Monday begins the three-day conference that I have been looking forward to all year: Advance. There is still time for you to register, but you’re cutting it close to the wire. So click here and sign up today! The theme for the conference is “Building a Faithful and Effective Church.”
Are you still on the fence about Advance? Okay, I give. Here’s a teaser:
The Great Commission implies two types of growth—width and depth. A faithful church must prioritize both.
Depending on your personality and passions, it’s easy to focus on one or the other—either depth or width. But churches that grow only wide (and not deep) are not growing nearly as wide as they think; and those that are growing deep (and not concerned much about growing wide) are not nearly as deep as they think.
1. Width Without Depth Is Unfaithful.
Converts who do not persevere are not disciples. Jesus commanded us to “make disciples [not converts], teaching them all things I have commanded you.” This is not just a matter of bringing people to maturity; it’s a matter of salvation. Disciples go to heaven, “converts” do not.
So those who grow wide without also focusing on growing deep are not really growing as wide as they think. They are producing only converts, not disciples, and converts don’t go to heaven. Only disciples do.
I am not against counting numbers: Jesus counted them; Acts is full of them; the shepherd in Jesus’ parable about himself was so in touch with his number of sheep that he knew when one was missing. I am all for counting numbers. I just think you should count and celebrate the right ones. The numbers worth celebrating are those disciples of Jesus who go all the way with him, not those who merely pray a prayer.
Practically speaking, even the “widest” church is going to have problems unless it catalyzes its members. Disciples in a “post-Christian” world will increasingly have to be won outside of the church. Steve Timmis (speaking at Advance!) notes that in the UK, 70% of Brits say they have no intention to ever attend a church service. We aren’t there yet in this country, but we’re headed that direction. Thus, if we want to grow wide, we must equip our “lay” people to take the gospel outside the church, because that’s the only place we’ll be able to encounter the majority of lost people.
2. Depth Without Width Is Unfaithful.
Jesus taught his disciples to dream big. He issued the Great Commission with the tremendous scope of the whole world. He reigned in a huge haul of fish and then told his followers, “This is how you will catch men.”
Charles Spurgeon once said, “It is true that a fisherman may fish and never catch any fish, but he is not much of a fisherman. And so, if there were no souls saved when I preached, perhaps I might find some way of satisfying my conscience, but I don’t know what it is yet. . . . I would sooner bring one sinner to Jesus Christ than unpack all the mysteries of the divine Word, for salvation is the thing we are to live for.”
Can you be faithful without being fruitful in numbers? Absolutely. But it should bother you, and you should yearn for greater success. A lot of you need to recognize that “we’re faithful and the world is not listening” is just an excuse. When has it not been a challenge to faithfully reach a sin-hardened world?
Behind the excuses of faithfulness might lie the root of unbelief: you simply do not believe that God could bring a flood of growth. You would not be prepared for it if it happened, and you are skeptical of anywhere it might be happening. This reflects a sinfully unbelieving heart. God brought a city of Nineveh to its knees through Jonah’s 8-word sermon. Could he not do it again?
Those who grow deep without growing wide are not growing nearly as deep as they think, because going deep in the gospel produces fruitfulness in evangelism almost every time.
