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Conference yukon::christian_v7

Title:	The CHRISTIAN Notesfile
Notice:	Jesus reigns! - Intros: note 4; Praise: note 165
Moderator:	ICTHUS::YUILLEON

Created:	Tue Feb 16 1993
Last Modified:	Fri May 02 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	962
Total number of notes:	42902

554.0. "The Successful Church" by LARVAE::PRICE_B () Fri Sep 02 1994 10:40

I'm trying to decide how to define a "successful church". At the moment I've 
come up with two very different options:

        1 - A church experiencing physical growth plus an ongoing spiritual 
        maturing of its members/growth in the gifts and fruits of the Spirit.
        
        2 - A church battling with small numbers, little impact in it's parish, 
        (fighting against terrific odds) but still seeing an ongoing spiritual 
        maturing of its members etc.
        
I can see a measure of success in both cases, just the same as you can see 
success in both Job and Elijah. Perhaps some of you could define your 
perception of "a successful church".

Ben

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
554.1		TOKNOW::METCALFE	Eschew Obfuscatory Monikers	`Fri Sep 02 1994 12:05`	30
	The mission statement of two churches: "To glorify God and provide an atmosphere where every Christian can reach his or her full spiritual potential." "Exalt the Lord, Equip the Laity, Evangelize the Lost" The second one is more of a marketing sound bite, but it conveys three good aspects. The third aspect must be implied in the fist statement. I think they both have number 1 in the right order. A successful church worships in spirit and in truth. When this occurs, the others will follow (though not without commitment of the worshippers). A successful church will equip the Christians within its walls, through worship, education, and fellowship, and reach out through evangelism and other means of outreach (ministering to the community). The byproducts of these principles may be physical growth, or battling and maturing. (My father-in-law pastors a small church where he has at tmies been discouraged by the people who come and go, but many of them have come in and gone out to Christian service! His small church has been the breeding ground for missionaries (home and abroad).) Be careful not to measure a church's success by external metrics. If God uses our hearts and not our actions as the guage (cf. the Widow's mites), then we need to put on a perspective of the divine when discussing spiritual entities, such as the church. Mark
554.2	enabling Christ-centered relationships	DYPSS1::DYSERT	Barry - Custom Software Development	`Fri Sep 02 1994 12:09`	13
	Off the top of my head (I do that a lot lately - must explain my ongoing hair loss <:-}... Seems that a successful church is one that makes a Christ-like difference in people's lives. Some churches are successfully evangelizing, helping the lost come to know the Lord. Other churches are successfully discipling, helping the saved come to know Him better. There are probably even some churches successful at doing both! Bottom line: if the church is helping people get closer to God, it's succeeding. BD�
554.3		JULIET::MORALES_NA	Sweet Spirit's Gentle Breeze	`Fri Sep 02 1994 12:45`	9
	Intersting topic... I don't think a "successful" church is in numbers. I go to a large church and while success is something that many see at NVBC, I've been to churches with 30 people in them and been blessed beyond belief and the fact that the Spirit is strong in both places is really what success is all about. With the Spirit in the church, nothing can be accomplished for God.
554.6		CSC32::J_OPPELT	Oracle-bound	`Fri Sep 02 1994 16:22`	39
554.7	what church?	JUPITR::MESSENGER	The discerning heart seeks knowledge PR 15:14	`Tue Sep 13 1994 23:23`	17
	The initial & subsequent entries seem to all address the physical church. Ecclesia - the original word translated into church has little if anything to do with that. The ecclesia or the physical church's success is going to depend upon the age more than some brilliant activities coordinator or astounding preacher. God said he would blind the people so that their judgement might be fulfilled. In such an age one could not expect enormous numbers from a church that is preaching truth. False doctrine on the other hand would be very popular. In such an age the "salt" that is here and there would be more successful in growing spiritually than in growing in numbers. My two cents, Rich