If the back door of a church is left wide open, it doesn’t matter how many people are coming in the front door – the church is not going to grow and disciples will not be made.
Churches that can keep people are healthier than those who don’t. They not only draw in spiritual window-shoppers and lead them to Christ; they also lead them up to maturity. And that, after all, is what Jesus called us to do. He didn’t tell us to go into all the world and “sign people up.” He didn’t tell us to draw in big crowds. He told us to make disciples – a task that includes baptizing people and teaching them to obey everything He commanded.
Frankly, that’s a task that takes a lot of time. To pull it off properly, we need to close the back door to our church.
Some observations:
Churches that can keep people are healthier than those who don’t. They not only draw in spiritual window-shoppers and lead them to Christ; they also lead them up to maturity. And that, after all, is what Jesus called us to do. He didn’t tell us to go into all the world and “sign people up.” He didn’t tell us to draw in big crowds. He told us to make disciples – a task that includes baptizing people and teaching them to obey everything He commanded.
Frankly, that’s a task that takes a lot of time. To pull it off properly, we need to close the back door to our church.
Some observations:
- Even a small trickle can flood the whole house if everything is locked up tight
- Shutting the back door gives people time to grow
- We must help the Christians we already have to grow stronger in Christ
- We should serve our congregation so well that they will want to stay and not want to go anywhere else
- Most of us can’t help but tell others when we have been well served - well fed Christians will invite their friends
- Front door churches that fail to make disciples risk becoming merely a birthing center.
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