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[h=2]IS YOUR CHURCH - QUANTITY FOCUSED OR QUALITY FOCUSED?[/h]
I have based much of my thoughts about this subject on an article in Charisma Magazine June 2013 edition and from an article by J. Lee Grady past editor of Charisma Magazine.
Is our church putting more value on things depending on how popular they are? We like BIG. Churches get rated based on size. Just look at your city and surrounding cities. Are there mega churches where many hundreds if not thousands of people congregate on Sunday? Is the value of some of these churches directly connected with how many people show up on Sunday morning? Because of the size of some of these churches is it assumed they are leading the way in making a spiritual impact because of their size?
Maybe it is time to pause and rethink quantity versus quality. Does God evaluate our church's effectiveness based on numbers and comparing a small church to a large church? Many pastors of small churches get discouraged because they evaluate their ministries by counting the number of seats occupied (or not occupied) on Sunday and/or the amount of money in the offering plates. GODS'S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS.
Remember these kingdom principles:
1. Less is sometimes more
2. Follow the cloud, not the crowd
3. Make disciples; don't entertain audiances
4. Popularity is overrated
The large crowds that gathered around Jesus did not impress Him. He knew many who were healed in His meetings would not follow Him to the Cross. Of the seeds he sowed, only a small percentage would bear fruit. Mark 4:3-8 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air[a] came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Not many seeds found the good ground but the seed that found the good ground flourished and bore fruit. Is our church "good ground"? Does the size of the acreage determine how fertile the soil?
Most scenes of the early church are not very impressive. An Ethiopian is converted on a desert road. They Holy Spirit falls on members of an Italian family gathered in a home in Caesarea. Lydia comes to Christ in a small prayer gathering by a river in Philippi. God moves as powerfully in one-on-one conversations and small group gatherings as He does in BIG meetings. When we follow the cloud of His presence, He often leads us to the one instead of the many. Paul did not measure his impact by large buildings, big mailing lists, and media exposure.
Acts ends with Paul ministering quietly to people in a small apartment while he is under house arrest. Acts 28:30-31.
Brothers and Sisters, do not confuse disciples with pew warmers. Every man's work will be tested by fire, and every ministry will be evaluated not by church growth but by God's holy standards. God will not evaluate us by how many people were in attendance but how many disciples were made. Do not let entertainment become a substitute for discipling.
Mr. Grady cites the three largest concerts in history. 1) Indian singer Babbu Maan who attracted 4.8 million fans. 2) Raspy voiced British rocker Rod Stewart and 3) French New Age composer Kean Michel Jarre. If you are asking who in the world id Babbu Maan..... the point has been made. Crowds or fleeting popularity do not determine significance. Are we supposed to be impressed by the number of Tweets Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga and Katy Perry get? Today's culture of "star power" would say yes!
Let's stop evaluating our own effectiveness and each other's effectiveness by crowd size. Be faithful with the people you/we have. Whether you/we are ministering to a handful of inmates, a roomful of Alzheimer's patients, a dozen orphans , a small Bible study group or one depressed friend, forget your need for the spotlight. Just ask Jesus to use you, and make HIM popular.
So again..... are we quantity focused or quality focused. Jeremiah 29:11-12 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Let us be dicipliers of hearts..... regardless of whether it is one-on-one, a gathering of 50 or a crowd of 50,000.
I have based much of my thoughts about this subject on an article in Charisma Magazine June 2013 edition and from an article by J. Lee Grady past editor of Charisma Magazine.
Is our church putting more value on things depending on how popular they are? We like BIG. Churches get rated based on size. Just look at your city and surrounding cities. Are there mega churches where many hundreds if not thousands of people congregate on Sunday? Is the value of some of these churches directly connected with how many people show up on Sunday morning? Because of the size of some of these churches is it assumed they are leading the way in making a spiritual impact because of their size?
Maybe it is time to pause and rethink quantity versus quality. Does God evaluate our church's effectiveness based on numbers and comparing a small church to a large church? Many pastors of small churches get discouraged because they evaluate their ministries by counting the number of seats occupied (or not occupied) on Sunday and/or the amount of money in the offering plates. GODS'S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS.
Remember these kingdom principles:
1. Less is sometimes more
2. Follow the cloud, not the crowd
3. Make disciples; don't entertain audiances
4. Popularity is overrated
The large crowds that gathered around Jesus did not impress Him. He knew many who were healed in His meetings would not follow Him to the Cross. Of the seeds he sowed, only a small percentage would bear fruit. Mark 4:3-8 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air[a] came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Not many seeds found the good ground but the seed that found the good ground flourished and bore fruit. Is our church "good ground"? Does the size of the acreage determine how fertile the soil?
Most scenes of the early church are not very impressive. An Ethiopian is converted on a desert road. They Holy Spirit falls on members of an Italian family gathered in a home in Caesarea. Lydia comes to Christ in a small prayer gathering by a river in Philippi. God moves as powerfully in one-on-one conversations and small group gatherings as He does in BIG meetings. When we follow the cloud of His presence, He often leads us to the one instead of the many. Paul did not measure his impact by large buildings, big mailing lists, and media exposure.
Acts ends with Paul ministering quietly to people in a small apartment while he is under house arrest. Acts 28:30-31.
Brothers and Sisters, do not confuse disciples with pew warmers. Every man's work will be tested by fire, and every ministry will be evaluated not by church growth but by God's holy standards. God will not evaluate us by how many people were in attendance but how many disciples were made. Do not let entertainment become a substitute for discipling.
Mr. Grady cites the three largest concerts in history. 1) Indian singer Babbu Maan who attracted 4.8 million fans. 2) Raspy voiced British rocker Rod Stewart and 3) French New Age composer Kean Michel Jarre. If you are asking who in the world id Babbu Maan..... the point has been made. Crowds or fleeting popularity do not determine significance. Are we supposed to be impressed by the number of Tweets Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga and Katy Perry get? Today's culture of "star power" would say yes!
Let's stop evaluating our own effectiveness and each other's effectiveness by crowd size. Be faithful with the people you/we have. Whether you/we are ministering to a handful of inmates, a roomful of Alzheimer's patients, a dozen orphans , a small Bible study group or one depressed friend, forget your need for the spotlight. Just ask Jesus to use you, and make HIM popular.
So again..... are we quantity focused or quality focused. Jeremiah 29:11-12 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Let us be dicipliers of hearts..... regardless of whether it is one-on-one, a gathering of 50 or a crowd of 50,000.