Success is often determined by numbers. The bigger… the better. In church life, we often think the bigger the attendance, or the bigger the offerings, or the bigger the buildings… the better. But are we focusing on the right thing?
Today I heard a story about Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A. He is a strong Christian man and the story goes like this… Back in the 1980s, when Boston Chicken, which later changed its name to Boston Market, was raising capital to expand, Chick-fil-A management discussed how they could compete and also grow bigger. Finally, it’s reported, Cathy pounded the table and said, “I am sick and tired of listening to you talk about how we can get bigger. If we get better, our customers will demand we get bigger.”
That last quote is key to success in any endeavor, “If we get better, our customers will demand we get bigger.” Growth is often dependent on outside stimuli. Even Jesus said, “I will build my church.”
My desire is that our church focus on better rather than bigger. If our ministries got better–that is, healthier–we’d get bigger. Let us pray and work hard to determine what a healthy church looks like. Ask yourself, ‘What can I do to make my church better?’ As our church grows healthier and stronger–that is, better–we will find that God will grow us bigger.
What do you think?
Do churches focus too much on bigger?
What can churches do to focus on better?
What can you do to make your church better?