Becoming a High-Expectancy Church

TEXT: Acts 2:40-47

TOPIC: Becoming a High Expectancy Church

Bobby Earls, First Baptist Church of Icard, November 14, 1999

This morning, I want to talk to you about our church. I want us to spend our time together over the next few moments just thinking about and talking about what God is doing here at FBI. As your pastor, I want to help you fully understand where the Lord is taking us, why He is doing what He is doing, and what that will mean not only to our church as a whole, but also to you as an individual church member.

First Baptist Church of Icard is becoming a high expectancy church! What do I mean when I use the words, “high expectancy” in reference to our church? Simply this, at our church we are coming to the place where we now expect more from the membership of our church than the majority of churches, or the average church.

What do we expect from our members? What do we expect? If you were called up to this pulpit to answer that question, “What does our church expect of you as a member?”, you probably would struggle to provide the answers.

In the past, becoming a member of our church has been made so very easy, with little or no requirements, that most of us were probably given “the right hand of Christian fellowship” into the church without ever being told what it means to belong to the church here at FBI, or what, if any, expectations might be required of us as a member. Over the past few years, that has been changing. We are quickly becoming a high expectancy church.

What do we expect from church members? Here’s your answer. We expect our members to become fully committed disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ! That’s it. That’s all we’re really after. We believe the Bible’s picture of a New Testament church member is far different from that of the typical church member today.

For example, please look at the first Christian Church found in Acts 2. Let’s read together beginning at verse 40 and reading through verse 47. (Stand and read together).

40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:40-47, NKJV)

The very first Christian church was a high expectancy church! What did the first church expect of it’s members (disciples)?

1) Verse 40 “Be saved” salvation and separation

2) Verse 41 “Baptism”

3) Verse 42 “Faithfulness in doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.”

4) Verse 44 “unity”

5) Verse 45 “ministry”

6) Verse 46 “worship” small groups, intimacy (see Living Bible)

7) Verse 47 “growth” and “influence”

The first century Christian Church was a far cry from what the average church of the

Twentieth Century. We have relegated Christianity to a mere head knowledge or intellectual assent, and church membership to simply having your name on a roll at some local church.

Is that what the Lord Jesus died for? Is that why many of the New Testament believers wrote their testimonies in their own blood? So the church of the 20th Century could pad its rolls with hundreds, even thousands, of members who flippantly acknowledge Christ as savior and rarely, if ever, attend the local assembly of believers they call “their church?” I don’t think so.

Listen to me now. If the church is to survive the 21st Century, we will have to become a high expectancy church!

1. WHAT IS A HIGH EXPECTANCY CHURCH?

2. WHY DO WE NEED TO BECOME A HIGH EXPECTANCY CHURCH?

3. HOW DO WE BECOME A HIGH EXPECTANCY CHURCH?

WHAT IS A HIGH EXPECTANCY CHURCH?

A High Expectancy Church is a church where “new members and new believers know their acceptance into the church is accompanied by clearly established expectations.”[i]

An Example……

Darril Deaton is the pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Litchfield, Connecticut. This church has reached and baptized 99 people in just two years, and more importantly, they are keeping them. Three-fourths of those the church has reached in recent years are still involved today.

Friendship Baptist Church is a high expectancy church. Some of the expectations placed upon prospective members include the following:

· Attendance in a new member orientation class,

· Commitment to attend a discipling class,

· Commitment to tithe to the church,

· Regular attendance in worship services,

· Regular attendance in Sunday School classes, and

· Commitment to doctrinal guidelines.

Sounds a lot like Acts 2 doesn’t it. I like what Deaton says about his church. “New members and new believers are discipled on their level and nurtured through the early stages of discipleship. Soon they begin choosing for themselves places of service, areas of involvement, and they become regular in worship and ministry-related activities.”[ii]2

What is a high expectancy church? Several years ago, 1996, our church was featured in Dr. Thom Rainer’s book Effective Evangelistic Churches. Now, once again, our church has been selected, and featured in his new book, High Expectations.

Dr. Rainer is Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism at Southern Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky.

Listen to the expectations Dr. Rainer placed upon the churches that he selected to be in his study group. “We first determined that eligible churches must be reaching at least twenty-six persons per year. In Southern Baptist Churches, this number was represented by total annual baptism. We further determined that the churches must have a baptismal ratio (resident members to total baptisms) of less than 20:1. In other words, the church reaches at least on person per year for every twenty members. (That’s better than the national average of 44:1) Only 4 percent of Southern Baptist Churches meet both criteria.”3

Do you hear what Dr. Rainer’s studies say about our church? We are in the top 4 percent of churches in America already when it comes to reaching and keeping members!

