October 29, 2019

Gaining Momentum For Church Growth: 4 Indicators Your Church is Thriving

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If you’re experiencing any of these indicators, soak it up.

I love talking about this phase of the typical church life cycle.

It is exciting to experience it as a church leader. Churches can hardly handle the number of new guests, people are making decisions to follow Jesus every week and friends are inviting friends who invite friends.

My team and I have worked with a lot of stuck churches. But, something I also know is that God is doing some amazing work in churches today. He is leading revival in many of them and, if you’re a leader who is part of that, embrace it. It is a wild ride and a unique experience.

church life cycle

Here are four indicators your church could be experiencing momentum growth:

1) The focus is outward.

Embracing this as a church is hugely important to experience momentum growth.

Churches in this phase are unashamedly doing whatever it takes to reach people outside their walls. They want others to experience community and are going to do what it takes to break down barriers. It is crucial for churches to go where the fish are in order to reach as many people as possible. 

Churches in this phase are unashamedly doing whatever it takes to reach people outside their walls. They want others to experience community and are going to do what it takes to break down barriers. Click To Tweet

2) Creativity and innovation are expected.

The church staff desperately wants to reach the unchurched.

Therefore, they are going to think outside of the box to do so. Change and innovation go hand in hand, which can often lead to growth.  

Change and innovation go hand in hand, which can often lead to growth. Click To Tweet

3) The vision is starting to come into focus.

Understanding the specifics of where you want your ministry to go in the future is crucial to the health of your ministry.

We should always leave room for God to work. However, I am a believer that God works best through our preparation. By setting goals and creating a plan to get there, you will likely experience progress towards making your vision a reality.

Understanding the specifics of where you want your ministry to go in the future is crucial to the health of your ministry. Click To Tweet

4) Leadership is given away.

As a church experiences growth, they begin to understand that one person cannot call all of the shots.

With more people attending your church, there is an added dynamic of logistics, ministry, services and experience. A healthy leader understands the importance of giving away their sole leadership for the increased health of the church.

We always need to pray for revival in the Church, but we also need to realize there are churches that are experiencing it today. Momentum growth looks different in different churches.

Growth is a lot more fun than decline. And truly, if you are experiencing momentum growth in your church, I want to encourage you to lean in and soak up the excitement.

However, the time will come when complexity will overpower leadership, the church will outgrow its building and the team will struggle with new challenges.

Don’t be discouraged: this is normal and a key component to the growth of the church. But, the continued health of your church depends on how you take your next steps.

church assessmentTo learn more about each phase of the life cycle or to learn what phase of the life cycle your church is in, make sure to take our free Unstuck Church Assessment.

Whether you are experiencing the excitement of Momentum Growth, the frustration of Maintenance or the lag of Life Support, learning more about your life cycle stage will help your church take the necessary steps to reach sustained health.

Take me to the Unstuck Church Assessment.

Tony Morgan

Tony is the Founder and Lead Strategist of The Unstuck Group. Started in 2009, The Unstuck Group has served 500 churches throughout the United States and several countries around the world. Previously, Tony served on the senior leadership teams of three rapidly growing churches including NewSpring Church in South Carolina. He has five published books including, The Unstuck Church, and, with Amy Anderson, he hosts The Unstuck Church Podcast which has thousands of listeners each month.

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