Evaluating The Church Growth Movement 5 Views

Evaluating the Church Growth Movement Copyright © 2004 by Gary L. McIntoshRequests for information should be addressed to:Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Evaluating the church growth movement : five views / contributors, Elmer Towns ... [et al.] ; Gary L. McIntosh, general editor. p. cm. - (Counterpoints) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-310-24110-3 1. Church growth. I. Towns, Elmer L. II. McIntosh, Gary, 1947- III. Counterpoints (Grand Rapids, Mich.) BV652.25.E93 2004 254''.5-dc22 2004008616All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of Zondervan, nor do we vouch for their content for the life of this book.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.Printed in the United States of America04 05 06 07 08 09 10 /. DC/10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1WHY CHURCH GROWTH CAN''T BE IGNOREDGary L. McIntoshWhen you hear the term church growth, what words or phrases come to mind? You may think of megachurches, small groups, numbers, contemporary worship, marketing, or a host of other concepts that have occasionally been promoted as popular church-growth theory.In contrast, you may identify the term church growth with effective evangelism, church planting, church extension, making disciples, church multiplication, or other aspects of outreach that seek to win people to Christ and enlist them as responsible members of his church.These differing perceptions of the term church growth, and the emotions that arise from them, clearly point to misunderstanding and disagreement regarding the term, as well as the movement. Church growth is one of those ideas that cause us to draw lines in the sand. We are either for an emphasis on church growth or against it. There seems to be little neutral ground. Donald McGavran, the father of the modern Church Growth movement, recognized early on the divisive nature of Church Growth thought in a letter to his wife, written from Costa Rica on September 8, 1961: "It is clear that emphasizing the growth of the churches divides the camp. It is really a divisive topic. How strange when all are presumably disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ." Dr. McGavran''s words still ring true today. Church Growth continues to divide the camp, as the five viewpoints expressed in this book will demonstrate.SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONSThere is agreement, however, among Church Growth critics and adherents alike that the Church Growth movement has made significant contributions to the mission of the church, contributions that cannot be ignored. For instance, one early critic of the movement believes its major contribution is in "clarifying of the mission of the church and focusing mission activity on the responsive." Other critics add that the movement has provided a "strategy and a set of prGundry is the author of 'Evaluating The Church Growth Movement 5 Views', published 2004 under ISBN 9780310241102 and ISBN 0310241103.