How to Transform Your Congregation Into a Church that Wins
Daniel Whyte III
Church Momentum by Daniel Whyte III Cover Design by Atinad Designs. © Copyright 2017 TORCH LEGACY PUBLICATIONS: DALLAS, TEXAS; ATLANTA, GEORGIA; BROOKLYN, NEW YORK All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner, except for brief quotations included in a review of the book. The Bible quotations in this volume are from the King James Version of the Bible.
For the Church universal.
CONTENTS Introduction: Why Churches Need Momentum Chapter 1: Momentum in Prayer Chapter 2: Momentum in Evangelism Chapter 3: Momentum in Discipleship Chapter 4: The Results of Momentum
Introduction: Why Churches Need Momentum To win in anything in life, you must gain and keep momentum. What
is
momentum?
My
definition
of
momentum is when you become unstoppable because you have worked up so much winning steam that it is almost like you are pushing your opponent down a steep slope. And they can do nothing to stop you. When you have momentum, you will be able to overwhelm any obstacle in your path, not just because of what you are doing at that moment, but because of what you have been doing over the past days, weeks, months, and years. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, momentum is, “strength or force gained by motion or by a series of events.� Momentum is a good thing. Momentum is what enables us to win in life. When a sports team gets on a
winning streak, it is almost as if they are invincible. Their opponents meet them on the field or the court with a severe mental disadvantage. Because the other team has won so much, they can't imagine them losing now. A winning team does not get distracted; once it finds out what it needs to do to win, it keeps doing what it needs to do to win. I think we all would agree that our churches need momentum, and that is the reason why I have written this book. The church today has lost its momentum because it does not gather around the core activities that enabled the first century church to win against all odds. What are these core activities? Prayer, evangelism, and discipleship. It sounds simple, but in this short book, I will show you how these are the keys to victory for any body of believers – from the church of just a few people meeting in a home to the megachurch with thousands of members. Note: Church momentum is not church activity. We have a lot of activity in our churches today. We have many meetings, many small groups, many programs, many places for people to get plugged-in.
Activity is good, but activity, “busy work” alone is not what makes a winning church. A hamster puts out a lot of activity by running on its wheel, but it never goes anywhere. By the same token, we have many churches that are putting out a lot of activity, but are not moving the ball forward for the body of Christ. They have gotten away from the core, winning principles of the first century church. The aim of this book is to help your church win against the world, the flesh, and the devil by simply showing you what is necessary to win and showing you how to keep on winning no matter what. This is not a book about theory; this is a book about practice. Pastors and church leaders, if you implement the principles
contained
in
this
book,
you
will
revolutionize your church and open up your congregation to being used by God in a mighty way.
— Daniel Whyte III
1 Momentum in Prayer When we hear of the day of Pentecost preached on or talked about in church circles, we often only think of it as the day when the Holy Spirit of God descended on the first believers in a powerful way, filling them with the unction to preach the Gospel and go about the business of establishing the church. But, we often overlook what the first Christians were doing before the fire fell and what they continued doing after the fire fell. In Acts 1:14 (before Pentecost), the Bible tells us that the twelve disciples and the women who were with them “continued in one accord in prayer and supplication.” After Pentecost, we are told that the new believers (those who received Christ following Peter's sermon), “continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).
