What if 100 New People Were Added to Your Church Today?
By Raul Rivera
Have you considered what the impact would be if your church suddenly had 100 new people added to it? Most pastors and leaders would welcome and celebrate the idea of sudden growth, but the reality is that most are not ready for it. True and lasting growth requires management and faithful stewardship. As you read the rest of this blog, contemplate the areas mentioned; having vital policies already in place before growth happens can be the determining factor on just how well prepared your church is for sudden growth.
Children's policies: If 100 new people were added to your church many of them would be children. What policy does the church have in place to handle the sudden spike in children's church attendance? What about infants and toddlers? Do you have a bathroom policy in place? How will you guarantee their safety while in the care of your volunteers/staff? Today's society is very sensitive to children's safety issues. All it takes is one nasty rumor and you could end up wishing your church had never grown.
Membership: Many churches have not established an official membership position. What do your bylaws say about membership? Do they detail a formal membership procedure? Many church bylaws do not make mention of membership, and by their silence on the topic, they defer the church's right to govern its affairs to what state law says about membership. This could lead to disaster. Keep in mind that with 100 new members, some are likely to have different ideas about how a church should be managed. Your bylaws need to make clear what it means to be a member of the church and what rights and privileges each member will have.
The altar call: More and more, the altar call is becoming a place that is subject to lawsuits. Churches tend to have a trust God policy at the altar, where the perception is that God will not allow anything bad to happen during an altar call. The reality is that we need to trust God while continuing to steward and manage the responsibility of caring for souls. That requires planning for the onslaught of the enemy. Satan does not want lives to be transformed at an altar call. What would happen in your church if 100 new people responded to an altar call? How will your church handle the increased traffic?
Counting the offerings: Do you have a scalable policy for the counting of tithes and offerings? When a church is small, the tendency is to plan small. However, that mentality may be the very thing that keeps your church from growing. Remember that with increased attendance at the church comes increased finances. It is important for your church to handle those finances with checks and balances. It raises the confidence of those giving to the church and protects those handling the money.
Going full time: With growth, the need to hire appropriate staff so that the pastor can finally go full time at the church becomes inevitable. Does the church have a compensation policy? Do you know the three questions that help you determine if a salary package is legally reasonable? How will you handle love offerings, reimbursements and the money issues that come with increased cash flow? These are very important questions that can leave lasting consequences, if the church does not plan for them before they actually occur.
Add a digit to everything
If you want to grow by 100 people, then you should run your ministry as though they were already there. It is a mistake to manage your church to meet the needs of those that you already have. In fact, I believe that for many, it is the reason why their churches have not grown. The best way to manage your church is to always add one digit to your numbers. If you have 70 members, add one digit to it and manage your church as though you had 700. By doing so, you will always ensure that you can be trusted with growth. All you have to do then is let it happen.