I find it fascinating when discussing the subject of growth barriers with members in the church. It’s as though I am explaining the Theory of Relativity to them. They give me a weird look and ask me something to the effect of, “What is that?”
I need to define what a growth barrier is in order to effectively communicate the concept. A growth barrier is anything, i.e. leadership, facilities, programs, that hinder the growth of the church. It is anything that keeps people from coming and staying in the church.
Statistically 85% of churches in America are under 200 people and most of those are either plateaued or are in decline.
For the purpose of this article I want to focus on a few growth barriers to illustrate the effect they can have on a church. I want to focus on the leadership lid, facilities, and structure.
Leadership
In his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell explains the first Law. It is the Law of the Lid. He defines it this way, “Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid of his potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness.”
If a leader refuses to grow in his potential through continuing education, reading, conferences, etc, then he puts the lid of growth on the church. The church cannot grow higher than its leaders. That is the idea of the “lid”.
Every church faces growth barriers in regards to attendance. Nelson Searcy, pastor of The Journey, in NY City, has listed several attendance barriers. The first barrier is 65, the second is 125, and the third is 250 and so on.
He explains that in order to break the different levels of attendance the leader must change in his leading ability. What it took the pastor to grow the church to 65 will not be the same as what it will take for him to grow the church to 125 and 250. The leader must learn to grow and adapt in order to help the church break through growth barriers.
Gene Woods devotes a chapter about leaders in his book, Leading Turnaround Churches, where he explains reasons as to why some pastors stay at a declining or plateaued level. He lists several:
1. Fear of conflict
2. Lack of discipline
3. Inability to do personal evangelism
4. Unwillingness to accept coaching
If a pastor cannot grow in these areas he not only is putting a lid on his leadership but also a lid on the growth of the church.
Church Facilities
The second growth barrier I want to explore is that of the facilities of the church.
We all have been to restaurants that did not meet our standards of excellence. The floors and tables were dirty. The service was slow. The food was cold. The restrooms were, well, we don’t really want to talk about that. And what was our response. The waitress probably didn’t get a very good tip, if any. And we made a decision not to go back. We voted with our feet.
Unfortunately for churches, the same thing occurs yet many don’t seem to care. They keep doing the same thing hoping that people will come and stay. In the real world that is called crazy. We live in a consumer society and people will judge our churches by how well we take care of the facilities. Either consciously or subconsciously people will perceive how much we care about them by how well we present ourselves through our facilities.
The very first places for first impressions in a church are the church grounds, bathrooms and children’s areas. Most first time guests will obviously enter the church through the front doors. First time guests will get their very first impression of your church from the signage, the parking lot, and the grounds surrounding the building. If the lawn is not mowed, the signs are old and beat up and there are not any good parking spots, their first impression of the church will not be what we want. First impressions are lasting impressions.
The next areas of concern for first time guests are the bathrooms and children areas. These will become a determining factor if first time visitors decide to return. Like it or not, people will not use filthy, smelly restrooms, and they will not let their children be put into filthy, smelly nurseries or children areas. Both of these rooms speak volumes to first time guests about the priorities of the church.
Another barrier is the seating capacity of the church. That also goes for the children’s area and the parking lot. A principle that I have heard and read several times is the 80% rule. Basically, when the church is 80% filled then it is filled to capacity. If a church can seat 100 people that means more than likely it will get stuck at around 75-80 people. In order to help the church to continue to grow more seating must be provided or a new service started.
Parents want their children in a safe and clean environment. If the rooms are too small the parents will more than likely not return with their kids. In our society today, when it comes to church attendance, parents are more willing to sacrifice their preferences for their children’s. If their kids love the children’s programs but they don’t care much for the church itself, they are willing to put up with it in order for their kids to learn in a great environment. So children’s rooms must be a priority if we want to break growth barriers in the church.
I have read recently that a church must have 1 acre of land for every 100 people. The property must be able to accommodate people or the church will not grow. That translates into more parking. With most churches they need one parking spot for every 2.5 people who attend their church. If the parking lot is full, people will keep on driving by.
Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan explain in their book, Simply Strategic Stuff, “If it is difficult for newcomers to go to your church, they won’t go. If they have a bad experience getting into your building or getting out of the parking lot, they won’t return.” So parking can become a major growth barrier to the church.
Structure
The structure of the church’s leadership and programs can and will determine the growth of the church. Churches that are program heavy and filled with red tape for decision making typically are in decline or have plateaud.
Churches that have simple policies and structures are those that are experiencing growth. In his book, Simply Strategic Volunteers, Tony Morgan explains, “Good policies and procedures actually remove barriers and enable volunteers to accomplish more ministry. These guidelines and systems should make life easier for people.”
When people are confused about how things should get done, they will only accept that for so long, until they decide it’s time to go to another church that has a focus and a purpose.
Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Church, believes churches need to design their structures around the five purposes of the church in order to bring health. He believes that healthy churches are growing churches.
Rick Warren states, “If you want to build a healthy, strong, and growing church you must spend time laying a solid foundation. This is done by clarifying in the minds of everyone involved exactly why the church exists and what it is supposed to do.” He gives five outcomes of a clear process:
1. It builds morale.
2. It reduces frustration.
3. It allows concentration.
4. It attracts cooperation.
5. It assists evaluation.
It is important to have a clear understanding of why the church exists and how the church will accomplish its mission in order to remove growth barriers.
Conclusion
There are many more areas that could be discussed, and have been by others, about growth barriers in the church. First it is important to understand that every church has growth barriers that need to be understood and overcome in order to grow to the next level.
Second, how we deal with these growth barriers will reveal our true motivation concerning the growth of the church. We either like it small for personal, selfish reasons, or we want it to grow to advance the Kingdom of God.
Lastly, I believe with all my heart that it is God’s will for the church to grow. Jesus said, “I will build my church”. That implies growth. It is God’s will that no one should die but everyone come to eternal life. Our job is never done. The church must continually strive to grow for the sake of the Kingdom.
I need to define what a growth barrier is in order to effectively communicate the concept. A growth barrier is anything, i.e. leadership, facilities, programs, that hinder the growth of the church. It is anything that keeps people from coming and staying in the church.
Statistically 85% of churches in America are under 200 people and most of those are either plateaued or are in decline.
For the purpose of this article I want to focus on a few growth barriers to illustrate the effect they can have on a church. I want to focus on the leadership lid, facilities, and structure.
Leadership
In his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell explains the first Law. It is the Law of the Lid. He defines it this way, “Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid of his potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness.”
If a leader refuses to grow in his potential through continuing education, reading, conferences, etc, then he puts the lid of growth on the church. The church cannot grow higher than its leaders. That is the idea of the “lid”.
Every church faces growth barriers in regards to attendance. Nelson Searcy, pastor of The Journey, in NY City, has listed several attendance barriers. The first barrier is 65, the second is 125, and the third is 250 and so on.
He explains that in order to break the different levels of attendance the leader must change in his leading ability. What it took the pastor to grow the church to 65 will not be the same as what it will take for him to grow the church to 125 and 250. The leader must learn to grow and adapt in order to help the church break through growth barriers.
Gene Woods devotes a chapter about leaders in his book, Leading Turnaround Churches, where he explains reasons as to why some pastors stay at a declining or plateaued level. He lists several:
1. Fear of conflict
2. Lack of discipline
3. Inability to do personal evangelism
4. Unwillingness to accept coaching
If a pastor cannot grow in these areas he not only is putting a lid on his leadership but also a lid on the growth of the church.
Church Facilities
The second growth barrier I want to explore is that of the facilities of the church.
We all have been to restaurants that did not meet our standards of excellence. The floors and tables were dirty. The service was slow. The food was cold. The restrooms were, well, we don’t really want to talk about that. And what was our response. The waitress probably didn’t get a very good tip, if any. And we made a decision not to go back. We voted with our feet.
