A Friendly Reminder: “Come To Jesus” Is More Important Than “Come To Our Church”

Here’s a sincere question for my fellow pastors and other church leaders. What if the members of our churches started sharing their faith, but it wasn’t in a way that brought more people to our specific church? Could we be okay with that? If not, we may not be as much about kingdom growth as we think we are. As people use social media to make new relationships and keep in touch with friends who have moved away, more aspects of our lives are happening without regard to geography. From crying with a friend going through a divorce, to celebrating the joy of childbirth, many of our most intimate moments are being lived through Facebook Live, Skype and FaceTime. More people who share their faith are doing it online, too. Which means that the friends and family members they’re sharing it with are becoming less likely to be able to attend church together. This has great potential for our church’s participation in kingdom growth, even if it doesn’t always result in the numerical growth of our local congregation.

April 23, 2018

by Karl Vaters

Here’s a sincere question for my fellow pastors and other church leaders.

What if the members of our churches started sharing their faith, but it wasn’t in a way that brought more people to our specific church? Could we be okay with that?

If not, we may not be as much about kingdom growth as we think we are.

Author

Karl Vaters

Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.

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