I ran across this great article by Bill Easum, one of the major church growth gurus. In it he stated that the way that churches grow who have less than 500 in worship is much different than how a church that is larger grows. Large churches grow through drawing people to worship with outstanding programs and wonderful facilities. Smaller churches with smaller budgets and smaller facilities can’t grow this way. Even if they did have the facilities or the programs their size often keeps people from coming right off the street. So how does a smaller church grow – personal evangelism. They grow when the pastor and the congregation deliberately develops relationships in the community. These relationships draw people in with a much greater success than a program based evangelism focus.
This seems simple, but takes a focused effort to reach out to those outside of the church. We must develop relationships within and without the walls of the church. And we must be warm and inviting in all that we do.
Here is another great article on ways to connect with the unchurched. Also, consider giving your fridays nights to Jesus.
