When a church first begins, the number one focus is people. So all our effort, finances, and time goes to reach people and get them in there. Once we’ve got a few people, the focus begins to change to caring for the people we’ve won, including a building, childcare, ministry opportunities, etc. The values of the church have now moved from evangelism to management. The church’s effort, finances, and time must now change to take care of the people who are there. And the new evangelistic church has lost its evangelistic focus. It happens in the best of churches.

If a church is to keep its “balance” as it matures, it must find a way to keep its eyes on both evangelism (reaching new people), and management (facilitating people we already have) at the same time. Both are critical to a healthy church. Otherwise, the natural evolution within any church will cause it to turn inward upon itself. 

Have you seen this happen in a church? Tell me about it.

Tags: Change, church, evangelism