Your Church Is Only as Free as Its Greatest Bottleneck - Week 4
Week 4: Healthy Things Grow—A Biblical and Global Approach to Natural Church Development Some churches are not suffering from a lack of effort. They are suffering from a bottleneck. The pastor is working hard. The volunteers are faithful. The church calendar is full. The sermons are being prepared. The worship team is practicing. The congregation is praying. Yet progress remains slow. The church may experience occasional signs of growth, but the same problems keep returning. New people arrive but do not stay. Volunteers begin serving but quickly become exhausted. Leaders are trained but rarely released. Outreach events attract attention but produce few lasting relationships. Worship services are meaningful, yet discipleship remains shallow. When this happens, the natural response is often to work harder. Add another program. Schedule another meeting. Recruit more volunteers. Launch another campaign. Preach another series. But greater effort does not always produce grea...