Never Stop Gathering

Never Stop Gathering!
Several years ago, I heard Jim Slack, Global Researcher, International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention, make the case that newer churches grow faster and reach more people for Christ.
He quoted a statistic that during the first year a new church plant will baptize approximately eleven people for each one hundred members. He explained that the older the church the smaller number of baptisms per one hundred members. SBC churches were baptizing approximately 2.3 persons per one hundred per year at that time.
Obviously, we have a number of older and more established churches in our denomination. The question that has haunted me since hearing this presentation is, “Why?”
Have these churches reached all the unreached people within their target group?
Is the need to reach out lessened as the church survives the birthing process and moves from plant to established church?
None of these reasons hold up in light of my own observation. However, I do think that I have an idea why this is true.
When a new church is birthed the need for sowing the gospel and gathering a congregation is evident. As the church reaches a critical mass (whatever number of people that is perceived to be), the pastor/church planter and the church begins to shift their focus from outward (toward the unreached/far from God) to the inward (care and shepherding of their flock). Somehow this shift affects the stoppage of the “gathering”.
One of my colleagues recently described this phenomenon as the “institutionalizing of the church”. Many planters are looking, even longing for the day when they can stop doing the grunt work of gathering and settle into a more traditional chaplaincy role as pastor.
Many decisions in life need to be made before we get into the heat of the battle.
Church planters need to learn before they begin the process of planting that gathering is never done! I do not wish to belittle the role of shepherding or pastoring the flock. However, I do wish to make the strong case that churches should never stop gathering! It is clearly a “both and” rather than an “either or” decision.
One case study in continuous gathering that I’ve had the privilege of observing in recent years is The Journey Church in New York City. There are a number of things that I admire about the way The Journey (under the leadership of Nelson Searcy) has set about to push back the darkness of lostness in that city.
Perhaps the most obvious and substantial observation is that they have never stopped gathering. They recently celebrated a beach baptism which put them over 700 baptisms in the past seven years (the church launched in 2002)! They are currently involved in making one million servant evangelism touches in NYC.
The reason they are experiencing a great harvest is because they are constantly sowing the gospel through gathering events and practices. May their zeal for gathering never wane!
And my message to you pastor/church planter: Never Stop Gathering!