Numbers are important in most cultures, such as when attendance at a sporting event has surpassed the previous record. Team and sporting event promoters take these numbers seriously; they seek to discover what factors contributed to the increase, or decrease, in attendance.
In many ways, Sabbath School and worship service can be seen as an event. This is not suggesting that what happens on Sabbath is just a game, but church is an event where we certainly want maximum attendance. A challenging question, then, for both pastor and lay preacher is, “Is the weekly sermon a factor in the congregation’s attendance and growth?
With many other things happening in the local church to influence attendance, we may be tempted to think that determining the impact of the sermon on church growth is futile. However, it is important for the preacher to realize that the sermon has an important role to play in the nurture and establishment of new believers and in the building up of the congregation. Thus, to emphasize the importance of the sermon for church growth, we will consider the various stages of crafting and delivering a sermon, but with church growth in mind.
Sermon preparation for growth
Preaching is serious business. Frank J. Retief makes the point: “It is true that the pulpit can become a stage where the preacher puts on a performance. But if preaching is to be true preaching, it must be rooted in the integrity of the spiritual life of the preacher.”1 Powerful preaching grows out of the preacher’s life with God. Not that preachers come to the pulpit with the ambition “I will grow this church,” but rather they must come with the idea “We preach Christ and Him crucified, and the congregation grows spiritually and numerically.”
Ilion T. Jones says, “Like all other skills, preaching skill is achieved by hard work, self-discipline, continuous practice and regular revision of procedures.”2 But even then, preaching effectiveness is not guaranteed by using good techniques alone. Even these may fall short of transforming those who hear the preacher. There is a well-documented correlation between the amount of time spent in prayer and study and the quality of the sermons produced. John Piper writes that “the goal of preaching is utterly dependent on the mercy of God for its fulfillment. Therefore, the preacher must labor to put his preaching under divine influence of prayer.”3 Darrell W. Johnson emphasizes the need to spend time in study. “There is no doubt that the degree to which the preacher has been and is being affected by the text plays a role in the effectiveness of the sermon. There is no doubt that the degree of the preacher’s faithfulness to the text plays a role in the effectiveness of the sermon.”4
This sermon quality is measured not only by the process of crafting and the expertise of presentation but also by the impact that the preacher has upon the hearers.
Calvin Miller suggests that while we analyze our sermon's Scripture passage, we should also analyze the audience: “Half of those who enter the church and take their seat are moving in a privatized fog of their own ills.”5 That is, they have come to church with all of their personal and spiritual struggles, and it is important that the preacher analyze the congregation as best that he or she can. At the very least, the preacher should realize that, in any congregation, people want a sermon that will touch their lives.
The average attendee is probably not interested in the intricate social details of the ancient Hittite kingdom or the nuances of Hebrew or Greek grammar. But they do want to hear an enlightening word from the Lord that will be a blessing and challenge.
A sermon is not just giving people information, even information about God. A preacher can use sound theology, but that does not necessarily take the people anywhere. If we want to encourage people to return—and churches grow only when visitors and members return—then we must understand the contribution that the preaching makes and prepare sermons accordingly.
Sermon content for growth
In 1992, a book was published, titled How to Close Your Church in a Decade. In it, David Cohen and Stephen Gaukroger suggest that your church could close in a decade if you neglect crucial aspects of church life, which include neglecting to preach a Biblebased message applied in a challenging way: “If we want to see our churches die in a decade, the quickest way to affect their demise is to remove the Bible from that central point in their lives. If we want life and growth, we will make sure that the Bible is the basis of our preaching and teaching ministry; that its message is applied in a relevant way to the lives of our congregation, and that preacher and hearers alike humbly submit to what God has to say to us through it.”6 Conversely, “If our churches are to come to life and grow, our preaching ministry must be based on the Bible, but we must be sure that it is Christ centered.”7
In short, preaching matters to church growth.
“One could easily get the impression from church growth experts that the pulpit plays little or no part in church growth,” laments Earl V. Comfort, who relates his futile search for references to a pulpit ministry in church-growth books. “And yet when church growth situations are examined in this country [USA] one cannot overlook the fact that at the heart of growth is an effective pulpit ministry.”8
So how do we recognize an effective pulpit ministry? Comfort surveyed his congregation and came up with seven sermon qualities:
1. The sermon must be biblical. Preachers must expound the Scriptures, not just refer to them.
2. The sermon must be understandable. Every effort should be taken to communicate clearly.
3. The sermon must be warm, expressing the love the pastor has for his flock.
4. The sermon must be positive. Instill a positive attitude toward God.
5. The sermon must be practical, relevant to the people’s lives today.
6. The sermon must be exemplary. The preacher must practice what he or she preaches.
7. The sermon must be exciting. Avoid sermons that have no substance and act like a sedative.9
Sermon presentation for growth
Nestor C. Rilloma points out the dangers of what He calls “dis- exposition.”10 Dis-exposition in a sermon occurs when a text is introduced but never expounded or even referred to again. “There is no attempt to convey the true meaning of the passage.” For Rilloma, “dis-exposition causes Sabbath indigestion” and can negatively impact church growth.
