tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8883907342870204095.post4948855915979358877..comments2023-10-31T11:57:39.387-04:00Comments on Authentic means REAL: Is 90% of all church growth nothing but transfers?Dennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18077345966570168113noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8883907342870204095.post-76765391874348132012008-01-27T12:03:00.000-05:002008-01-27T12:03:00.000-05:00I think adamk makes an interesting point. Are the...I think adamk makes an interesting point. Are there any supporting statistics that show a large number of smaller churches dying as these megachurches just pull folks from existing churches? That's a trend I would expect to see. Also, is the movement from one evangelical church to another? Or is some of the movement happening from mainline denominations into evangelical churches?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8883907342870204095.post-69211090532455940072008-01-27T09:54:00.000-05:002008-01-27T09:54:00.000-05:00Even though they must have a large number of visit...Even though they must have a large number of visitors who come as Christians, something is also drawing a large number of non-Christians. I suppose it's possible that some public means, like radio or TV advertising, could account for some of these, but it seems much more likely that there is a strong <B><I>witnessing community</I></B> in the church as well. <BR/><BR/>Did you get a chance to encounter and talk to some of the people at Calvary who were responsible for bringing others to the meeting who then met Christ? To what did the established members attribute this growth among the unconverted? Prayer? Small groups? Parties? Or did they simply invite their friends to church and God drew them out?Brian Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18382792584638469279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8883907342870204095.post-39513550401640531322008-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:002008-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00If these results are valid (and I don't doubt that...If these results are valid (and I don't doubt that they are), you would think that you would see the death of many smaller churches in the area when these churches move in. Is this the case? I imagine it would be much like when all of the smaller business die off when a Wal-Mart moves into the area.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8883907342870204095.post-38849870944899013952008-01-26T22:03:00.000-05:002008-01-26T22:03:00.000-05:00Yeah, I saw the same thing when I lived in CA. Eve...Yeah, I saw the same thing when I lived in CA. Every Sat. people would say "where do you want to go to church this week?" There were tons of good choices. So very little loyalty.<BR/><BR/>But I was thinking also how that makes it even more remarkable that Calvary would have 60% converts in their church. They're famous, they must have huge volumes of visitors, and yet most people there say they met Christ there!Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18077345966570168113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8883907342870204095.post-28024827566071585652008-01-26T21:41:00.000-05:002008-01-26T21:41:00.000-05:00Dennis,I originally come from Southern California,...Dennis,<BR/><BR/>I originally come from Southern California, where large numbers of Christians move from church to church in search of good teachings, interesting speakers, and the like. They hear that so-and-so is teaching at one church, and immediately pick up and move there until something more interesting comes along. There is an emphasis on the experiential that may be part of the LA ethos, but wherever that comes from, this could have the effect of skewing attendance numbers in churches that are seeing a rise in popularity. In fact, it's self-perpetuating, since popularity brings more people in from other churches. <BR/><BR/>Whenever new people show up at a seeker-sensitive church, resources will be expended in following them up, seeing where people are at spiritually, and guiding them toward the options for growth and involvement in the group. This could mean that most of a church's work force is following up on people who are already believers. It would be heartless to shun these people once you found out that they were already Christians, but the net effect might be that lost people who are coming in the door are overlooked, and move on.Brian Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18382792584638469279noreply@blogger.com