Pastor Ed Young Jr. on Church Growth Past 15,000
On Creative Pastors, Pastor Ed Young Jr. of Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) shared what he found to be the most difficult attendance plateau for Fellowship Church to overcome.
As I’ve talked to pastors of other large churches, we’re finding that the 15,000-17,000 mark is somewhat of a glass ceiling.
When you reach those numbers, ongoing challenges like traffic and crowd congestion move to new heights. That’s the point when you need to make critical decisions about satellites, building a bigger worship center and expanding other areas like children’s ministries, parking and more.
There’s not one right answer for every church, and we’re excited that God has led us, at this point in time, to expand through our other campuses. We’re finding that multiple locations allow us to reach diverse groups with the same great end result—a vibrant, healthy local church passionately committed to the Great Commission.
Obviously, not many churches have experienced the glass ceiling of 15,000 attendees, but all churches have experienced a season where growth has slowed. Plateaued attendance usually needs change in order to continue growing. In addition to seeking God’s guidance, studying how other churches have overcome attendance barriers can be a great source of wisdom.
[via Tony Morgan]
