Why Are We Not Growing Faster?

“Church growth can bring out a beast in some of us. We can over focus on it. It can also distort our perception of ourselves. When our church is growing, it’s easy to think we can do nothing wrong. And when we’re not growing, it’s easy to feel as if we do nothing right. Neither is Healthy.” (C. Nieuwhof, Lasting Impact) Today, we begin our first powerful conversation, “Why Are We Not Growing Faster?” We’ll dive into Acts 6, learning from the Apostles, how to structure bigger to grow bigger.

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﻿Whitehorse Baptist Church"7 POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS"
"WHY ARE WE NOT GROWING FASTER?"(ACTS 6:1-7)
OUTLINE STYLE: SUBJECT-COMPLETED DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION:
1. PRE-MESSAGE PRAYER (Facilitated by Worship Team)
2. (VIDEO) "LASTING IMPACT - CONVO 1 CLIP" BY CAREY NIEUWHOF
3. (SLIDE 1) "WHY ARE WE NOT GROWING FASTER?" (BIG IDEA)
a) Read quote from Lasting Impact, Conversation #1, Pg. 2.
b) (SLIDE 2) Series Recap
c) (SLIDE 3) Message Intro.
TEACHING:
4. (SLIDE 4-6) ACTS 6:1-7
5. (SLIDE 7) SPIRITUAL & NUMERICAL GROWTH (VS. 1)
a) Early Church Context: The church was growing! (Disciples increasing!)
b) (SLIDE 8) Western Church Context: Most churches are not growing.
i) The Barna research group reports that the average church size is 89 adults and that most churches never exceed an attendance of 200. (Why?)
c) (SLIDE 9) WBC Context: We have not grown. (Transfer Vs. Conversion)
i) In 71 years, Whitehorse Baptist Church never exceeded 181. (Why?)
6. (SLIDE 10) STRUCTURE FOR GROWTH (VS. 2-4)
a) Acts 6: The early church structured for growth! 
i) L.I., Pg.10-17: "Structure Bigger To Grow Bigger" (3 Difficult Questions!)
b) (SLIDE 11) #1: ARE WE LETTING LEADERS LEAD? (Vs. 6:2-3a)
i) Read Lasting Impact quote on Pg.14, under "Let leaders lead."
Ø  (SLIDE 12) Back To Acts: “…good repute...Spirit...wisdom...” (6:3)
o Good Reputation: “First, check to see if anyone’s following them.”
o (SLIDE 13) Holy Spirit: “Second, look for godly people who have a track record of handling responsibility in other areas of life humbly but capably.”
o (SLIDE 14) Wisdom: “Finally, look for people who have created momentum wherever they’ve gone and who possess wisdom.” (L. I., Pg.15)
c) (SLIDE 15) #2: ARE WE EMPOWERING VOLUNTEERS? (Vs. 3b&6)
i) Add in verse 6. (A true sign of empowerment!)
ii) (SLIDE 16) Read L.I. quote on Pg.15, under "Empower your volunteers."
iii) (SLIDE 17) Do we empower our Ministry Leaders?
Ø Read quotes from "Foundations Of Leadership" Pg. 12-13, under "Establishing Ministry Leaders".
d) (SLIDE 18) #3: ARE WE MICROMANAGING?
i) Explain top-level of leadership. (Pastor, Elders & Deacons on Board)
ii) (SLIDE 19) Read quote from L.I., Pg.16, under "Stop micromanaging."
iii) (SLIDE 20) Do we micromanage our Ministry Leaders? 
e) Read quotes from "Foundations Of Leadership" Pg. 11, under "Principle 4: The Clear Responsibilities of the Church Board".
i) CAVEAT: Doesn't mean complete disregard! (The Epistles show us that.)
Ø There will always be a call of leadership to know what's happening and to add correction when the mission or vision gets off-course.
Ø Cruise Ship Analogy
APPLICATION:
7. (SLIDE 21) THE RESULTS OF GROWTH
a)  The early church continued to grow. (6:7)
i) Even those in the bondage of legalism (perhaps micromanagers) came to faith!
b) (SLIDE 22) The Western Church can continue to grow. 
i) Read L.I. quote on Pg. 23-24, under "Are we focused on unchurched people or ourselves?"
c) (SLIDE 23) Whitehorse Baptist church can continue to grow.
i) Where are we gifted? Where are we called? Where are we serving?
CONCLUSION:
8.  (SLIDE 24) INVITATION (Worship In Response)
Ø POST-MESSAGE PRAYER (Pray for OFFERING & Close Message)

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