Jesus promised the first disciples that He would build the church, and that's what happened. The book of Acts records the exponential growth of the early church through the work of the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus. But what will surprise you is that it's most likely that church attendance was never something Jesus or the first apostles had in mind as they grew the church.
Often, when we think of church growth, what automatically crosses our mind is an increase in church service attendance. And while church attendance growth is an indication of church growth, it is not the growth that we should all be working toward.
1 Corinthians 3:6 tells us, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (ESV). What kind of growth was Paul talking about? To understand, we must understand that church during the early days was completely different from the way churches are today. There were no lights, band members, sound systems, theater-type halls, or multimedia presentations. What do the early church and contemporary church have in common? There are only two things: the undeniable move of the Holy Spirit and people.
Growing churches means more than just adding more people and having better programs. It's about growing people who come to the service. When pastors and church leaders shift their focus from getting people to build ministries and more on having ministries that build people, things rapidly change for us.
How do we grow people? Yes, we preach to them, we teach them God's word, and instruct them in Christian living, but more importantly we love them with the love of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 says, "and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you" (ESV). God wants us first and foremost to grow in the love of Jesus Christ so that we may grow in loving other people.
And it's not about pointing people to how loving Christians can be, but about pointing people to how loving our Father is and how through that love we are made new in Christ, transformed, and equipped to do the work of God's ministry.
There is nothing in this world that is a more powerful agent of change and growth than God's love, and we as believers—builders of the body of Christ and of local churches—are called to be channels of God's love. And, yes, church attendance will grow as we grow people into followers of Jesus, but only as a by-product, not a goal.