The word continued in both of these verses emphasizes the fact that the church engaged in consistent prayer for an extended amount of time. We know that after Jesus rose from the dead, He spent forty days showing Himself to His disciples and continuing to teach them, and we know that Pentecost occurred on the 50th day after the Passover. So, from Jesus' ascension to the Passover, there were 7-10 days in which Jesus' disciples were in the Upper Room praying and preparing to receive the Holy Ghost. After they received the Holy Spirit, the church continued praying consistently. In Acts 3, we read of Peter and John going up to the Temple to pray. In Acts 6, we read of the disciples declaring that
they
would
give
themselves
“continually to prayer.” In Acts 10, we read of Peter being on a rooftop praying when God gives him the vision that would lead to the inclusion of Gentiles into the church. In Acts 12, we read of “many people” being
gathered to pray “without ceasing” for the deliverance of Peter from the hands of Herod who was determined to have him executed. In Acts 16, we read of Paul, Silas, and Luke twice on their way to a prayer meeting. Prayer was one of the keys to the success of the early church, and it is one of the keys that can make your church a winning church in the twenty-first century. Unfortunately,
most
Christians
(including
pastors) do not pray as they should. Many Christians do not pray unless they are in church or are prompted to pray by someone else. The traditional mid-week prayer meeting is on the decline. For most churches that still have such a meeting, it is a “prayer” meeting in name only. The revivalist Leonard Ravenhill said, “This much is sure in all churches, forgetting party labels: the smallest meeting numerically is the prayermeeting.” He added, “If we are weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere.” Charles Spurgeon said, “The condition of the church may very accurately be gauged by its prayer
meetings. From them, we may judge the amount of divine working among its people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer.� Our churches have grown slothful in prayer. Like anything that is difficult spiritually, mentally, or physically, people face inertia regarding prayer. On top of that, the devil is actively trying to hinder them from praying. But, if prayer is one of the keys to being a winning church, how can we gain and keep momentum in prayer? First, every church must get back to the weekly prayer meeting. This is the least we can do: set aside one hour each week where God's people gather to do nothing but pray for each other, for their community, and for the world. However, the pastor or whoever is leading the prayer meeting must make the meeting actually about prayer. This is not a time for fellowship, for gossip, or for commiserating about what various church members are going through. My suggestion is
to preach a brief message or share a homily on prayer. And then to actually pray. It is helpful to have a prayer list printed up (or displayed on a screen) for people to use as a guide. Personal prayer requests can be submitted before the service begins and then prayed for after the message. But if we really want to gain momentum in prayer, we must go beyond the weekly prayer meeting. Here are a few more directives that can help a church get on the winning side. (Remember, a church is its people. It is individuals who must be motivated to take part in these activities.) 
Early morning prayer meetings can be held at coffee
shops
and Christian-owned
businesses in the community. If you can't make it in the morning without a run to Starbucks, why not stop there for five minutes, meet with a few brothers or sisters from the church, and pray before you start your day. (Trust me, the business will not mind if you and a few others sit in a corner and pray, especially if you are spending
money.) If you work with other Christians in your place of employment, arrive ahead of time so you can pray with and for each other.
Midday prayer meetings can be held at the church building each day. Those who can afford to make it to the church on their lunch break can gather to pray for ten to fifteen minutes. A church employee or trusted church member should be there to open the doors and initiate the prayer meetings.
Evening prayer meetings can be held in members' houses. Acts 2:46 tells us that the early Christians “continued daily with one accord, breaking bread from house to house.” Church members who live in the same community can gather in each others' homes for a brief prayer meeting at the end of the day. If they would like to fellowship by breaking bread and eating a meal together, that is great as well.
The pastor can lead a brief prayer meeting online every day. This can easily be done via
Periscope, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, or another online platform. This does not have to be anything fancy, just a few minutes of prayer and a brief word of encouragement for those who want to turn in. Pastor, if you are hesitant about such an endeavor, you may be surprised. Many people want to pray, know they need to pray, but simply need someone to help them pray. Remember, the purpose of all of this prayer is not just activity. It is not just to give your people something to do. Instead, it is in obedience to Christ who commanded us to “pray without ceasing.� He told us that for a reason. He knows that the only way we can be victorious is to stay in constant communication with the Throne of Heaven. And that is something I have found to be very true over the past thirty-five years in ministry. If you get momentum in prayer, you are well on your way to being a winning church.
It is said that the weekly prayer meeting is the spiritual barometer for any local church. You can tell with a fair degree of accuracy what the church is like by the demeanor or substance of the weekly prayer meeting. Is there genuine evangelistic concern? If so it will be expressed in the prayers. Is there a heartfelt longing for the conversion of unconverted family members If so that is sure to surface. Is there a world vision and a fervent desire for revival and the glory of our Redeemer among the nations of the world? Such a burden cannot be suppressed. Intercession in the prayer meeting will soon reveal a loving church that cares for those who are oppressed and weighed down with trials and burdens. Those bearing trials too painful or personal to be described in public will nevertheless find comfort in the prayer meeting, for there the Holy Spirit is especially at work. Erroll Hulse
2 Momentum in Evangelism Another thing the early church carried out every day was evangelism. Acts 2:47 says, “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The early church didn't get daily results, without daily, consistent work. Daily, consistent work equals momentum, and momentum equals victory. Fulfilling the Great Commission is the main task of the church. C.S. Lewis said, “The glory of God, and, as our only means of glorifying Him, the salvation of souls is the real business of life.” If taking the Gospel to the world is our main task, it makes sense that we should be doing it every day, as often as possible. This does not mean that we should not make time for other important things, but that this should be our main thing – the one thing we do and do well. On a football team, a great quarterback is great at doing one thing – being the quarterback. He might
be able to pass for a running back. He might even be a decent lineman. But unless he is quarterbacking, he is not doing the main thing that he should be doing, and he is not helping his team win. Unless the church is doing the main thing of evangelism, we are not helping the Kingdom of God win. Unfortunately, most churches do not have a serious
evangelistic
outreach.
