One of the most frequent questions I was asked when I served as an Area Resource Minister was why the newer churches in the community were growing and the traditional churches struggled to remain open. One of the most common complaints I received was why the denomination was starting new churches rather than giving that money to existing churches so they could grow. The answer to both questions was that new churches reach new people. Most existing churches didn't have a money problem; they had a vision problem. Many of them, if they were given $100,000.00, would put it in a savings account to ensure they would remain open years later. Of course, the follow-up question I was often asked is why are the new churches reaching new people?
One reason is they are not limited by tradition. A new church leader isn't going to hear "But, we've never done it that way before," when he or she proposes some new ministry. Tradition isn't always bad, but some traditions are church-killers. When what has become a tradition in the church may have made sense at one time, but its shelf life is way past.
Traditional churches often expect the minister to provide the ministry in the church while the congregation handles the administration. A church business meeting is held every month to consider such important items as the color of the toilet paper for the rest rooms. I once knew a church whose item of new business each month was whether to pay the bills the treasurer had received. In many new churches, the congregation understands they are responsible for ministry, and the church leadership makes the major decisions of the church. This is true even in congregational churches. One very traditional church made a major change in its constitution several years ago. The church now has three business meetings a year, and there are only five things the congregation can vote on. A church council makes all other decisions.
New churches are often organized into teams, not committees. You ask what's the difference: teams get things done, committees talk about doing things. These teams are often ad-hoc. Once their work is done, they are disbanded so the members can return to doing ministry. Just to be clear, serving on a committee isn't ministry, it's administration.
New churches are often formed with a specific target in mind. They do everything they do in order to reach that target group. The music is often more contemporary and appropriate to that target group. I once read that the fastest growing churches in America today were Cowboy churches. I attended one of those churches. The music was all country-western, and the worship service itself was very informal. They were having a major impact on their community. Traditional churches often take the attitude of "We unlocked the doors. You all come." And nobody comes.
New churches spend far more on reaching new people than traditional churches. One pastor who started a new church wrote they spent over $100.00 per person to reach out to new people. Compare that to the evangelism budget of most existing churches.
Traditional churches staff for maintenance; new churches staff for growth. One new church targeted the two wealthiest communities in their city. They were meeting in the gym of a Junior High School. They had 14 ministers on staff and were now seeking a senior pastor. In the two years of their existence they had already grown to over 400 people, and this is without a building and without a senior pastor.
One final thought. New churches are very intentional about everything they do. There is a sense of urgency in what they do. Not so in many traditional churches. They can talk about doing things for months before anything actually happens. New churches are intentional about their target audience, and everything, including their music and discipleship systems, are designed to reach that target. Traditional churches post sign-up sheets hoping that people will volunteer to help out. New churches focus on people whose gifts are a good fit for what needs to be done and specifically asks people to fulfill those tasks.
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