Healthy Church Growth: 7 Types of Growth Pastors Should Understand

2. Young People 

Few things are more exciting in the life of the local church than seeing young people authentically and enthusiastically follow Jesus. Growth through reaching these generations is delightful. 

Infuse teaching of the gospel and opportunities for a decision to follow Jesus into your children’s, youth and young adult ministries. Know where kids are on their spiritual journey, and help them keep moving toward Jesus. Believe that a huge part of your evangelistic ministry should be focused on the young people right in your church. And when they embrace the Savior and begin growing in faith, celebrate it as much as you would the return of a prodigal. 

3. Relocation

Some church growth comes when Christians who have relocated to your community want a new church home. This type of growth isn’t through conversions, but it still is wonderful. We should celebrate when people find a great local church community. 

Train your church members to reach out to new people in the area. And be sure there is always room for new folks and that they feel welcomed into your church family. (Outreach Inc., the parent company of Outreach magazine, offers a program to help churches connect to new people in their area.)

4. Restoration

When people who have disconnected from church return, the church grows. While they aren’t new believers, it is good to welcome them to community, connection in worship, accountability and discipleship.

Be ready for these people to come back home. Welcome them warmly and help them reconnect. 

Complicated Growth

Other types of church growth, while adding people to your attendance numbers, should be scrutinized. 

5. Bad Experiences

You might experience new people coming to your church because they have had a bad experience in another congregation. These people need to be loved. They might need some wise counsel. But they could be prone to tell others about how they were treated at their last church, and how that other church and pastor are “bad.” 

This is a very different kind of church growth. While your church is a refuge for hurting brothers and sisters, you will need to keep an eye on these people and help them find health in your church. You might need to give them counsel on some boundaries and help them be careful not to gossip.

Love these folks. Embrace them. Help them step into spiritual growth and eventually service. 

6. Poor Transitions

More and more I see people come to a church angry and venting about the church they left. They may even do some vetting of your church, asking a lot of questions to make sure your church will never do anything to hurt them like the last one did. 

These people are ready to be a part of your congregation, but they want to be sure it is exactly what they are looking for. Some of them will stick around, but many will not. Some have valid concerns, but others are chronically negative and professional grumblers. If you are a church that worships with 120 people on a Sunday, three or four families like this might up your attendance by 15%, but is that the church growth you are praying for?

Get to know new people. If someone comes in with a list of all the hurts they have experienced in their past few churches, try to love them and help them connect. But don’t be surprised if they disappear sooner than you would expect. And don’t be surprised to hear that they are telling the next church they attend how poorly they were treated by your congregation.

7. Ideological Convictions

Some people will ask political questions before they inquire about a church’s theology and doctrine. They want to know if church leaders vote a certain way. They are looking for pastors who will speak up on “hot issues” and say exactly what they would say in the way they would say it. If the church aligns with their preferences, politics and points of view, these people are in. 

There are churches that have grown rapidly around these sorts of issues. Many of these new members already proclaim faith in Jesus, but this growth is a self-designed sorting by personal preference, which can be troublesome. A church that doubles or triples quickly, with few new believers professing faith in Jesus, can appear to be healthy and on the right track. At the same time, they might actually be growing less healthy and more insulated from the world and evangelistic outreach. 

Be careful not to fall into this trap. Preach the Bible and lift up Jesus. Don’t cater to people’s demands. Beware if you are experiencing sudden growth but very few baptisms or new believers. 

Understanding different types of church growth can offer a new perspective on attendance numbers. I pray your church will see consistent growth in ways that are Spirit-led and God-honoring.