Kent Hughes lists five more of what Rilloma calls “abuses” in preaching. 11
1. The “de-contexted sermon.” A sermon in which a text is removed from its surrounding context and mistakenly applied.
2. The “lensed sermon.” The preacher sees every sermon through the lens of his or her favorite theme.
3. The “moralized sermon.” Every sermon has a moral. Regardless of what the text actually says or is referring to, some moral will be infused into it.
4. The “doctrinalized sermon.” The preacher uses the Bible in a proof text way in order to prove the doctrinal preference of the preacher.
5. The “silenced sermons.” The preacher preaches on details that are not actually in the text.
A congregational “bill of rights
Congregations expect certain things. Thus, will they continue to attend if their expectations are never realized? Marvin Hunt lists what he calls “Your congregation’s bill of rights.”12
Your congregation has the right to expect that your sermon will be based solidly on the Bible. This means that you will not use the Bible as a launching pad to go into orbit about your pet peeves or favorite topics. Your listeners deserve to have the question answered, “Is there any word from the Lord?”.
Your congregation has the right to expect that you have spent hours in prayer, study, and preparation so that you will not waste the sermon time they have given to you.
Your congregation has the right to expect a sermon more than one-mile wide and one-inch deep. You cannot preach the Bible until you know your Bible. The Bible needs to fill your mind, rule your heart, and be a lamp unto your feet.
Your congregation has the right to expect that your sermon will have a clear beginning, middle, and ending and that they will know when you have arrived at your final destination.
Your congregation has the right to expect an Adventist sermon, one with that “certain” sound. Just like Sabbath dinner, they have the right to expect that the meal laid out before them will be one especially made to feed Seventh-day Adventists. They have the right to expect that if you stand behind an Adventist pulpit, you will preach a message that will attempt to move God’s remnant church forward.
Hunt also introduces the concept of “Starving in the midst of plenty.” There are many reasons why people may be starving in church. Maybe the spiritual food served up is not nutritious? Or maybe it is, but some have refused to eat? Or maybe they are unable to assimilate the food? Whatever the reason, some will feel the need to look elsewhere for spiritual nourishment if you do not feed them properly.
The challenge to preachers
When people change congregations, what are they seeking? Of course, reasons for “church hopping” will be many and complex, and preachers will be reluctant to admit that their preaching has played a role. Although not everyone who changes congregations cites unpalatable preaching as the reason, this may well be a factor.
So, while determining why people change churches, and to what extent their reasons for doing so are valid, would be a complicated task, the sermon is a big part of what happens on Sabbath. As Warren Wiersbe points out, “Our goal in preaching is not just to provide religious education but to encourage spiritual transformation.”13 This is a vital point, especially given that in 2011 George Barna noted that only 21 percent of Christians surveyed said that it is imperative for a person to be connected to a community of faith if they want to mature spiritually.14 Thus, preachers must more intentionally consider where the sermon can contribute to healthy congregational spiritual and numerical growth.
In their Adventist classic Adventures in Church Growth, Dudley and Cummings say that the experience of growth includes “proclaiming the gospel, winning and baptizing converts, incorporating them into responsible membership, nurturing their spiritual development, equipping them for further service, motivating them to missionary tasks, and supporting them as they go out to exercise their gifts to bring in still others.”15
While the pastor should be focused upon all these important aspects of growth, the pulpit ministry must also be uplifted as vitally important. The challenge to preachers, both professional and lay, is to view their pulpit ministry as a significant factor contributing to church growth, both spiritually and numerically.
1 Frank J. Retief, “Preaching That Grows the Church,” in When God’s Voice Is Heard: The Power of Preaching. ed David Jackman and Christopher Green (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 125.
2 Ilion T. Jones, Principles and Practice of Preaching (New York: Abingdon Press, no date), 9.
3 John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1990), 98.
4 Darrell W. Johnson, The Glory of Preaching (Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 31.
5 Calvin Miller, Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006), 41.
6 David Cohen and Stephen Gaukroger, How to Close Your Church in a Decade (London: Scripture Union, 1992), 96, 97.
7 Ibid., 135.
8 Earl V. Comfort, “Is the Pulpit a Factor in Church
Growth?” in Vital Ministry Issues, ed. Roy B. Zuck (Michigan: Kregel Resources, 1994), 133.
9 Ibid., 135.
10 Nester C. Rilloma, “The Divine Authority of Preaching and Applying the Word: Ellen G. White’s Perspective in Relation to Evangelical Viewpoints” in Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 16, nos. 1, 2 (2005), 164.
11 Kent Hughes, “The Anatomy of Exposition: Logos, Ethos and Pathos,” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 3, no. 2 (Summer 1999), 44–58. Cited in Rilloma, “Divine Authority of Preaching,” 165.
12 Marvin Hunt, So You’ve Been Asked to Speak (Silver Spring, MD: The Ministerial Association, 1996), 8, 9.
13 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Dynamics of Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2001), 69.
14 George Barna, Maximum Faith: Live Like Jesus (Austin, TX: Fed and Company, Inc., 2011), 39.
15 Roger L. Dudley and Des Cummins Jr., Adventures in Church Growth (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Pub. Assoc., 1985), 32.
