It was my privilege to be a member of the Madison, Tennessee congregation from 1951 to 1963. The church was growing. Ira North came to Madison a few months after I came. He was truly a man of vision and committment to growth.

Several times new facilities were added. I saw the facilities used two times on Sunday--two worship services, one Sunday school, then two Sunday schools and at one time a third Sunday worship service at 7:00 a.m. I do not remember how long this lasted. I do remember that construction was done only after all those services overflowed.*

There is something about new construction that excites. One is that new physical facilities appeal to the fleshly nature, pride. There could be a spirit of competitiveness with other area churches. it is somewhat like building a new house. Another, the anticipation that additional growth is sure to come.

Growth came easy in the 40's and 50's. Growth has now slowed and the community does not attend church as they once did. Some churches are mistaking growth through transfer as a mark of reaching the unchurched. It may be that a congregation is receiving members from other congregations for one reason or another. It produces a feeling that the Lord is really blessing their work, when in reality, it could be that they offer a more attractive program of work, a nearby congregation may be having problems, etc. This gives a false sense of achievement and leads to false conclusions. Because when those conditions change, the growth will stop. It is my observation that there is little evangelizing in the average congregation and thus few conversions. The real test of true numerical growth is conversions. This may also reflect spiritual growth.

The past forty years has seen an era of transition. Transition from a time when the nation was more religiously inclined to an era when the lost do not come to church services as in the past.

I want to illustrate this with a story from one educator's book called "The Saber Tooth Tiger Curriculum."

The story is told that back in the days of cabe dwellers there was a young man who was deeply concerned about the lack of food for his family. He say by the fireside at night and pondered his dilemma seeking a solution. He devised a plan of getting all the older men together who were more experienced in gish grabbing, horse clubbing and keeping the saver tooth tiger away from their caves and starting a school to train young men in these things as they grew up. The school that developed became very professional. It was the custom for all boys to receive this training. However, as years went by, a glacier moved in from the north. The streams became muddy. The little wooly horses left the climate and the antelope came in. The saber tooth tiger died out and the bears came in. Times had now changed. The story does not end here but I want to draw some conclusions at this point.

In the 40's and 50's the influence of the Bible was strongly felt throughout the land. Every child in public schools was exposed to Bible reading and prayer. We did not have the influence of TV until the early 50's. Schools trained men who would preach largerly as public speakers. There was a strong emphasis on public preaching that grew out of an era when the lost who come hear the gospel preached. New buildings flourished. New classrooms were always being added. Growth of the church and growth of new facilities went hand in hand.

Some promoted the idea that a new building could deliver a surge of new growth. While new construction met a need in some places, it seldom produced the expected growth.

In the early 60's the glacier moved in. Bible reading and prayer were removed from public schools. TV captured more and more of people's attention. They did not feel the need for the church as they did in bygone years. More entertainment, more cars, more places to go. A generation of church attenders gradually being replaced with a more secular and worldly generation.

Church and Bible school attendance began to plateau in 1965. Between 1970 and 1980 church school attendance in America dropped by eight million and by 1990, 80% to 85% of all churches in America were plateaued or declining says "Church Growth," Monrovia, California.

In the church of Christ, that same decline was occuring. Flavil Yeakly, Jr. reported in a 1980 to 1995 report that while U.S. population grew 17% the church grew 1.7%. Oklahoma had the largest decline of church members, Missouri had the larges decline of congregations and Tennessee had the largest decline of adherents (Members, children, and visitors).

Back in the days when the church was flourishing the basis for deciding on new constuction was when the church reached an 80% use of facilities in one or more of three areas, it should add to its facilities -- 80% auditorium space, 80% classroom space, 80% parking space. This is still advocated. I believe this is a conclusion from a bygone era, but still held over and applied even though these figures represent a plateau for other reasons. Churches would like to believe that new facilities are going to provide something they are not achieving--growth.

This writer believes this promise for growth is nebulous, in most cases relying on the unknown, but hoping for growth.

Who will pay the debt? The children? Grandchildren?

