Standout Churches

Written by Libby Lovelace

Encouragement for Evangelism: LifeWay Research Studies 19 Standout Churches^TM

Over the past several years, a number of leaders in the SBC and the broader evangelical world have sounded the alarm that churches are becoming less and less effective in evangelism. Indeed, baptisms among Southern Baptist Churches have numbered less than 400,000 each of the last five years, and 2005 saw the lowest total since 1993.

With that in mind, LifeWay Research made it a priority to conduct research related to evangelism. It was decided to investigate churches that were effective in reaching people for Christ and baptizing them.

With input from Dr. Thom Rainer, President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, the research area determined to look at churches that met the following criteria: baptized at least 26 people per year for 10 consecutive years; overall worship attendance growth during the same 10 years; and a membership to baptism ratio of no more than 20 to 1.

Out of more than 43,000 churches in the SBC, 22 met the criteria based on data they reported annually. Of these, 19 agreed to have several staff members and lay leaders participate in a process of one-on-one interviews. (A list of the participating churches can be found at the end of this article). 

So what exactly do these standout churches have in common? 

Pastor sets the bar
The most common element is the essential role of the senior pastor. Each research team was struck by how strongly the pastor sets the tone of the church. All pastors indicate evangelism is of utmost importance. “Focus” and “intentionality” are common words used when referring to the intent to keep evangelism a major priority.

“These pastors do more than stress the importance of evangelism, they lead by example as they are personally passionate about and involved in sharing Christ both from the pulpit and through personal interaction with the unchurched and lost,” said Brad Waggoner, director of LifeWay Research. 

Those interviewed describe the pastors using terms such as “highly relational”, “personable,” “caring,” “passionate,” “humble,” “strong leader,” “ a shepherd,” and “very authentic.” 

“This is strikingly similar to the findings in the popular book Good to Great by Jim Collins as he looked into the leadership of great companies,” said Waggoner. “Collins concluded that great leaders are both driven and yet humble.  The pastors of the churches studied appear to be similar. They love God, love their flock, and are compassionate for the lost. They are resolutely committed to reaching the lost and yet they lead with a spirit of humility, authenticity, and relational warmth.”

Nearly all the churches describe their polity as pastor or staff-led and are characterized by a strong sense of teamwork. Staff members indicate their pastor is effective in creating an empowering environment in which the staff has input and are treated as important to the team. A common term used to describe the leadership style of the pastors is “shared leadership.” Even lay persons view themselves as part of the church leadership team. 

Interviews indicate the churches have taken on the vision, priorities, and values of the senior pastor. Staff and lay leaders find it easy to follow the pastor. There are high levels of trust in these pastors.

It is interesting that the average tenure of the pastors of the churches included in the study is 15 years. As noted in Thom Rainer’s book Surprising Insights, pastoral tenure is strongly correlated to church health and effectiveness. 

Church atmosphere
Another commonality of these long-term evangelistic churches is the overall atmosphere and tone of the church. These churches are consistently described as “exciting,” “dynamic,” “energetic,” “upbeat,” “friendly,” “welcoming,” “warm,” and “positive.” 

“Clearly these churches possess an environment conducive to reaching people for Christ,” Waggoner said. “The members of these churches are enthusiastic about their church and thus are quick to invite their unchurched friends to visit. In the interviews we asked if the church encouraged the ‘invest and invite’ concept popularized by North Point Church in Atlanta. While some did not recall hearing or using this exact terminology, all of them quickly affirmed that the worship services were key to reaching people and that members were highly motivated to invite others to attend.” 

Evangelistic appeal
The presence of a consistent evangelistic appeal is another common factor. Pastors indicate they seek to include the gospel in most, if not all, of their sermons. They stress the importance of preaching the gospel and providing opportunities for lost people to respond. More than two-thirds indicate they offer a public invitation at the end of every service. The others invite inquirers to fill out a decision card.

“In these long-term evangelistically effective churches, it would be rare for an unsaved person to visit without being exposed to an appeal to consider the offer of salvation,” Waggoner said. 

Intentional outreach
Intentionality in evangelism is another common attribute among these churches. The pastors are focused on reaching people for Christ. Whether it’s through focusing the content of sermons, planning the worship services, or simply the nature of church programming, it is clear that everything is designed with outreach in mind.  

