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The Wrong Question That Most Pastors Keep Asking

I’ve been reading the book “Hero Maker” by Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird. The book talks about 5 levels of churches:

Level 1 – Declining Churches
Level 2 – Plateaued Churches
Level 3 – Growing Churches
Level 4 – Reproducing Churches
Level 5 – Multiplying Churches

Every pastor’s goal should be to lead a level 5 church, churches who launch churches who launch churches, but so often what holds the pastor back is asking the wrong questions.

For example, Level 1 pastors, pastors of declining churches, ask questions like, “What do I do when I don’t have anyone to help me?” or “How can we honor the legacy of the past.”

Level 2 pastors ask questions like, “How can we do things our people will want to participate in?” or “How can we keep the ministry going?”

Level 3 pastors are leading growing churches, but still ask wrong questions like, “How can we close the back door?” or “How can we get everyone to know each other better?”

All of these are good questions, but none of them will lead to multiplication, and by asking the status quo questions we get status quo results. But there is one question, according to Dave, that most pastors are asking that keeps us from experiencing multiplication. What is the wrong question that most church leaders are asking: “How Do I Grow My Church?”

4 Reasons Why “How Do I Grow My Church” Is The Wrong Question

1. “I” – How Do I Grow My Church

We were not meant to do this alone or versus each other. The “I” should be replaced with “we.” Hero Makers know that the mission is accomplished only through the multiplying of other leaders.

2. “grow” – How Do I Grow My Church

This is only partially right. Yes, the church was meant to grow. And, yes, healthy things grow. But growth is not the endgame. Hero Makers understand that growth is not about creating more seating capacity; it’s about creating more sending capacity and expanding God’s kingdom.

[bctt tweet=”Hero Makers understand that growth is not about creating more seating capacity; it’s about creating more sending capacity.” username=”@daveferguson”]

3. “my” – How Do I Grow My Church

It’s not yours or mine; we are only stewards. We’ve each taught this stewardship lesson hundreds of times to our people regarding finances and every area of their life, but we need to look at our own ministries and giftedness. Hero makers know it’s all God’s, so they can “grow God’s church” rather than “grow my church.”

4. “church” – How Do I Grow My Church

It’s not just about the church; it’s about the kingdom of God. This question of how to grow the church is almost always asking with the lowercase c church in mind. That’s short sided. Hero makers are far more concerned about the growth of God’s kingdom. They see their church through a kingdom lens versus seeing the kingdom through the lens of their local church.

Most of this blog was taking straight out of the book “Hero Maker: Five Essential Practices For Leaders To Multiply Leaders” by Dave Ferguson and Warren Bird. I want to give credit where credit is due.

To pick up your copy of Hero Maker (and I highly recommend) click here.

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Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs

By Jason Isaacs