Church Growth Happens in Seasons

As long as there is a heaven and an earth, there shall be springtime and harvest. Church growth happens in seasons. There will be seasons of growth in number and other seasons of growth in depth. Sometimes "winter" can seem long and discouraging, but remember that the roots grow in the winter. Without strong roots, you have no depth and will not sustain height. This really got me thinking about us at CCF! We have been in a season of growth in number (height) for about 3 years. I wonder if God is not calling us to a season of growth in depth now. I think He is. And I think we should take it seriously!

The way that Saddleback Church has done that is by way of ebb and flow. They do one "campaign" a year. Understanding that growth happens in seasons, they work to have a huge campaign that fuels their season of growth. They push hard, expect a lot and lead people into new levels of commitment. Then, they back off.

Examples of campaigns they have done:

• 40 days of purpose
• 30 Days of change
• Love
• Faith
• Small Group Campaign (Started 3,000 new Small Groups in 1 week during this "campaign"!!!! Yes, you read that right. May share more about it later.)

They have used this strategy for 25 years! I think it has worked. 25,000 people. What do you think?