Should Churches talk about or celebrate numbers?

I was recently pondering our churches numerical growth (or lack of it!) and was thinking of how our church could break through the 500 barrier.

For a number of months our Sunday morning attendance has fluctuated between 380 and last Sundays 460 ( David Pawson revival).

Why is it that we seem to struggle to break through this barrier of 500 people in church, especially as we have a abuilding that can accommodate 900 people??

So I decided to start a preaching series from the book of Acts 2:41 called "breaking the 500 barrier". What is so amazing (to me at least) is how important numbers are in the Word of God, there is even a book called 'Numbers'.

In a world in which we are constantly being told about the deline in church attendance, we need to contend for numbers of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

Steven Furtick: Why We're All About the Numbers • 07/31/2012

 

It’s unacceptable to me as a pastor that we would stop growing when the Lord wants to add to our number daily those who are being saved.

I get asked all the time if Elevation is all about the numbers.
Let me just clarify something:
Our church is all about the numbers.

The number of lives that Jesus can permeate and penetrate with the gospel.
The number of marriages that can be restored.
The number of teenagers following the Lord.
The number of depressed people that can find hope in Jesus.
The number of dads who don’t give their kids any attention who will learn to order their lives by the Word of God and start prioritizing their families.

What else matters? What else should we be about?

This might come as a shock to a lot of people, but measuring numbers and putting an emphasis on them isn’t a new phenomenon. 2000 years ago, Luke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote:

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day ... And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

- Acts 2:41, 47

Apparently God is all about the numbers. So I want to be, too. And so should you.

It’s unacceptable to me as a pastor that we would stop growing when the Lord wants to add to our number daily those who are being saved. And in order for that to happen, we need to track every scrap of statistical data at our disposal. We’ve got to make sure we’re measuring ministry numbers to measure our effectiveness and enlarge the Kingdom of God. I don’t want to waste a single dollar or second on a program, piece of equipment, or ministry position that isn’t the best option for reaching the most people.

You might be averse to numbers for a number of reasons.

Maybe you don’t like the idea of big crowds. If that’s the case, you wouldn’t have liked the New Testament Church. And you really won’t like heaven.

Maybe you think it steals away from discipleship. It’s possible. But it’s just as possible for that to happen in a church of 10 people as it is in a church of 10,000.

Whatever your reason is, remember: every number is indicative of a story.
Personally, I don’t want to put a cap on the number of stories God wants to redeem. Especially when I read this:

I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God.” - Revelation 7:9-10

Now that’s a number worth shooting for. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait until I die to see this. I want to see this partially fulfilled in my lifetime. More people worshipping Jesus than I can count.

I want to see a little heaven on earth through Elevation Church. Through every church. I think it’s what God wants too.

And that’s why we’re all about the numbers.