Who Actually Grows The Church?

The church growth movement made a promise scripture never made, and a generation of faithful ministers has been crushed beneath its weight.

I have watched the same scene unfold at more ministry gatherings than I can count. Two pastors meet, shake hands, trade the usual words about family and the drive in, and then, almost involuntarily, one of them asks the question that quietly governs so much of American church life: “So, how big is your church now?”

It is a small question, and it seems ha…