Another Example….

Dr. Rainer covers certain traits that are typical in churches like ours which are doing an effective job of reaching and keeping members. One trait that seems to be similar among high expectancy churches is the tenure or long-term pastors. He says, “The average tenure of a Southern Baptist pastor is just over two years. For all churches in the United States, the tenure is only slightly better at three years. But the average tenure of pastors in the high-assimilation churches is 9.83 years.”4

“Donald Sharp is pastor of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church, an African-American congregation in Chicago. The church averages about 400 in two morning worship services. The church is retaining 90 percent of the new members that have come into the church in recent years. The church is clearly a high-expectation church for its new members and longer-term members. Expectations are set regarding new member classes, tithing, attendance, participation in Sunday School, and adherence to doctrinal guidelines.

Faith Tabernacle has transitioned to higher expectations because of the congregation’s trust level of its pastor. Pastor Sharp has led the church through many changes, and the church has followed its leader who has been pastor for over thirty-three years.”5

WHY DO WE NEED TO BECOME A HIGH EXPECTANCY CHURCH?

1. It’s Biblical. Acts 2; Acts 4:32f; Acts 5:12f; Romans; Eph., Galatians 5; Rev. 2-3

2. It’s Practical. To be a true “church,” we need to follow the NT model.

3. It’s Needed. Churches today have very low expectations of members. As a result, very little is accomplished.

Two quotes:

“If we continue to do the same things the same way we will continue to get the same results.”

“Growing churches do what non-growing churches do not do.”

Rainer – “Effective assimilation churches have one primary characteristic that sets them apart from churches that do not keep their members in active involvement. Effective assimilation churches had high expectations of all of their members.”6

Churches tend to receive in commitment what they expect from their members. If we expect little, that’s exactly what we will get. If we expect much, then members in high expectancy churches respond accordingly. “A church that communicates no expectations or commitment levels to its members is much more likely to lose members from transfer or membership or inactivity.”7

Like most churches of the 20th Century, FBI is top-heavy when it comes to membership. Our total membership now exceeds 1300 members! But how many of our members can be described as “fully committed disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ?” Not nearly enough.

If our purpose as a church is to “make disciples who glorify God,” and it is, then we need to become a high expectancy church that says through our statements, and structures through our ministries, and strategies through our goals, plans, and even our budget, to make disciples, not just members.

Last of all,

HOW DO WE BECOME A HIGH EXPECTANCY CHURCH?

Not to sound to simplistic, but we become a high expectancy church be placing higher expectations on our members and prospective members. Let me list a few ways we will seek to become a high expectancy church in the future that make disciples and just members.

1. Future members will be required to attend a one time membership class before they are allowed to join our church. This is our new Membership Class 101. In this class, members and prospective members alike will hear what the expectations of our church are. Prospective members will then have a better understanding of what our church is about, what we believe, what we expect of them should they decide to join.

2. Members and prospective members who attend the Membership 101 Class will be asked to sign a Membership Covenant before joining FBI or in the case of someone who is already a member, the Membership Covenant becomes a renewed affirmation of that member’s commitment to become a fully committed disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. As is already stated in our church’s Philosophy of Ministry, and adopted by our church, we will ask members and prospective members to commit to faithfulness in attendance to four things: 1) the Celebration, Sunday morning worship time, 2) a Congregation, or fellowship in a Sunday School Class or Adult Bible Fellowship also on Sunday mornings, 3) a Cell or a disciplemaking small group which might meet at anytime, anywhere during the week, and 4) to do some little thing, some service, or ministry within the church.

4. There are other expectations we have such as agreeing with our basic church doctrines which will be taught in Membership 101. Walking in unity with other church members, living separate, holy lives, church discipline and tithing will also be stressed as expectations of church members.

This is not all our expectations for members, but they cover some of the major areas.

Please remember, high expectancy churches, are NT churches that honor and exalt Christ. First Baptist Icard is already one of the top churches in America. Statistics prove it. But I believe the best is yet to come!

[i]Rainer, Thom S. High Expectations: The Remarkable Secret for Keeping People in Your Church. Broadman and Holman Publishers, Nashville: Tennessee. 1999. Page 3. 2 Ibid, pages 2-3. 3 Ibid, page 6. 4 Ibid, p. 13. 5 Ibid, p. 13. 6 Ibid, p. 23. 7 Ibid, p. 106.