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An article that talks about conversions in the church

Church Planting and Evangelism:

A Prescription for Reaching America   Five reasons why church planting is the best methodology of evangelism.   By Steven M. Pike   c. 2012

http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200802/200802_096_ChurchPlanting.cfm

“a study conducted among Southern Baptist churches indicated that SBC churches 10 years or older average 2.5 baptisms for every 100 active members, while SBC churches 10 years or younger average 10.8 baptisms per 100 active members.”

“Church leadership authority Aubrey Malphurs reported on a study conducted in 1992 that found the average number of converts produced by churches each year per 100 members is: churches 0 to 3 years old, 10; churches 3 to 15 years old, 5; and churches older than 15 years, 3.8 The Church Multiplication Training Center reported similar numbers from a study conducted in 1998.

 “A recent study conducted by author and researcher Ed Stetzer clearly demonstrates the tendency for younger churches to be more evangelistic. He specifically looked at Assemblies of God churches and found the typical Assemblies of God church plant baptized an average of 31 people annually by its fourth year.10 In contrast, established Assemblies of God churches baptized an average of only 9 people per year.11 It is a fact: Planting new churches results in more people coming to Christ.”

“It is easier for new people to join a new organization than to join an existing one. The longer a church exists, the more likely it will become a closed relational system. Aging churches have significant momentum toward taking care of their members rather than reaching the lost (new people).”

Every pastor has experienced the pressure from longtime church members to provide pastoral care for their loved ones who are in the hospital or for benevolence. Without intervention, a sense of entitlement forms in the minds of members who have faithfully paid their tithes over many years. The building becomes their building. They worry about whether the youth pastor is providing good ministry for their kids. The collective heart of the church easily turns toward meeting the needs of regular attendees and away from the lost. When the lost do venture into a church whose primary focus are the needs of its members, they quickly experience the sensation of being an outsider. But in a new church, everyone is new; there are no insiders or outsiders. New churches have fewer relational barriers to evangelism. When lost people begin to follow Christ, it is easier for them to find a place in a new church.

A fourth reason church planting is the best evangelistic methodology is desperation. Many existing churches have achieved a level of income and attendance that produces congregational satisfaction. This sense of satisfaction minimizes their desire to do anything that might rock the boat. Congregants on Sunday mornings see a decent crowd and feel good about their church. After all, the treasurer pays the bills, the worship leader selects good music, the pastor preaches respectable sermons, and, occasionally, someone responds to the weekly call for salvation and baptism. The resulting ministry routine provides little motivation to reach the lost.

 




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