PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

ministry to the new innovations of society in which the church ministers. Since both the new
expressions of worship and Church Growth have emerged in these explosive times, it means
there are correlations, i.e. have common causes; but one is not demanded by the other.
The discipline of Church Growth grew in the heart and mind of Donald McGavran, a
missionary to India. McGavran saw the success of some missionaries in evangelizing the
unreached with the gospel, but the efforts failed when applied to people of a different caste.
McGavran began to realize he needed "cross culture evangelism" to reach from one caste to
another. 1 In India certain castes were untouchable, hence there were cultural barriers that made
preaching the gospel ineffective from one caste to another. The problem was not the gospel
message, but the barriers of culture. McGavran came to the conclusion that when the evangelist
followed certain laws or principles in doing the work of evangelism, they were successful. He
called these principles "cross cultural evangelism." When they violated these laws or principles,
they were ineffective.
McGavran began to develop these principles for more success in evangelism, and since
he was concerned with evangelism crossing from one caste to another caste or "untouchables," he
titled his book, The Bridges of God 1 , to explain the bridges of cross cultural evangelism to reach
from one culture to another.
McGavran needed a title to help people understand his new principles 1 . He didn't want to
use the title "Evangelism" because people had misconceptions about evangelism. Some thought
evangelism was a crusade with a special speaker known as an evangelist. Others thought of
evangelism as learning a catechism to learn about Christianity, or evangelism was church
membership, i.e. becoming a Christian by becoming a church member. Still others in India
thought they had to become westernized, i.e. to become an Englishman to become a Christian.
McGavran concluded there was too much baggage with the term evangelism, that he looked for
another term.
McGavran rationalized. First, we preach the gospel; second, they believe; third, they are
baptized and join the church; fourth, the result is church growth. So he concluded, why don't we
use the output term, i.e. Church Growth, instead of the input term, i.e. evangelism?
So the new system of following cross cultural principles in evangelism was called Church
Growth. (He capitalized it because it defined an entity or movement, and was more than a
description of something that would use the lower case.)
THREE IDEAS ABOUT CHURCH GROWTH
1. Numbers. Some think Church Growth is about an increase in numerical figures of
a church, such as growth in attendance, offerings, membership, baptisms, etc. (The observable,
measurable, repeatable phenomena of the church). Numerical growth is the result of Church
Growth, but is not the dynamic heart that produces growth. A passion for the lost produces
growth. Church Growth involves numbers, but more than numbers.