Bloated Churches Aren’t Necessarily Healthy Churches
Bloated churches aren’t necessarily healthy churches. This is especially true since we live in an extremely consumeristic culture, and churches are closing all the time. Transfer growth is very common, but it’s not exactly a mark of health.[1] The reality is “the churches that are growing are picking up people from churches that aren’t growing, not from conversion growth.”[2]
This is the case for most of the biggest and brightest churches in America.[3] In fact, “Studies show only 3-5% of American churches are growing primarily through conversion growth. The remaining growth is mostly transfer growth.”[4]
This has been happening for decades. Bigger churches are getting bigger, and smaller churches are getting smaller. It’s part of the great evangelical recession. It’s what happens in times of decline. “In the same way book stores consolidated when Amazon and online book sales emerged, or General Motors consolidated after the Great Recession, getting rid of Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn, and other divisions to focus on its remaining brands.”[5]
Church bloat is a consolidation of resources. Similar to what happens during a siege. It is a “game of attrition.” Mega churches have a type of efficiency that results from consolidated resources. They can have fewer pastors per attendee, can repeat church services, and livestream at other campuses. Higher-paying pastoral positions can be supplemented with lower-paying positions. Mega churches have found a way to get the “most bang for their buck.”
The bloating is not mainly a positive trend. It’s actually a sign or symptom of some negative trends in America. Christian Smith lays out some of those in his book, Why Religion Went Obsolete. The bloating is a sign of the times. Thus, the growth or decline of a church is not necessarily the direct result of local leadership. It could rather be due to trends beyond the control of leadership.[6]
What are some of the potential downsides to church bloat? In the past, I’ve shared about the potential and common problems with mega church. If church bloat continues, then those accompanying problems are very likely to increase. Here are a few: superstar pastor culture,[7] reduced pastoral care, fewer connections and community, and a consumeristic mentality.[8] Also, consolidation of resources and growth in the size of one church is not necessarily growth in the Church (That is, the Kingdom of God). This is certainly the case if the church is growing primarily through transfer growth.[9]
How Do You Avoid Church Bloat?
The treatment suggested for human bloating is avoiding the consumption of gas-producing foods. It’s similar for the church. We stop church bloat by stopping consumerism.
When the emphasis is on serving inside the church building it leads to bloat. Service inside the building leads to a sedentary lifestyle instead of service in the local community where it’s most needed. The church body must exercise the muscles of evangelism and service or be atrophied.[10]
The church has always been called to serve and do things like watch kids. But the New Testament never hints that it should primarily take place in a church building. Quite the opposite actually. The church is to be light in darkness, which entails the church being involved in the world, not closeted away from it.
It should also be noted that when someone’s belly is bloated, they feel full, but there’s not a lot of substance or health inside. It’s similar in some churches. Things look full and may even look healthy, but it’s just bloat. People are in the seats, but disciples aren’t in the streets.
As has been wisely said, “More people doesn’t always mean more disciples” and “Showing up isn’t growing up.” Healthy churches make disciples who make disciples. The goal is four generations of disciple-makers (2 Tim. 2:2). The goal is disciples who make disciples. The goal is not church bloat. Church bloat looks full, but full is not healthy.
Notes
[1] Competing with the church down the street is not exactly making a big dent in the ledger of heaven and may be a distraction from hell.
[2] Carey Nieuwhof, “5 Disruptive Church Trends that will Rule 2025.”
[3] “Even when a church is on a list like Outreach’s Fastest Growing or Largest Church list, a deeper drill down shows that a lot of growth is simply transfer growth” (Carey Nieuwhof, “5 Disruptive Church Trends that will Rule 2025”).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Of course, this is not to say that leadership plays no role. It is very important. But, to take an example to demonstrate my point, churches that were set up well for livestream pre-COVID-19 had a growth advantage over those who did not.
[7] Mega churches can easily become a breeding ground for toxic leadership and a lack of accountability.
[8] What if church bloat is a symptom of pandering to people’s insatiable pursuit of pleasure in the form of convenience and lack of need for relational commitment? What if popularity and church bloat could potentially be a symptom of something sinister? What if the growth is not through healthy, real-life, and whole-life apprenticeship to Jesus but something else? What if the pull is not discipleship but the offloading of duty? Instead of drawing near to God, and He will draw near to us (James 4:8), we have convenient worship experiences. Instead of bringing up our kids in the instruction of the Lord, we have a youth group. Instead of practicing the one another passages, we have the occasional handshake or community group on our terms when it’s convenient. Instead of evangelism, we have invitation. Instead of Kingdom growth, we have church bloat.