Unfortunately for churches, the same thing occurs yet many don’t seem to care. They keep doing the same thing hoping that people will come and stay. In the real world that is called crazy. We live in a consumer society and people will judge our churches by how well we take care of the facilities. Either consciously or subconsciously people will perceive how much we care about them by how well we present ourselves through our facilities.
The very first places for first impressions in a church are the church grounds, bathrooms and children’s areas. Most first time guests will obviously enter the church through the front doors. First time guests will get their very first impression of your church from the signage, the parking lot, and the grounds surrounding the building. If the lawn is not mowed, the signs are old and beat up and there are not any good parking spots, their first impression of the church will not be what we want. First impressions are lasting impressions.
The next areas of concern for first time guests are the bathrooms and children areas. These will become a determining factor if first time visitors decide to return. Like it or not, people will not use filthy, smelly restrooms, and they will not let their children be put into filthy, smelly nurseries or children areas. Both of these rooms speak volumes to first time guests about the priorities of the church.
Another barrier is the seating capacity of the church. That also goes for the children’s area and the parking lot. A principle that I have heard and read several times is the 80% rule. Basically, when the church is 80% filled then it is filled to capacity. If a church can seat 100 people that means more than likely it will get stuck at around 75-80 people. In order to help the church to continue to grow more seating must be provided or a new service started.
Parents want their children in a safe and clean environment. If the rooms are too small the parents will more than likely not return with their kids. In our society today, when it comes to church attendance, parents are more willing to sacrifice their preferences for their children’s. If their kids love the children’s programs but they don’t care much for the church itself, they are willing to put up with it in order for their kids to learn in a great environment. So children’s rooms must be a priority if we want to break growth barriers in the church.
I have read recently that a church must have 1 acre of land for every 100 people. The property must be able to accommodate people or the church will not grow. That translates into more parking. With most churches they need one parking spot for every 2.5 people who attend their church. If the parking lot is full, people will keep on driving by.
Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan explain in their book, Simply Strategic Stuff, “If it is difficult for newcomers to go to your church, they won’t go. If they have a bad experience getting into your building or getting out of the parking lot, they won’t return.” So parking can become a major growth barrier to the church.
Structure
The structure of the church’s leadership and programs can and will determine the growth of the church. Churches that are program heavy and filled with red tape for decision making typically are in decline or have plateaud.
Churches that have simple policies and structures are those that are experiencing growth. In his book, Simply Strategic Volunteers, Tony Morgan explains, “Good policies and procedures actually remove barriers and enable volunteers to accomplish more ministry. These guidelines and systems should make life easier for people.”
When people are confused about how things should get done, they will only accept that for so long, until they decide it’s time to go to another church that has a focus and a purpose.
Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Church, believes churches need to design their structures around the five purposes of the church in order to bring health. He believes that healthy churches are growing churches.
Rick Warren states, “If you want to build a healthy, strong, and growing church you must spend time laying a solid foundation. This is done by clarifying in the minds of everyone involved exactly why the church exists and what it is supposed to do.” He gives five outcomes of a clear process:
1. It builds morale.
2. It reduces frustration.
3. It allows concentration.
4. It attracts cooperation.
5. It assists evaluation.
It is important to have a clear understanding of why the church exists and how the church will accomplish its mission in order to remove growth barriers.
Conclusion
There are many more areas that could be discussed, and have been by others, about growth barriers in the church. First it is important to understand that every church has growth barriers that need to be understood and overcome in order to grow to the next level.
Second, how we deal with these growth barriers will reveal our true motivation concerning the growth of the church. We either like it small for personal, selfish reasons, or we want it to grow to advance the Kingdom of God.
Lastly, I believe with all my heart that it is God’s will for the church to grow. Jesus said, “I will build my church”. That implies growth. It is God’s will that no one should die but everyone come to eternal life. Our job is never done. The church must continually strive to grow for the sake of the Kingdom.
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