Do Numbers Matter?

There is a great deal of talk about the decline of the church in our day, and the reducing numbers. In the UK context within the traditional denominations, that is certainly a big part of the picture and needs to be taken seriously. Numbers are declining, and we wish that was not so. We love the stories that buck the trend. I was delighted to read a report today that mentioned how one church in the Synod has recently tripled its membership. Would that every church had done the same. Of course, it is also relative. This church - and, yes, it can happen - had reduced to one member, so my rejoicing was caused by the fact that a couple had joined. That does not mean that it is not a genuine good news story - because it is. Everyone matters. That fact lies at the heart of the Gospel. We should not ignore the reality, nor the challenge, of the declining numbers. But we so need to remember that they are only a small part of God's much bigger story.

As Stefan Paas says, "To accept numerical growth of the church as the purpose of mission is to instrumentalise evangelism in the service of statistics. Conversions are important signs of the coming kingdom of God; they are the first fruits of the eschatological harvest. But, as Jesus says, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). If church growth is the justification of evangelism, one sinner who repents is not enough. He or she will not turn our statistics. If church growth is seen as the purpose, and thus the ultimate justification of mission, the work of evangelism becomes driven by numbers rather than persons."

Quote is from an article "Pilgrims and Priests: Missional Ecclesiology in a Secular Society" in ANVIL – Journal of Theology and Mission – Church Missionary Society  Vol. 35 Issue 3 - (2019).