I speak to churches about how to grow their congregations. Because they’ve usually found themselves in one of two situations: 1. They are shrinking; every year they are smaller than the year before. 2. They have leveled out, hovering around the same size year after year.

So they seek answers to stop the exodus or address the plateau. But the issue is that some churches ask questions like, what do we need to do to keep people happy? Or, how do we keep members from looking at other options? When true growth comes not from questions of defense, but questions about how to reach a dark world with the light of Jesus. In other words, family growth by new births.

I do see these growing churches, and this is what I have noticed about them: they have three common core beliefs. But before outlining those, let me be clear again on the definition of growing in this article. By growing, I mean churches that are reaching non-church people in their community and bringing non-believers to faith. Not those that grow by absorbing believers from other congregations, but actual kingdom growth.

So here are the three common beliefs of kingdom growth churches:

1. People are lost without Jesus. Sin separates people from God, and they cannot save themselves. The consequence of sin is eternal separation from God. But God loves us so much that he made Jesus, who had no sin, to be sin for us. Jesus died on the cross so that everyone could be reconciled to God. Growing churches understand that their communities are lost people for whom Jesus died.

2. Faith in Jesus saves them. Lost people have to be persuaded, encouraged, begged, and led to believe in Jesus. So growing churches are full of believers who live out their faith intentionally so that non-believers might desire to know the hope we have. There is no hope outside of Jesus.

3. Growing churches embrace their responsibility to partner with God, sharing that message of reconciliation to God through Jesus. They believe it is their mission to go into their world and make disciples.

So if your church is not growing, ask yourself the following questions: Do we believe people are lost without Jesus? Do they need to believe in him to be saved? Is it our responsibility to engage our world with the good news of Jesus and to persuade men and women to follow him?

Yes, yes, and yes.