Not just about the numbers, but…

When we talk about healthy churches, we often default to NUMBERS…

… to nickels & noses (how many people showed up on Sunday, and how much money they gave)…

… to bottoms (in the seats) and bucks (in the offering plate).

🙄 💰

Two things we need to note…

First, the New Testament church DID have an idea of how many people were “attending.”

A quick read through the book of Acts shows the church grew from 120 people (Acts 1:15) to 3,000 at Pentecost (Acts 2:47) to 2,000 MORE after Peter & John healed a lame man (Acts 4:4) to “more and more” being added (see Acts 5:14) to growing by MULTIPLICATION instead of fast addition (see Acts 6:7).

But, those were the numbers for an ENTIRE city— not just a locale “place” where people met for church services. That is, they counted DISCIPLES in an entire area as a unit— not just “attenders” at a specific building.

Second, growth isn’t ONLY about numbers…

In fact, the numbers we see in the book of Acts reveal something “more.”

💥 The first burst of numerical growth happened after Peter preached to a crowd which happened after the Holy Spirit moved in and fell on the 120 (see Acts 2).

💥 The second recorded burst of numerical growth occurred after Peter & John— on their way to pray— healed a lame man. In other words, a miracle “jump-started” it (Acts 4).

💥 The intense connection of community and oneness likely led to the other bursts (see Acts 5:14 and the verses preceding it).

In other words, perhaps we should focus on other kinds of growth first…

… and then let God grow the church to the “right size” for that locale.

In this episode we’ll explore what that might look like…

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Next steps

💛 This talk refers to the “Healthy Church” resources. Go to www.LifeLift.online/HC for more info

✅ Learn more about how Edwin can serve you and your team by speaking, hosting seminars, consulting, and more at www.LifeLift.online 

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