A Theological Critique Of Church Growth Worship

Especially influential in the last generation of American church life has been the school of evangelistic strategies sometimes known by the term church growth strategies. In recent years, such strategies have increasingly shaped the worship of churches in many worship traditions. This article examines church growth worship from a theological perspective, evaluating both its strengths and weaknesses in light of both the history of Christian worship and present trends. In the beginning of Understanding Church Growth, marketed as the "foundational church growth text," Donald McGavran says,"Those interested in liturgy find that church growth may say very little about their concerns" (Understanding Church Growth, 3d ed. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990], 8). Indeed, McGavran, the father of the church growth movement, seems to show a liturgical conservatism in this book whenever he speaks of certain Christian ways of worshiping, which converts increasingly adopt. But these are only passing re…