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NASB | Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them." [Ex 3:14] |
Bible Question: Our congregation has been told that we need to increase the size of our facility to accomodate the projected growth of the church. Since May, we have had an increase of 20 percent in our worship services and almost 50 percent growth in the children's ministry. Is church growth measured by numbers in the pews? Many people are coming to the church, but few are coming forward. Any comments? |
Bible Answer: I write from my own opinion and many, I'm sure, feel differently. I started coming to our assembly when it was only about 80 people. I accepted Jesus and was baptized within this body. I feel that I was growing within this group and of course I still love my brothers and sisters who attend. Now this assembly has grown to about 400 (which still isn't as large as many) during which time they have purchased over 25 acres of prime land and built a large new building and beautifully landscapped it. Although many new people come to the new building many who were there at the beginning have left and gone else where. I have stayed with them feeling that once the new building was built and every was settled in, they would get refocused. Instead it seems they have refocused on physical expansion. I feel that all the new expences directed toward physical expandsion have taken the emphasis away from biblical teaching and spiritual growth, putting unnecessary burdens and pressure on individual believers to stretch them out more financially because of fear of guilt and not from heart felt support. This is especially true because almost all of the expenses for growth have been borrowed from the bank. I try to be careful not to call the building or the institution the "church". The church is the body of believers. This applies to whether it is where two or three are gathered in Jesus name or where a thousand are gathered in His name. I believe that many organized Christian institutions are patterned from the corporate structure, thus their goals become simular. I am now looking for a small group who will gather for prayer and focus on studing the Bible together. If I belong to another larger assembly of believers it will be one that is structured around small group ministries. My personal answer is that I can find nothing in the Bible that measures church growth as building growth or growth of the institution's assets, but maybe that's just me. Act 15:28 it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: Act 15:29 you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell." |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Matt 18:20 | Author | ||
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Mommapbs | ||
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Bob Y. | ||
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Searcher56 | ||
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wasted | ||
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SouthernStormMom | ||
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mamasonthree | ||
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mamasonthree | ||
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foxy_2914803 | ||
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moyekoli |