. (Matt 28:19-20).
2. Clearly defined objectives. Church growth leaders are motivated by the assurance that
they have understood the revealed will of God for world evangelization and that they
are attuned to what God expects to accomplish through them. They are interested only
in disciples, validated primarily through commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and
responsible membership in a Christian church.
3. Ruthless in evaluating results. Church growth leaders have often been criticized as
being too pragmatic. They are pragmatic, but they would like to consider it as
consecrated pragmatism.
4.5.The Vital Signs of the Healthy Church

There are seven signs such indicators of ecclesiastical good health.

1. The Pastor. What kind of a rule must the pastor play if the church is to grow?
2. The People of the Church. Is it possible for the church to grow if it has a perfect kind of
pastor, but the wrong kind of people?
3. Church size. How big does a church need to be in order to be healthy and growing.
4. Structure and functions. How can a church be so constructed that all of its primarily
functions are operating at peak efficiency?
5. Homogeneous units. Is it important that a church be composed of basically one kind of
people, should it be a mixture of races and classes?
6. Methods. What kind of methods have proved to be effective instruments for evangelism
in nowadays?

13
 7. Priorities. How can the several good things that churches ought to do be arranged in
priority order according to biblical principles and effectiveness for growth? 13

CONCLUSION

In the church, there are many roles and different department to help Church Growth. The
Principle of God is never change. They are not bound by time or culture. However, the
application of these changeless principles will be different in every ministry context. God has
designed Churches as a living organism which must be involved in the process of creating new
churches in order to be healthy and to fulfill his plan. They can reproduce churches through a
variety of methods, each of which is applicable in a different situation. Pastors and Church
leaders need a well –defined process to help structure prayerful thought so the Holy Spirit can
guide them to the appreciate application of principles for their unique situation.

13
C.Peter Wagner, Your Church Can Grow ( Grand Rapids, 1972).87.

14
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wood, Gene.Leading Turnaround Churches. Church Smart Resources, 2001).

Rainer,Thom. Effective Evangelistic Churches. Broadman & Holman Publishers,1996.

Dobbins,Gaines S. Building Better Churches.Broadman Press, Nashville, 1948.

Fredrick, Agar A.The Deacon at Work. The Judson Press, Philadelphia: 1923.

Bustle,Louie E. Keys for Church Growth. Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City,1990.

Chaney,Charles I. Lewis,Rons. Design For Church Growth. Broadman Press,Nashville,

Tennessee, 1977.

Wagner, C.Peter.Your Church Can Grow.Grand Rapids,1972.

Logan, Robert E. Beyond Church Growth. Old Tapan: Fleming H. Revell Company,1984.

15