10 Characteristics of Growing Churches and How We're Doing

I have to admit that I’m attracted to list of things that make for good churches. I saw another one that caught my attention because I had read and been impressed with the author Perry Noble before. Here is his list of “10 Characteristics of Growing Churches” and my evaluation of how we’re doing in these areas at CrossPoint.

1. They have leaders that lead!
“For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee!” Not sure where I heard that…but its true!
I am VERY encouraged by our leadership at CrossPoint. I think that we have a wonderful sense of unity that is based in a common hunger for God and desire to be used by God. Where I think that our leadership needs to step it up a level is in the area of spiritual leadership in conflict resolution. We’re not real good at dealing head on with conflict. Maybe I’m speaking more for myself, but I see it. We also need to get more intentional about growing and maturing believers. We’ve used the term “care” on many occasions, but I really think that deep down we long to lead souls to green pastures and still waters where there is real refreshment, joy, peace and delight.

2. A desperation for God’s power!
Prayer isn’t a good luck charm that is attached at the beginning or at the end of something--people are legitimately desperate for the power of God. They pray Habakkuk 3:2 prayers every day and…
Here is element of prayer that I know that we must have to be the church that God wants us to be. Measuring our desperation for God’s power is directly proportional to the amount of time we seek and cry out to the Lord in prayer. My delight at CrossPoint is that we’re not tied to one prayer meeting a week, but that prayer is more and more at a saturation level in ALL ministries. A spirit of supplication is needed on all ministry and aspects of being the church.

3. They believe that greater things are in store.
They don’t just pray big prayers but they have a sense of anticipation that is contagious! They don’t read Acts 2 and think “those were the good ‘ole days” but rather they think, “that’s where God STARTED this thing…we should be WAY ahead of this!”
I am constantly encouraged by the number of people who talk about their expectation that things are about to explode (in a good way) at CrossPoint. I think that there is a good sense of expectancy.

4. They are full of ordinary people.
God always uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Jesus didn’t choose one scribe or Pharisee when He launched the church and Acts 4:13 talks about how He used ordinary people to absolutely turn the world upside down. The staff LOVE the church so much so that they would actually attend there even if they were not on staff!
I’m sensing that we are approaching a “critical mass” of “ordinary” people that will help to generate the needed momentum. But we dare not rely on critical mass for momentum for it takes “velocity” to turn the mass into momentum. Velocity is the power of the Holy Spirit. If we don’t’ have that we have a huge “mass” of ordinary folks with no movement and that’s worse!

5. They leverage technology.
They don’t view technology as of the devil but rather as a tool given by God to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. By the way, isn’t it funny that some churches are against the use of technology yet all of them rode to their church in a car and their church building has air conditioner?
If we are going to be successful in reaching the 20s and 30s then we must be more proactive in this arena. Growing churches are making an impact. I think we have a “opportunity” to provide a deeper experience in the Word and in fellowship than some ministries geared toward this age group.

6. The church is full of passion.
People in the church actually LOVE the church and do not attend because they feel like they have to! The only reason people get angry with the fact that you love your church is probably because they have no idea what it is like to actually love their church.
The whole reason for the We Are Church series is to stir up our love for the Church; for us to see how critical it is to God’s glory and how precious it ought to be to us.

7. They take ownership of the great commission.
They REFUSE to be “keepers of the aquarium” and instead embrace the COMMAND of Jesus to reach the world for Him.
While our regular giving has dipped, our missions giving is up. This is a great indication of where our priorities lie. I think that our folks look forward to missions conference and the do buy into being part of a global work of expanding the Kingdom. The zeal for partnering with the Holsenbacks is another strong indicator of Great Commission ownership.

8. There is a willingness to change and adapt, even when it means they have to go against the very “innovative” ideas that they themselves once established!
Anyone can change the traditions of the past but true innovation occurs when we’re willing to change the ideas that we once thought were innovative and ground breaking.
We’ve got a lot of work to do in this area … me included. Just too easy to “boiler plate” ministry and repeat what we did last year. Our calendar planning meetings have gotten boring because we fail to think more creatively.

9. Generosity is embraced.
The world has never been impacted in a positive way by people that were greedy.
A recent study of our finances discovered that the average giving per unit this year is projected to be about $2,500. That is obviously far from any definition of generosity. I am sensing a level of conviction that I’ve not addressed stewardship as I should have. It is a lacking piece of our theology.

10. The people in the church are OWNERS, not merely “members.”
Members have rights, owners have responsibilities. The people in these churches understand that it is not the pastors job to minister to the people but rather the bodies job to minister to the body! And, as a result people serve Jesus by serving others instead of sitting on their “blessed assurance” and expecting to be waited on hand and foot.
This is where I got the inspiration for this point in a sermon a few weeks ago. I think that the point deserves a lot more introspection and development. I’m seeing it as a huge paradigm shift.

Perry Noble is the founding and senior pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, Greenville and Florence, South Carolina. At just nine years old, the church averages over 10,000 people during weekend services and is launching another campus in Columbia, South Carolina. Perry is convicted about speaking the truth as plainly as possible. A prolific blogger, he’s also the author of Blueprints: How to Build Godly Relationships.