Pastors ask this question regardless of the size of their church.

It doesn’t matter if the church is a brand-new plant, 15 years old or into its 5th generation of members.

Location makes no difference. Whether their church is in a remote town, bustling thriving city or a small village in a developing country.

Whether the church is staff-led, elder-led or congregationally governed, pastors ask this question in their quest to grow a healthy church.

Why do so many people like going to smaller churches?

I think small churches hold some genuine advantages over large churches but also a few key hindrances.

7 Advantages of Smaller Churches

1. Family Feel

Small churches capture a family better than any other size of church. Larger churches must create elaborate small group structures to recreate the family feel that they lost when they moved from being small to medium-sized churches.

Medium-sized churches spend a lot of time mourning the loss of the family when they grow.

Small churches don’t have to create this family feel through systems or mourn its loss. Smart pastors amplify this family feel.

They leverage it and use it as an opportunity to minister to those members who come from dysfunctional family backgrounds.

Church growth is an outcome, not an objective.

Regardless of their ethnicity, age, culture or experience, pastors will invariably compare their church and its growth with another church in town. They will ask, why doesn’t my church grow like that church?

Pastors are praying for church growth.

They are trying different strategies for church growth. However, they are not seeing results and are wondering what are the hindrances to church growth.

My focus on church leadership, consulting, and coaching is never on church growth. When considering what hinders church growth an unhealthy focus on growth can be a factor.

It’s church health.

So for me, what hinders church growth, is the wrong question.

However, given the fact that pastors ask this question let me try to answer it by considering what hinders church growth.

What Stops a Church From Growing?

1. Location

If you are in a regional town experiencing an economic downturn or declining in numbers, then it will be hard to grow your church.

In contrast, if you are in an area that is experiencing a boom in population growth then you’re more likely to grow your church.

In my mind location is a key factor.

Churches close to the ocean are also at a location disadvantage.

Why?

People will drive 20-30 minutes to attend church. When you are near the ocean then up to 50% of your catchment area does not have any people.

This is a limiting factor for growth.

2. Culture Disconnect

When the culture of the church is vastly different from the culture of the region, then growth is not easy.

You will experience cultural disconnect if your car park is filled with Mercedes while your neighbourhood garages are filled with 19-year-old Hyundai sedans.

If you’re in a young family’s suburb and your target audience are hipster young adults then your church’s growth will be limited.

Targeting young adults when you’re in a coastal town filled with retirees is a recipe for disappointment and frustration.

Demographic research is important because it will enable you to understand your community and focus your endeavours. It is one of the key strategies for church growth.

When answering the question, what hinders church growth, location can be a forgotten factor.

Small church pastors are intricately involved with the lives of their members.

They walk with them in both their good times and their struggles and they are there when things turn south.

This is an enormous help to a pastor’s preaching.

The everyday struggles of church members enable their preaching to be earthed and keep them mindful of real life when presenting the truth.

I will never forget the 7 things I learned watching TD Jakes preach at a conference. His ability to tell stories reminded me of the central importance of earthing your preaching to the everyday lives of your members.

3. Inward Focus

Country club churches that focus on the needs of members rarely enjoy growth.

The narcissistic nature of an inward church discourages healthy connections with outsiders and inhibits growth.

Churches focused on themselves rarely display warm hospitality. They tend to ignore visitors and certainly don’t use visitor connect cards.

There has been a significant drift away from church attendance in the Western world.

While Africa, South America, and Asia have seen explosive church growth, the Western world has experienced the opposite.

This alarming trend will only be turned around by church leaders who intentionally give time and resources to helping their members focus on their primary calling of taking the gospel into the world.

Inwards-focused churches will never reverse this trend.

Barna group research shows this locked-in trend.

4. Energy of the Pastor

If the pastor is weary and exhausted then achieving growth can be difficult.

Pastors can experience this because of ongoing relational conflicts, lack of personal boundaries, or poor management of days off and holidays. Ill health and a lack of positive addictions can drain a leader.

