So you want your church to grow, to reach new people. And you’ve convinced yourself that you really would grow if you only had one or two more things to make your ministry thrive.
For example, you’ve might have said any combination of these things.
We would grow if we:
Got out of our portable location and opened a new building.
Got out of our current building and became portable (I’ve actually talked with leaders who think they would grow explosively if they left their old building and became portable).
Added new technology (like lights, sound or video).
Merged with another church.
Added a new campus.
And would you?
Here’s my theory: No you wouldn’t.
Before you get discouraged and quit reading this post, let me explain why this line of thinking rarely, if ever, works.
One principle most of us want to ignore.
David Ogilvy, the famous 20th-century advertising guru, is famous for saying that great marketing just makes a bad product fail faster.
And that’s the principle most of us want to ignore, or at least I do.
Most churches aren’t not growing because of their venue or even because of their technology.
They’re stagnant or dying because they’re not connecting with people and effectively fulfilling their mission.
As a result, in most cases:
A change in venue will simply move your current problems into a new location.
New technology will only magnify your current irrelevance.
Merging ministries or adding locations will only compound your current problems with new ones.
Bottom line? There is no silver bullet.
The trap most leaders fall into is believing that a change in form will be an adequate substitute for a change in substance.
