Why Churches Should Avoid the Trends that Drive Temporary Faithfulness

There are two schools of thought when it comes to building and maintaining a congregation. One believes that anything that can draw in more people and more activity is worthwhile as long as it stays close to the pure Gospel. The other believes that quality supersedes bulk, so staying true to the Gospel is more important that spreading it to more people.

Both perspectives have some merit, but we firmly believe the latter is by far more valid. It’s been difficult to put into perspective because everyone has a story about a disinterested secularist who came to a church event for one reason only to be brought into full-throttle belief over time. They’ll tell the story that they would never have found God had they not been lured in through “cooler” pretenses. An argument can be made that this isn’t true, that true believers being predestined before the foundations of the earth mean that at some point everyone who is supposed to believe will be unable to avoid seeing the truth, but we’re going to stick to less controversial reasons for now.

In an article by Cole NeSmith on Relevant Magazine, we get to read a sound argument that shows the “coolness factor” of some churches can actually end up being detrimental to both the church itself and the people they lure in.

“Am I willing to stay committed to this when I do not like it?”
Great morning read from @RELEVANT https://t.co/txTvlr1Nqk

— Link Year (@linkyear) February 16, 2016

If it’s the cool aspects of a church that increases attendance, what happens when the church is no longer cool? How does this unavoidable shift in coolness affect those who joined as well as those who have been members all along?

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