Joe Hacker, while serving several years ago as chairman of the Bible Department at Harding said, "It is a tradgedy that there is strong evidence that we are following in the footprints of Europe. Our mission has become the erection of cathedrals instead of sharing Christ with our fellow man. The result in Europe is paganism and America is seiftly traveling the same road.

James DeForest Murch in his book Teach or Perish suggests that the church needs to see what has happened to religion in some of the foreign lands. he said a pall of nominalism hangs over the "Christian" population. He further said that their magnificient church buildings which rise like monuments to the dead are seldom filled with worshippers.

Now we really need to look at whether new construction delivered what it promised in the past. In some cases it probably served the expected purpose. Some old buildings were replaced with new buildings.

In the greater Nashville area, a suburban church in 1969, in anticipation of growth constructed a building that would seat 1,000. They never got over 450. They are now at 125.

Another congregation constructed a building that would seat 300. They never got over 275. They are now 40 elderly people.

An Alabama church bought thirteen acres of land, constructed two preacher's homes and an auditorium that could ultimately seat 1,200. They never got over 400. The church now has 150 and is trying to decide what to do with a facility they no longer need.

Missouri lost 80 churches between 1980 and 1995, Oklahoma 27, Texas 21, Maryland 20, Illinois 12 and Alaska 10. Can you imagine how that in many cases some missionary came to a congregation and said, "We need a new building, we cannot grow without it." And can you imagine how many churches used the contribution to help construct a building that is now closed? It is highly unlikely that a preacher could be found by these churches who really knew how to grow a church. Most schools still do not offer adequate training in church growth.

In the story of th Saber Tooth Tiger, after the glacier moved in their means of livelihood had changed. One young man learned to make a seine from vines and was catching more fish in one day than his family could use in a week. Another man learned how to make a snare to catch antelope and another learned how to dig a hole in the path of a bear and camouflage it so the bear would fall into it. This provided meat and furs for the family. These men began to say that the Saber Tooth Tiger curriculum needed to be changed, that young men should be given special training to meet the new need. The older professionals in the school called them radicals, saying that no young man had been properly trained that had not been trained in the Saber Tooth Tiger curriculum.

A strict return to the principles of New Testament evangelism would help the church today. However, we will reamin with the Old Saber Tooth Tiger Curriculum (largely Protestant methods) and will not have either the knowledge or the evangelistic zeal to reach the lost. What the Old Saber Tooth Tiger Curriculum produces is that only 1% share the gospel with the lost-1/2% the church and 1/2% the paid staff-- meaning 1 in 200 members win souls! 65% have no interest in people outside the church say one writer. The lost have changed, much about our society has changed in the past forty yearsm a period of transition. Schools must now train men for the new challenge that cannot be accomplished with the idea that the world will come hear them preach. The New Testament never ever assumed this. (Acts 5L42; 20:20).

The standard of faithfulness today is more in line with the church at Laodicea than the Jerusalem church. Those who are responsible for producing this kind of Christianity vigorously defend our present standard. The church is unlikely to have role models for a higher level of commitment to reaching the lost.

We are seeing the graying of the church in a rapid way. When I visit churches I always observe the number of people with graying hair. This tells me something about the future of that congregation. As the church grows older it takes on the characteristic of aging. It takes the energy and vision of those who are young and have the physical strength to evangelize.

There are four essentials to growth:
1. Fervent love. Read about the Ephesian Christians in Revelation 2. also I Corinthians 13:1-8; Galatians 5:22,23.
2. Zeal. Watch for evangelistic zeal. Without it there is no evangelism. Read Revelation 3:14-20.
3. Committment to the founder's purpose. Jesus explained it Luke 19:10 when he said, "For the Son of man has come to seek and save the lost." See Genesis 12:2,3; Isaiah 2:2,3; Matthew 1:21; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Mark 1:38.
4. We may need to pray the prayer that David prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." (Psalms 51:10-13)

In conclusion we make the statement again, "Before new construction, deteremine if it is to accomodate growth or in anticipation that new facilities will produce growth."

I would not want to build on the latter.

Clayton Pepper is widely known for his writing and speaking on church growth. You may contact him at 1254 Campbell Road, Goodlettsville, TN 37072, 615-859-4660.