MISSIONS OR MARKETING?

Oh Boy! Our fathers and mothers in the gospel would hardly recognize the church they knew and loved today. How I can remember sitting in the missionary meetings on the appointed Lord's Day to hear the scripture read and the songs of Zion that pointed us toward the mission of the church. GO YE! We were blessed more than many pentecostal churches I knew of because we actually knew of real missionaries. With no disrespect to the wonderful women from many other churches who dressed in white and acted as agents of mercy and compassion in the city's hospitals, nursing homes, and avenues, we actually knew some real, live missionaries. I can recall the passion with which the returned missionaries from Monrovia, Liberia in West Africa and other islands spoke of the LORD' s work. These were missionaries with passports! The fantastic stories of GOD's provision and protection instilled in many of us a real zeal to want to be a part of what was happening in the church overseas. Two of my former Sunday School teachers actually left the United States to become a missionaries in Liberia. We were repeatedly reminded of the great commission on Mission Sundays, Missionary Days, conventions and Rally Days. An offering for mission work was a constant in our services. There was a local church emphasis as well as a denominational focus on missions in our church.

When my wife and I planted our first little mission church we believed that it would grow as we took the gospel to the streets, housing developments, nursing homes, senior citizen complexes, parks and bars. That's exactly what we did. We did the work of evangelists, making full proof of our ministry. We along with several faith-filled and faithful friends and members did this type of mission work. We saw some pretty marvelous things. Some lives were changed. Some lives were saved. Some families were healed and some souls were added to the church and the kingdom of GOD. It was hard work that took a lot of sacrifice of time and spare time but it was always worth it to see someone come to know Christ in a real and life relevant way. It still is.

I'll be open with you. I read The Purpose Driven Church, by Rick Warren. I heard his testimony and was drawn to his story because of the confident presentation of the growth of his church. There were some real practical information there. Some of it I incorporated into the church I pastor today. I was impressed with the systematic approach to church growth that he presented in the book. As a pastor of a small church I was really looking for a way to increase the congregation's sense of mission and a means to increase the membership. I recommended the book to the leadership group and we read it and discussed its theories. We decided to organize what Warren referred to as a "Seeker Service and followed his guidelines as closely as we could, including the practice Sunday. Well....., That was the driest, most uninspired and stilted worship service I can ever remember. It was awkward, uncomfortable and as dry as Melba Toast! Approximately midway through the "practice" I put and end to it and declared we'll never do this again. We haven't. That unfortunate experience taught me that I am not Rick Warren and this is NOT Saddleback Community Church! I must tell y'all that rehearsing a church service that was marketed, er, um, I meant designed for people who do not yet know Christ was a culturally different for me; religious culture, that is.

There are some things that are better left to the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit as opposed to the well organized and rehearsed efforts of well intentioned people.

I have been to several church conferences over the years which purported to assist smaller churches experience exponential growth if certain techniques were adopted. My conclusion was these methods were clearly marketing techniques from business plans. Much of the information could be found in books and on-line. What these geniuses of church growth had done was add scripture to a good business plan and charged a $200.00 fee for their plagiarized plans. I have had conversations with two pastors of very large churches about the growth of their churches. What I have concluded is that the realm of their ministry and the growth of it was a sovereign move of GOD. These men made some decisions that were clearly beneficial to the growth of their ministries. In the explanation of their church's growth there was no clear indication that they knew why their churches expanded the way they did. God has appointed some over a few, some are appointed over more and some over the mega ministry. That is not to say that there are not methods and biblical principles to follow that bring growth BUT as the apostle said "GOD gives the increase". What I have discovered is that people in the community want and need face to face, real contact with those claiming to be Christians. They don't want billboards or glossy cards to announce the church's programs and personalities. The church has a public relations issue in the communities in which many churches exist. They are suspicious of churches that seem to want to add them to the number who tithe and work to increase the coffers of the church.

What I think some of the mega churches have to acknowledge is that the influx of new people in many cases are changing membership or reentering a church experience after a membership or attendance lapse elsewhere. If my strong suspicion is true (Barna Research Institute says it is) then the expansive growth of the mega church is doing little to change the sinful landscapes in most American cities. That is not to say that there haven't been conversions or changes in neighborhoods and society where these churches are; I do mean to question the additional number of believers added to the roll of the Kingdom of Heaven in the seats and cell groups of mega ministries.

One way some of these mega churches can encourage smaller church pastors is to stop identifying themselves by the size of their congregations. They seem to be constantly reminding people of how large their church is. Perhaps I am sensitized to this because I feel relatively insignificant next to someone who claims a membership into the thousands. If you really want to help other pastors to grow their churches remind them of the long term benefits of faithfulness to the call of GOD. Encourage them to be good shepherds of the flock of GOD. Pour some time and money into their ministries before you ask them for a commitment of a tithe or yearly membership fee. Come and be a blessing to the church's program and attach no cost prohibitive honorarium to your attendance. Validate the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly difficulties associated with being a pastor of a small church. Try to understand the unique set of circumstances that accompany that particular ministry without holding up your church as the chief ministry model.

The average small church is not able to afford a marketing consultant, automatic letter writing campaigns, glossy welcome packets or television exposure. Most of them have to follow the tried and true commandment of Jesus to "GO YE, into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.......", the old fashioned way; preaching repentance from sins in bars, hospitals, nursing homes, housing developments.... winning souls and adding them daily to the church such as should be saved. The work of missions must continue whether home missions or missions on foreign soil. Believe me, I have nothing against using technology to preach the message but it should never be presented as a key component to a church's success. If it is, I would wonder if it was really the work of the HOLY SPIRIT or of the skilled technique of a marketing consultant.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is this: Be who GOD called you to be. Stop worrying whether or not you're keeping up with the big boys out there with their multiplied thousands. I love the contact I have with the LORD's flock weekly, daily or as the opportunity affords. I touch them and they can touch me. They are enriched by have an actual relationship with the senior minister in the church. In fact I have several people in the church where I am the minister who left a larger church for the smaller, friendlier setting. Don't feel the pressure of having to measure up to the media's expectation of what a significant or relevant church is. Be faithful over the ones GOD has entrusted to your care and HE will reward you accordingly.