churchrelevance.com

The Christian Post has a great article by Nelson Searcy of The Journey Church (New York City, NY) on how to deal with five common church growth barriers. Here is a list of the five barriers with a quick summary of Searcy’s thoughts on each.

1. Space
   >> When a room reaches 70% of its seating capacity, it’s full.
   >> Most churches face growth barriers when attendance reaches 65, 125, 250, 500, and 1,000.
   >> It is better to grow to 300 or 400 before starting a second service.
2. Self-Development
   >> If the church leaders have stopped maturing spiritually and progressing personally, the congregation is not far behind.
   >> Warning signs include stale sermons, the congregation’s passion waning, and the halt of staff and church growth.
3. Sharing
   >> Churches stop growing when they become inwardly (instead of outwardly) focused.
   >> Healthy churches should have a 5:100 ratio of first-time guests.
4. Weekly Worship Service
   >> To keep your service strong, always try to look like a church twice your size.
5. Staff
   >> Hiring staff is a faith issue.

For more on each area, read the full article from The Christian Post.