Monday, August 20, 2007 Alipio: When churches grow By Fr. Jose Alipio The Yoke
Acts 16:1-10
MANY church leaders monitor the annual survey on religion. Like politicians, they see these polls as benchmarks for measuring whether the church is gaining or losing ground in the wider culture.
Since these polls measure specific beliefs and practices, they also serve to target areas of the religious life that call for greater attention.
But one thing the polls do not do is offer guidance on when churches grow. What are the factors that contribute to a vital parish life? What services offered by the churches strengthen their outreach and influence in the community? What are the most effective means of evangelizing the un-churched and revitalizing the churched? What changes could be made to reach greater numbers of people in the parish?
Polls can tell us if the church is growing but they cannot tell us how the church can grow.
When do churches grow -- grow not only in membership and budget but in spiritual depth and community service?
Perhaps today's lesson from the book of Acts offers an answer.
Paul and Timothy transmitted letters of guidance from the mother church in Jerusalem to each of the cities they visited on their missionary journeys.
We are told that "through all this, the congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in members."
Those early churches grew because they were given guidance from their leaders that focused on the important concerns of the faith. These letters cut through the rivalries and quarrels that were tearing the churches apart and brought the churches back to their shared beliefs and values. Churches grow when they get their acts together and concentrate on the essentials of the faith.
