Don't Assume... - Church Leader Insights

Today’s guest blog comes to us from Karl Vaters, pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, CA. Karl is the author of The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking that Divides Us and is a regular contributor on NewSmallChurch.com.

We all make assumptions.

I do. You do.

And they’re almost always wrong.

Especially on complex subjects, like those that involve God and people. Subjects like church health and growth.

But over the years I’ve made many assumptions about church growth anyway. And I’ve heard others make them.

Then I lived a few decades as a pastor. Experience challenged, then changed my assumptions. It showed me that many of them were not valid.

So what should we do when our assumptions are challenged? Let go of them.

With that as a backdrop, here’s a partial list of assumptions many people make about church health, growth and size – many of which I made myself – that have proven to be wrong.

So we need to give them up.

I Don’t Assume…

…that small churches are doing something wrong

…that bigger is better

…that bigger is worse

…that small church pastors are lazy or sinful (or automatically righteous, either)

…that big churches are shallow

…that a healthy church will grow numerically

…that a lack of numerical growth is a sign of ill-health

…that big churches steal sheep

…that small churches are friendly

…that big churches aren’t friendly

…that more programs equal better church

…that small churches need to think like big churches

…that numerical growth is always a sign of God’s blessing

…that great preaching alone will build a great church

…that doing what the growing church down the street did will make my church grow

So what do you think? Have you made any other assumptions about church growth?

Click here to read the entire post.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.