How to Grow Your Church

Is your church struggling to increase membership? Here are 10 church growth tips courtesy of DoubleYourChurchAttendance.com

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TIP # 11
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To build a great church:

NEVER REJECT ANYTHING FROM YOUR PEOPLE:

"Even if all they offer you is a glass of water, drink it. They are
offering it as to unto the Lord!"

As a pastor, you are ordained to serve and to lead your people
forward in their experience of God's grace.

What they offer to you as a pastor of God's children is offered as
to God. Accept it, and be grateful to God, regardless of how small
the gift.


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TIP # 10
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To build a great church:

REMEMBER THAT YOUR PEOPLE MAKE YOU WHAT YOU ARE.

A good church and congregation can make a good pastor; a poor
church and congregation can make a poor pastor.

Likewise a good church and congregation who are led by a poor
pastor, who has not the love of his people nor the interests of God
in his heart, can be the ruination of a church.

Be observant and thankful for the opportunities that you have been
given to serve God and your people, and the many ways that they
work together to make you who you are.


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TIP # 9
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To build a great church:

BE WITH YOUR PEOPLE IN THEIR TIMES OF NEED.

When a person is to have an operation, go to the hospital and have
a period of prayer with them.

When a couple is first married, spend some time with them. When a
baby comes, rejoice over the coming of the baby.

Little things like these make a pastor dear to the hearts of his or
her people.


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TIP # 8
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To build a great church:

GIVE THE PEOPLE SOME TIME AT HOME.

Many of your people are tired. As pastors, you preach to them long
and hard that they should have a Christian home, and then give them
no time to have a Christian home.

The pastor should encourage his or her people to spend some time at
home. Then, he should take care not to plan such a heavy church
program that it will consume all of their nights.

With some time at home together, it becomes easier for the family
to pray together and to stay together.

When families know and understand that the pastor is genuinely
concerned about their problems and concerns, then they will love
and appreciate him more, and support him in his work.


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TIP # 7
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To build a great church:

EAT IN THE HOMES OF YOUR PEOPLE.

It is good for the pastor to be in the homes of his or her people.

When a member invites you for a meal, try never to reject such an
invitation. It is a mutual blessing.

The people need to fellowship with their pastor, and the pastor
needs the fellowship of the people. Children especially will know
the pastor better when he visits in their home.

If the pastor is kind, thoughtful, and understanding to the
children,they will become his pals, and will feel a kinship with
him, which will be of great value and comfort to them as they grow.


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TIP # 6
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To build a great church:

MAKE YOUR PEOPLE FEEL THAT YOU ARE THEIRS.

People like to feel that they have a pastor. They like to feel
that the pastor belongs to them, and equally that they belong to
him. Do not let yourself allow your people to feel secondary.

Spend some time with them. Many pastors spend so much time with
each other, or with the high leaders of the church, that their
people do not feel that they can fellowship with him themselves.

Live with and among your people, love them, pray for them, work
with them and for them and seek their good, not your own.


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TIP # 5
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To build a great church:

DO NOT USE YOUR PEOPLE TO BUILD A GREAT WORK, BUT INSTEAD USE YOUR
WORK TO BUILD A GREAT PEOPLE!

Regardless of your own desires, it is not the job of the pastor to
build great churches.

It IS the job of the pastor to LIFT PEOPLE UP to be GREAT
CHRISTIANS! To use the people only to build great works misses the
point of the Church.

It is the sacred task of the pastor to USE GOOD WORKS TO BUILD A
GREAT PEOPLE.

The greatest product of a pastor's effort is not to build tall
monuments to himself, or even to God.

The greatest work of the pastor is to LEAD a Christian to growth in
the grace of the Lord, and not merely to see his membership grow.

Individuals are important. Each is created in the very image of
God.

When the pastor learns to see his people as individuals and
not as a flock, and to rejoice more over a Christian who grows in
his or her faith than over a building that goes up, THEN he has
developed a TRUE PASTORS HEART.



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TIP # 4
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To build a great church:

PRAY FOR YOUR PEOPLE.

The pastor should call the names of his or her people in prayer,
especially those who have burdens, illnesses, and heartaches.

When a family is having trouble, the pastor should pray for them.
Often a little note or a phone call from you will be a tremendous
encouragement to individual members and their families.


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TIP # 3
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To build a great church:

EXPRESS YOUR LOVE FOR YOUR PEOPLE.

Some pastors carry a little pad around with them, and when they
think of some member who has been a blessing to them, the church,
or the community, they jot the name down, and later write that
member a personal note, or express their appreciation personally.

As a pastor, your people do so much for you - they pray for you,
overlook your faults, forget your mistakes, and make you what you
are. Remember always to express to them your love and appreciation.



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TIP # 2
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To build a great church:

LOVE YOUR PEOPLE

Ask God to bless you with a heart full of genuine love for the
people that you serve.

This does not mean that you need to always condone what they do.

As a parent scolds a child, the pastor who scolds his people
because he is tired of their sinning and squabbling is wrong.

A pastor whose heart is sincerely broken because of the sins of
his people, and scolds them for their own good (and not his), is
right.

Many an otherwise intelligent, educated pastor has failed in his
or her duty to their church AND to God, because of a fundamental
lack of a deep, abiding love for his people.


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TIP # 1
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One of the most sacred relationships in all of the world, is the
relationship that the pastor of a church should have with his or
her people.

God is not served when the people are dissatisfied with their
pastor. ? Nor is God served when the pastor has a bitter attitude
toward his people.

In the church, to serve God, the people and the pastor should
love one another, pray together, work together, and give together.


If you'd like more great tips to grow your church visit this site:
DoubleYourChurchAttendance.com