[9] It should also be pointed out that our evangelistic strategy is very expensive. In the USA, we spend roughly $1.5 million on church functions per baptism of one new convert (David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2200, 520-29). Notice, this is a convert, not a discipled and faithful follower of Jesus. Part of the reason for such expense per baptism is most American churches have a “come and see” model instead of a “go and tell” model.
[10] A bloated church ironically can lead to a cachectic church.
*Photo by Kate Tweedy
What if church were different?
What if church were different? And what if church needed to be different? Different to better fit the biblical ideal and different to better reach North America? What might that “different” look like?
Christianity as we know it in America is receding. That’s what John Dickerson shared in his book The Great Evangelical Recession in 2013. The decline of evangelical Christianity in America “is not just that we’re failing at evangelism or just that we’re failing to keep our own kids or just that we’ll lose 70 percent of our funding in the next thirty years. It’s all those factors (and more) combined and gaining speed simultaneously.”[1]
If that’s the case, and it is, “We are in need of a new paradigm, not a mere reworking of the existing one.”[2] I propose a new paradigm in upcoming posts; but first, let’s look at the current reigning paradigm.
What is the typical American church growth model? What is seen as necessary for the continued growth of the church?
- Inspiring worship experiences by an excellent band and positive worship leaders.
- Dynamic and entertaining preaching related to the felt needs of the audience.
- Fun programming for kids and youth.
- Excellent parking and building facilities.
- Effective marketing and branding to set the church apart from other churches.
- Small group opportunities without commitment.[3]
- The latest and greatest visual technology.
- Increasing staff, buildings, and money.
- When the church grows, go multisite and export the brand.
With all of this, in the USA, we spend roughly $1.5 million on church functions per baptism of one new convert (notice, this is a convert, not a trained up faithful follower of Jesus).[4]
Further, the “market appeal” for this type of church in America is around 35 percent.[5] Most evangelical churches subscribe to this approach yet growth with this model is relatively rare.[6] It is quite hard to start a Saddleback, Willow Creek, or Mars Hill. It takes a whole lot of money and talent and can produce a whole lot of scandal. And sadly these churches often produce fans who sit in their seats instead of Jesus followers who serve.
I am sure church growth experts were sincere, well-intentioned, and did not perceive the ramifications of the consumeristic approach. Yet, they “have explicitly taught us how to market and tailor the product to suit target audiences. They told us to mimic the shopping mall, apply it to the church, and create a one-stop religious shopping experience catering to our every need.” In this way, “consumerism has actually become the driving ideology of the church’s ministry.”[7] Of course, in our preaching, we’re against consumerism but our practice often says something else.
One of the problems, however, is who is going after the roughly 65 percent of people not interested in the typical American church? How are we going to reach the people who think church branding is shallow? What about the people who long for authenticity and not a “positive worship experience?”
What if something else is needed in America? What if we don’t need more mega churches, what if we need micro churches? What if we need simple churches, filled with authentic Jesus followers? What if more money and more buildings aren’t the key?
What if many people are disillusioned not with Christianity, but with the American church? What if people don’t need better visuals during the service but someone to imitate in real life? What if people need a visual of how to live their messy lives as followers of Jesus? What if what we’re building is built with straw (1 Cor. 3:10-15)?
Notes
[1] John Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession, 22. Before that, in 2008, Christine Wicker wrote, The Fall of the Evangelical Nation. In it, she said, “Evangelical Christianity in America is dying… They are a remnant, unraveling at every edge. Look at it any way you like: Conversions. Baptisms. Membership. Retention. Participation. Giving. Attendance. Religious literacy. Effect on the culture. All are down and dropping” (Christine Wicker, The Fall of the Evangelical Nation: The Surprising Crisis Inside the Church [2008, Harper One], ix).
[2] Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 26.
[3] These small are designed with on and off-ramps so if people are “too much” fellow Christians don’t have to “bear their burdens.” A sense of community needs to be available but needs to conveniently fit the limited schedule carved out for it.
[4] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2200, 520-29.
[5] Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 36.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid., 110.
Photo by Kenny Eliason
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