Biblical leadership and healthy church growth : perspectives from the Reformed Churches in South Africa

Abstract

Studies on church growth were conducted extensively in the whole world. The strategies and indications of church growth or decline were mainly the focus of the studies. The church growth movement has Donald McGavran as the chief architecture. Though the church growth movement claims the Great Commission as its focus, it tends to emphasise numerical growth or decline of membership as an indicator. On the contrary, the present study focuses on membership quality (spirituality) as the prime indicator of church growth or decline. Nevertheless, the quality members affect numerical growth positively, unless it is counterfeit. This means therefore, that membership increase or decrease on their own cannot suffice for either church growth or decline. Thus, growth or decline can only be established after the two variables (quality and quantity) realised in a membership of various investigated. Central to this article, was to establish the RCSA leadership functions, which culminates into the continuing membership decline. The study made use of the deputies reports to the General Synod of the RCSA and other related literature that highlighted the trends of Protestant Churches globally and RCSA locally. The following are the objective that the present study seeks to achieve: • Substantiate the characteristics of continuing church decline that is occurring in the Non-Western world and in the RCSA. • Determine the role of church leadership in church decline or growth. • Research and develop biblical teaching on leadership and church growth. • Provide practical guidelines and strategies for leadership that could be implemented for a real turn–around and church growth within the RCSA. • Provide a systematic church growth process, given in Ephesians 4:11–16 Each of these objectives is dealt with in an independent article. The contents of the thesis: The thesis is made up of four sections as follows: Section A Section A provides an overview to the entire study, which endeavours to tie up the whole thesis together. The introduction forms part of this section, highlighting the various chapters that constitute the present study.

Section B Section B is made up of the five articles. Four of the articles are built around 4 of Osmer’s 2008 pragmatic questions. Each of the four articles provided answers to a specific question. Article 1 answers Osmer’ first research question, describing what is going on the world Protestant Churches and the RCSA. To answer this question, membership statistics and their description is given. Article 2 answers the second questions by suggesting the possible leadership problem that are leading to membership decline in the RCSA. Articles 3 provides the biblical leadership principles that were identified in the Bible to highlight what the RCSA leadership needs, for turn-around and church growth to be. Article 4 provides a practical leadership strategy that was built on the biblical leadership principles. This is given diagrammatically and is further discussed on. Article 5 gives a summary on the process of church growth as given by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:11–16. This process points at the leadership gifts as the means to church growth, hence omission in the leadership functions result in church decline. Section C This contains the summary to the whole study, conclusions and recommendations. Section D This is a unified bibliography from the entire study.