2022

• Church growth means that more people are saved
• obeys Jesus’ command to preach to all nations
• response to the Great Commission
• develops Christian mission
• teaches others about Christianity and Christ
• Jesus’ message gets to more people
• baptise more believers
• give people access to public worship
• to increase financial resources
• the more Christians there are, the more they are able to resist persecution
• to change corrupt societies
• to respond to people’s needs
• to increase church attendance
• bigger churches allow for organisations such as ‘Christ for all Nations’
• to influence change, eg in morality, attitude to the environment, reconciliation, political influence, evangelism, etc.

2018

• Some might join the Church Army to help people find faith.
• Some might work for the vulnerable and marginalised people in society / to bring them into the Church.
• Some might serve in Mission, especially in areas where Christianity is under attack.
• Some might join the Ichthus Fellowship, which offers evangelical worship.
• Some might join Fresh Expressions in order to engage with people who might not otherwise think of going to church.
• Some might show their commitment by talking to people about their faith, inviting them to special events and services.
• Some might give money to the Church / pay tithes / give to charity, et

2024

One reason why Christians work to bring about Church growth is that it was commanded by Jesus / in the Great Commission (Luke 24:36-53) / where Jesus told his disciples that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in Christ’s name to all nations / in other words, the Church must grow to encompass all nations / as a direct command from Jesus, this has to be obeyed.
• Jesus continues the Great Commission by saying: ‘And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high’ (Luke 24:49) / This ‘power’ is explained by Acts 2:1-4 / probably written also by Luke / describing how the disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit / Jesus is in effect saying that those who take up the Great Commission are given power of the Spirit from God to convert people to Christianity.
• Jesus was explaining that it is not enough for Christians simply to believe in Jesus / they have a responsibility to encourage believers to become disciples / meaning those who will actively promote Christian teachings and Church growth / this has to happen in all time and places, including the present.
• If the Church today does not grow, it cannot survive / the Church has suffered persecution since its beginnings / for example from the Roman authorities / and although the Church is still growing in some parts of the world, it is declining in others.
• Some Christians believe that those who are not Christians will not gain eternal life with God / so they work hard to save people and bring more people into the churches / into the body of Christ / in order that they may be with God eternally / eg Reinhard Bonnke has led evangelical missions in different parts of the world / training evangelists / working on a sound financial basis / believing that each Christian has the responsibility to bring the message of Jesus to all nations / for example using many different technologies / to bring about conversion.
• The Church is still being persecuted in some parts of the world / so Church growth has to be developed and sustained wherever possible / the more Christians there are, the safer Christians will be, worldwide.
• Some Christians believe they should spread Christian values and Jesus’ message of ‘love your neighbour’ (Mark 12:31) / out of love, duty, or devotion / making the world a better place, etc.

Sources of authority might include:
‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.’ (Luke 24:46-47)
‘… We are to grow up in every way to him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.’ (Ephesians 4:15-16)
‘And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptised will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned”.’ (Mark 16:15-16)
Accept all other sources of authority that correctly support the beliefs given.

2022

• The mission of the Church is to evangelise / this is clear from Matthew 28:19-20 where, having appeared to the 11 disciples after his death, Jesus commissions them: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you …’
• So as a command from Jesus / the mission of the Church is to evangelise – to spread the gospel of Christ by public preaching, teaching and healing, and/or by personal witness testimony.
• Similarly in Matthew 4:19, Jesus told Simon Peter and Andrew to follow him / and then he would make them ‘fish for people’.
• Many Christians therefore feel that it is important to use their skills to spread the good news about Jesus / and this might be done by preaching / teaching / healing / or any other particular skill that they feel called to use.
• For some, this leads them to undertake missionary work / at home or abroad / in order to ‘save’ those who do not know Christ.
• Paul took his evangelical mission to the Gentiles (non-Jews) / so that ‘they may be saved’ (Romans 10:1).
• It is important, therefore, for the mission of the Church, for all people to accept Christ and to be saved, etc.

Spec 2

• the organisation may care for victims of a natural disaster/they may help them re-build their communities/provide food, water, medicines, temporary shelters/comfort them in their time of need. Matthew 25: 35–36 etc
• the organisation may work with a community to make them stronger to face future problems/they may teach them new skills, how to look after themselves/they may provide money to start-up small businesses/they may build a school for the children or teach the adults better healthcare. Mark 12:31 etc
• the organisation may fight against injustice or provide a fairer way of doing things/they free people from slavery, poor working conditions, exploitation/they encourage people to work together and share profits/they put pressure on governments to implement change. Luke 4: 18–19, Gaudium et Spes: 26, etc