But it’s interesting how little the New Testament talks about church growth, and how often it talks about ‘gospel growth’ or the increase of the ‘wor… - Colin Marshall

Thus the goal of Christian ministry is quite simple, and in a sense measurable: are we making and nurturing genuine disciples of Christ? The church always tends towards institutionalism and secularization. The focus shifts to preserving traditional programs and structures, and the goal of discipleship is lost. The mandate of disciple-making provides the touchstone for whether our church is engaging in Christ’s mission. Are we making genuine disciples of Jesus Christ? Our goal is not to make church members or members of our institution, but genuine disciples of Jesus.

The marvellous thing about generosity is that God loves it, and blesses it. In our experience, those churches that don’t try to hold on to their people, but continually train them and generously export them off into further training and ministry elsewhere, are the churches that God showers with more and more new people to train.

However, if we keep the gospel first and central, then learning to do particular activities more effectively can simply be a godly part of our service of Christ and other people.