Expository Preaching Blog #19 – “Expository Preaching and Church Growth”

By

There are a lot of discussions about church growth. There are a lot of books about church growth. There are a lot of seminars, conferences and classes about church grow. Most of these are about strategies, methods and tools that you should use. There are a lot of how to do it ideas out there.

Please understand I am not against church growth. Actually I am 1,000% in favor of church growth. I believe that every church should be growing numerically as well as spiritually. I don’t believe it is good for any church to be stagnant in these areas. I don’t believe any church should be “we four and no more.” I knew of a church a few years ago that was in a metropolitan area of about 7 million people. They actually had in their constitution that would never grow to be a church of more than 200 people. That is absolute disobedience to the Word of God. Matthew 28:19&20 tell us to make disciples of all nations without any cap of the number of people to be reached. Mark 16:15 Tells us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

I wholeheartedly believe that this can, will and must be done by expository preaching. Preaching the Bible verse by verse and thought by thought in every service.

Matthew 28:19&20 is what I call the LBT passage. Leading the Lost to Christ for salvation. Baptizing every new believer. Then Teaching each believer. I believe this is the main purpose and message of the church and the sole purpose of the church. I do not believe this can be properly accomplished without expository preaching and teaching. Now you can have great gatherings and organizations with many members. You can have a sporting event with over 100,000 people present at one time but that does not make a church.

To have a church, souls must be saved. This come through the preaching of The Word and the preaching of The Gospel. See I Corinthians 1&2. It is by the foolishness of preaching God’s Word that this is accomplished. That has not changed.

Most evangelical churches in the USA are not growing. Most are less than 75 people in attendance. Most are 50 years old or older. I live beside a church that is 240 years old. There are about 20 people in attendance on an average Sunday morning. Something is wrong with that situation. Most churches are stagnant or literally dying. It does not need to be. I have seen 3 churches grow with expository preaching. One grew 25%, the second grew 400% and the last grew 95%. No fancy programs or methods. Just steady expository preaching service after service. Souls were saved, baptized and added to the church. Very few were added by “sheep” coming from other churches. We need expository preaching and teaching in our pulpits. It is then that I believe we will see true and lasting church growth.

 

Rev. David Johnson

Former Pastor

First Baptist Church of Austin, MN

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Expository Preaching Blog #14 – “Pastor Bill Park”

By
I have never done this before and I probably never will again but today I must. I will give my blog over to speak about a dear friend of mine who entered heaven last night after a short illness. Pastor Bill Park has been a friend of mine, my pastor, colleague, teacher, missions leader for many year years now. I first met him 40 years ago. My first pastorate was 15 miles from his church at the time, High Point Baptist Chapel. After resigning my first pastorate we attended his church in Geigertown, PA for about 15 months before we moved on to our next ministry in NY State. We felt at home at High Point there like no other church I have attended since starting in pastoral ministry. He was a father to me in ministry like I never had with my own father. My own father had died on the mission field 13 years earlier. My father’s death was one of the biggest losses in my life. Pastor Bill left this life as I was writing the first draft of this blog. My heart is breaking and aching for his fam
Read more

Expository Preaching Blog #39 – “Accuracy – Orphans and Adoption”

By
I believe in expository preaching. It is my pet peeve. It is an obsession with me. It makes it very hard for me to attend church many Sundays. This is nothing new. I have been an expository preacher for the last 50 years. The first sermon I ever preached was an expository sermon. My last one was too. Every sermon in between has been an expository sermon. Yep, I am focused. There is a reason for that. When I stand in a pulpit the authority is not in my words but in God’s Word. I want to get it right. I want people to be able to trust, rely on and depend on what I say. Not because I said it but because God said it. If I ever preach just what “I think”, then there is no reason for me to preach ever again. There are millions who do just that. I hunger to preach the Word of God. I long to do it and do it right. Last Sunday I sat in a worship and sang a well-known contemporary Christian song. A lyric caught my ear. It said “I was an orphan.” Some of you might know that song and that phra
Read more

Expository Preaching Blog #48 – “Holding Fast the Faithful Word” (BBC & CSU)

By
On July 1, 2024 it was announced that Clarks Summit University in Clarks Summit, PA was permanently closing. This is was my alma mater. When I attended there from 1976-1981 it was known as Baptist Bible College of Pennsylvania. The school began as Baptist Bible Seminary in Johnson City, NY in 1932. It moved to the Clarks Summit campus in 1968. I loved the school and deeply appreciated the education I received there. My mother, my brother and both of my sisters attended and graduated from the school. I graduated from the local high school in Clarks Summit and then stayed on for my college years. I lived in the area for a total of 11 years until I moved to SE Pennsylvania to take my first church as a pastor. I am very sad to see it close. Faculty and staff have to find new employment elsewhere. Students have to find other colleges or universities to attend. Area businesses and local churches will be effected. It is not known what will become of the 35 acre campus. I met my wife Trici
Read more