Evidence of this intentionality can be seen in the frequency of a visitation or follow-up strategy employed by almost all of the churches. All but four are committed to a regular, organized visitation program. While the exact nature and format varied, they are intentionally organized for weekly follow-up of visitors or church prospects.

This spirit of intentionality goes beyond visitation. Many of the churches plan and conduct a variety of church events and programs with an evangelistic motive. The pastors and staff leaders are careful not to let the church calendar fill up with random events unless they are designed, at least in part, to reach people for Christ.

Not all the same
While these long-term evangelistic churches share many common elements, they also have their differences. Most of the differences can be placed into the category of methodology or programmatic emphases. 

Preaching
When it comes to preaching, one-third of the pastors indicate they preach topically.  Almost half are committed to expositional or textual preaching, and four use other terms to describe their preaching style.

“Clearly, the style of preaching varies among the long-term evangelistic churches,” Waggoner said. “The only common element is that all of the pastors possess an evangelistic fervor and provide some sort of evangelistic appeal during the majority of the sermons.”

Style of Worship
As indicated earlier, the most common characteristic is an environment of excitement and passion. Almost everyone interviewed indicate there is a real sense of God’s presence during the worship services. The majority of the pastors use the words “contemporary,” “informal,” and “casual” to describe their style of worship. Three of the pastors say their worship service is blended in terms of music. Only one pastor uses the term “traditional” to describe his church’s worship.      

Four of the churches consider their worship services to be “seeker- driven” or “seeker-targeted.”  Of these four, one pastor describes his church as a “Willow Creek type church,” and another one indicated his church is a “Saddleback model church.”

Evangelism Training
Another area of notable difference is the aspect of formal evangelism training. Half the churches use formal training programs such as FAITH, while the other half is split between occasional classes and using only the pulpit to train believers in evangelism.
 
Small Group Strategy
The small group strategy of the churches varies. Eleven use on-campus Sunday school as their primary fellowship groups, while six meet in off-campus small groups, and two have a mix of on and off-campus groups. Most of those interviewed indicate their small groups, whether Sunday school or in-home, are at least theoretically “open” (evangelistic in focus). 

“When looking at both the similarities and differences of these long-term evangelistic churches, what can clearly be celebrated is that the churches in this study can be a great source of encouragement to any pastor, staff member or lay leader who dreams and prays to be part of a church that is effective in reaching the lost.  Scripture promises that the gospel is powerful to save. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ.  We are commanded to preach the message of reconciliation.   As we can see in the leaders of these evangelistically effective churches, passion, commitment, focus, and intentionality can lead to celebrating the regeneration of many souls.” 

Participating churches:
1. Atlee Community Church; Mechanicsville, Virginia
2. Biltmore Baptist Church; Arden, North Carolina
3. Cedar Creek Church; Aiken, South Carolina
4. Church of Pembroke Pines; Pembroke Pines, Florida
5. Clements Baptist Church; Athens, Alabama
6. Fellowship of the Rockies; Pueblo, Colorado
7. First Baptist Church of Oviedo; Oviedo, Florida
8. Highlands Fellowship; Abingdon, Virginia
9. Hopewell Baptist Church; Gainesville, Georgia
10. Jersey Baptist Church; Pataskala, Ohio
11. Lenexa Baptist Church; Lenexa, Kansas
12. Lindsay Lane Baptist Church; Athens, Alabama
13. London Bridge Baptist Church; Virginia Beach, Virginia
14. Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California
15. Miles Road Baptist Church; Summerville, South Carolina
16. NorthPointe Community Church; Fresno, California
17. Northside Baptist Church; Wilmington, North Carolina
18. Seoul Baptist Church of Houston, Texas
19. Sarasota Baptist Church; Sarasota, Florida

Interviewers:
1. Jerry McLeod and Stewart McCarter
2. Skip Fendley
3. Jamie Auton
4. Eric Geiger and Eddie King
5. Topper Reid and Richard Fitch
6. Ben Skaug
7. Rick Wheeler and Doug Watkins
8. Scott McConnell and Brad Waggoner
9. Susan and Scott Barber
10. Brian Frye
11. Tom Johnston and Robin Hadaway
12. Topper Reid and Richard Fitch
13. Phillip Herring and Gary Sanders
14. Dennis Swanson
15. Jarrett McNeeley
16. Elisha Rimestad
17. Allan Acker and Chris McCutchen
18. William Taylor and Josh Alexander
19. Rick Wheeler and Doug Watkins

 

 

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