Every pastor feels tired almost every week, so I’m not talking about regulation tiredness but accumulated fatigue.

Pastors need to embrace a rhythm that includes nourishing downtime and exercise. These lifestyle habits are no longer an optional extra. They have become essential items in building sustainability and resilience into a pastors’ world.

Learning to place healthy boundaries around the use of technology will also equip a pastor for the long haul.

I recommend pastors turn their phones off for a minimum of 24 hours each week and unplug from the relentless demands of ministry.

Increased energy results in more strength for increasing your prayer for church growth.

5. Barriers to Involvement in Serving and Small Groups

When new people find it difficult to get into a small group or serve they tend to leave a church.

One pastor told me 93% of their new people leave within one year, unless they join a small group or start serving.

Churches must provide a clear pathway for members to join a small group.

People may come to your church for the location, style, preaching or worship, however they will stay because they have found community.

An annual volunteer recruitment drive can not only boost your serving numbers, it will connect people into the heart of your church.

People thrive when they are serving the Lord on teams and building the local church. The relationships formed on these teams are the glue which enables people to stick with your church

6. God

There’s an X factor in church growth that no one can figure out. I rest easy in the truth that it is our sovereign God who ultimately determines the growth of a church

I think there are occasions when He blows the lid off a church and exponentially grows it regardless of its strategies or programs.

There are times that in His mercy God limits the growth of an unhealthy church.

God places the right leaders in the right situation for the right amount of growth. Our responsibility is to maximize our calling in response to Christ.

Every church has them.

Bullies.

People who dominate the landscape through intimidation. They revel in their ability to persuade people to yield to their perspective, their way.

They dominate discussions even when they’re not in the room.

Their rule is sometimes positional, holding sway in the board room or it can be informal, dictating outcomes from behind the scenes.

Either way, their influence is disproportionate.

In small churches, bullies find it easier to intimidate and dominate. There are fewer opponents and smaller factions.

They’ve outlived a few pastors and cast a long shadow over all major proceedings.

In larger churches bullies are sidelined by weight of numbers. In medium-sized churches, they hold less sway as leaders make a stand against their tactics.

But in smaller churches, they can rule the roost.

My Bottom Line

You could be in the right location with massive energy, connecting with your culture, and have strong pathways and still not grow.

I truly believe that churches are designed to grow to their optimum size.

Your church has an optimum size.

Working with these next steps will help you determine what that is your optimum size

What Are Your Next Steps?

1. Answer These Questions

Who am I?

What’s my assignment in Christ?

Where do I live? What’s my context?

What are the opportunities or limitations connected with my location?

Do I have the energy to increase my capacity?

Answering these questions requires you to think sanely and honestly about yourself and the call Christ has given specifically to you.

These questions will push you into uncomfortable places and cause you to reflect deeply on your church and its future.

When leaders take the time to reflect they uncover the cultural barriers to growth and prepare themselves for the vital and necessary steps they need to take.

2. Get Outside Perspective

I have people in my world who give me perspective. Real live, in the flesh, people like my good friend Rod Waters who help me see life from different angles.

I’ve also engaged mentors and coaches over the years who have stretched and developed me.

Ask some of your good, trustworthy friends for their perspectives.

Consider engaging with me for a church health consultation.

You can access my extensive church growth resources in the Hub. The first 14 days are on me so take it for a test drive.

3. What’s One Thing You Can Shift Today?

What one action could you take today to remove any potential hindrances to you obtaining your optimum size?

How can you apply these strategies for church growth?

You could work on attracting more visitors.

You could employ a part-time visitor’s director.

What about removing barriers to involvement in small groups?

Also, consider more accurately measuring the important elements of your church.

I wish I could post a foolproof actionable list to answer the question, of what hinders church growth, and guarantee growth for your church. I think that is an impossible dream.

However, if you take the necessary steps you will position your church for health and growth.