Churches grow in all kinds of ways: spiritually, in the depth and breadth of their discipleship; missionally, in the quality of their relationships with their communities and their commitment to sharing good news with local people; and numerically, as more people encounter grace, become affiliated with the church, grow closer to Jesus and take steps to commit themselves to following him.
Discipleship pathways – plans for how communities encourage thriving discipleship – are crucial
- If we want to grow spiritually, we need to be able to access as many ‘stations’ as possible, to spend more time at each one and reflect more deeply on the journey.
- If we want to grow missionally, we need easy entry points for spiritual seekers to begin a journey with Jesus.
- If we want to grow numerically, we need to offer spiritual seekers ways of joining a Christian community: by deepening faith, exploring the spiritual practices of A Methodist Way of Life, and taking steps such as baptism, confirmation and membership.
- Church growth research shows the importance of discipleship pathways.
The growth planning pages offer guidance to help your church discern what one thing God is calling you to do to develop your missional engagement with your community. By discerning and writing a simple growth plan, you’ll grow missionally, and perhaps – by God’s grace – numerically too.
If you already have a mission plan, but you’re struggling to put it into practice, check out some leadership events and resources to help you and your team move forward.
We run events and webinars throughout the year for individuals and church leaders to explore what this means for them.
Planning for growth
Growth planning helps churches, circuits and new Christian communities discern an action plan for spiritual, missional and numerical growth.
