BIVO CHURCHES CAN “Growing Comes In Many Forms” By Steve Nerger

NUMERICAL GROWTH  How many people come to worship? Are the worship services the best they can be? Do they reflect who you are and not what you want to be? What changes need to be made?

NUMERICAL GROWTH  How many people come to Sunday School or small groups? Are teachers in the right classroom and on time? Are the right teachers teaching the right classes? Are facilities the best they can be? Have you done any outreach promotion?  How many people come to mid-week? Is your mid-week service worthy of people making the effort to come?

GROWTH IN PEOPLE  Spiritual Growth: Have your people begun to grow spiritually, and are they helping others do the same?  Family Growth: Are families growing closer, or is divorce in the air?  Knowledge Growth: Do Adults and children understand the basic gospel? How do you know?  Missional Growth: Is the church centered in what happens with the membership or with new people? Inward or Outward?

CORPORATE GROWTH  Birthing a New Church Baby: Has reproduction occurred in your church?  Giving to Mission Causes: Has your mission giving gone up, down, or stayed the same?  Beginning Outreach Ministries: How many ministries do you currently have outside the church walls?

PASTOR’S PERSONAL GROWTH SPIRITUAL Bible Reading Memorization Prayer RELATIONAL Family Church Members People Outside Church PHYSICAL Exercise Play/Rest Laughter PROFESSIONAL Reading Seminars College

WHY GROW? 1. It is Biblical John 15:8, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” 2. It is Helpful To do more things (as the church body grows) To have more ministries (more mature disciples working) 3.It is Respectful To God (we were saved to grow disciples – Mt. 28:19-20) To others (Jesus came to seek and to save – Luke 19:10)

HINDRANCES TO GROWTH  Disappointment  Discouragement  Disorganization  Disgust  Disillusionment  Disengagement (laziness)

JERUSALEM STRATEGY  Ask yourself the following questions: What are the physical boundaries of my church’s “Jerusalem” responsibility? Do these boundaries overlap with any other churches? Are there any towns in this area that do not have a good gospel witness or preaching point? Are there any unreached people groups in this area?

JERUSALEM STRATEGY  Begin praying for unreached people groups and unreached towns.  Share your findings with your church so everyone can begin praying specifically.  As God leads, begin outreach activities that fit those places or people that are lost.  Everyone begins and continues to pray Luke 10:2 for God to send laborers/leaders.  Encourage church members to pray about their being an answer to the Luke 10:2 prayer.

CHURCH GROWTH  If you look at the numbers of people who come to your church each week, you will probably want to resign 26 times a year.  However, if you begin to reach out, you will have many opportunities for feeling good about ministry.  Remember, Paul’s successful thought pattern came from having multiple ministries where he could see God at work all the time – not just one church or just one group of church people. (2 Corinthians 11:23-29)

BIVOCATIONAL CHALLENGES  Time Management Family Job Ministry  Training Lay People Basic discipleship Future bivocational pastors  Taking Time to Formulate Vision Yourself Leadership of church

THE END: AMEN!  You are in a band of brothers!  Bivocational pastors have been around a lot longer than fully-funded pastors.  Never apologize for being bivocational.  Never feel bad about not being fully-funded.  Consider sponsoring a bivocational church plant.  Wherever you go, allow people to know BIVOCATIONAL PASTORS ROCK !