Breaking Growth Barriers in Churches

As a church grows, the internal dynamics of the congregation change and so must the leadership style of the pastor as well as the systems within the church. Since a church is an organism as well as an organization, there are balances that must be maintained within the system or else it will not be able to reach its potential. Just as a growing plant must have the right balance of light, water, heat and carbon dioxide, so too a church must have the right balance of leadership styles, structures, outreaches and care (among other things).

I was recently asked to compile a list of material having to do with breaking growth barriers and the dynamics of a growing church for a pastor of a growing church in Mexico. My list was as follows:

• How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth
  
• The Everychurch Guide to Growth: How Any Plateaued Church Can Grow
  
• Breakout Churches: Discover How to Make the Leap
  
• anything by Lyle Schaller, Charles and Win Arn (these are older but good material) and Gary McIntosh
  

After sending this list off, I came across a much better list at DJ Chuang's site entitled the Dynamics of Different Church Sizes.