According to some research only 15% of American churches are growing - and of those only 2.3% are growing through people coming to faith for the first time. The rest is "growth" by swapping churches.
1,500 churches will be founded in the USA in a year but another 4,000 will close.
This is a good reminder that statistics can be deceptive if we choose to conveniently leave out some of the data.
Perhaps more importantly it might indicate that our measure of "growth" is likely more defined from by our than it is by God.
Today's western culture measures growth in ways I am strongly persuaded that God never intended. We are more likely to see growth as based upon our culture
* looking for profits that increase each quarter
* how many "likes" we get on Facebook or followers on Twitter or G+
A good question might be, however we define growth, is it the way God describes it in Scripture?
What do you think?
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