Many
consider
evangelism to be “missionary work,� and they think they have done their duty by taking up a love offering each month to send to the missionary couple overseas. Other churches have to set up special days or special campaigns in order to turn the church's attention to winning the lost. (Sad to say, but it has been my experience that any church meeting that is exclusively about soul-winning will probably be the least attended meeting of the week.) This ought not to be the case: evangelism ought to be an everyday activity for Christian people. And since most lost people will be found outside the church walls, we must make a special effort to meet them where they are. We must go to them, not wait for them
to come to us. There are many ways that we can make this happen:
Pastors, preach the Gospel at the end of every message. I know that there has been some debate in theological circles about whether or not every message should be a “Gospel� message. Well, of course, every sermon you preach will not have the Gospel at its center. But, as a minister, you must assume that there is at least one person under the sound of your voice who has never heard the Gospel or who is confused about the Gospel. It is your duty to God and to them to make sure that they hear a clear presentation of the Gospel. No matter what I preach on, I always share the Gospel at the end of the message so that those who are not saved can get saved. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, D.L. Moody, who, that Sunday, had preached the first part of a message that he intended to wrap up the next Sunday, vowed that he would never again preach a sermon without sharing the Gospel at the end. He was afraid that many of those who came to hear
him, and who would have gotten saved had he given an invitation, had perished in the flames that night. The Gospel message is urgent and should be presented at every plausible opportunity.
Assign a person in your church to be a “minister of evangelism.� While all Christians should be evangelisticallyminded, there are some Christians who are especially concerned with this aspect of our faith. These are people who live, breathe, and sleep the Great Commission. The opportunity to tell people about Jesus is the thing that gets them up and going in the morning, and it is the last thing they think about at night. Such people are few and far between, but you need someone like this to be in charge of your evangelistic efforts. This person will get other people motivated to reach the lost at any cost.
Get all of your church members to pass out tracts wherever they go. I know that passing out tracts or “Gospel
pamphlets� might seem outdated, but they are a simple, straightforward, and unobtrusive way to get the Gospel out to people you meet in passing every day. Handing someone a Gospel tract is less complicated than trying to give them a web address that they are likely to forget to visit anyway. A Gospel tract puts the essentials of the Christian message in their hand instantly, and they can choose to read it, read it later, or not read it at all. Gospel tracts can be placed in public bathroom stalls, on free literature stands, in waiting rooms, or on the table in restaurants. Church members can go out together and blanket entire communities and apartment complexes with Gospel tracts. If people don't want to talk at the moment, you can give them the option to hear the Gospel on their own time in the near future. Three great ministries for getting a supply of Gospel tracts are:
Fellowship
Tract
(www.fellowshiptractleague.org), Society
(www.ats.org),
League
American and
Tract
Crossway
(www.crossway.org/tracts). Churches, make sure that you stock up on free tracts for your members to
take with them. If you feel that your community can be better reached with a Gospel message tailored specifically for them, don't be afraid to write and print your own tracts. Make sure your church's address and other contact information is on the back of the tract so the people you reach out to can reach out to you. Pastor, share a brief evangelistic message online every day. This can be in the form of a short video or podcast that's five-minutes long or less, a short blog post that will take less than five minutes to read, or a link to a previously-preached evangelistic sermon shared on your social media profiles. The key thing is consistency. You can use a quote, an anecdote, or something happening in the news to draw people in to the Gospel. (For example, here is a link to a podcast I did in December 2015 when Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out: http://bit.ly/2iIdx01. One of our ministry's most popular podcast episodes was titled “Red, Yellow, Black and White: We Are All Precious in His Sight (and We Are All Welcome to Heaven).�
You can listen to it here: http://bit.ly/2iX9JWo. It garnered over 60,600 listens.) Make sure that you have a net set up to catch those who hear the Gospel via this daily outreaches. Even if they do not indicate that they have accepted Christ as Savior, offer to receive their name and e-mail address for further communication. Also, make sure your church members know about these daily evangelistic media spots. Encourage them share each one; they likely have more unsaved people in their social circles than you do. Organize teams of church members who go out and do door-to-door evangelism in their own neighborhoods. Door-to-door evangelism may be one of those “old-fashioned” ways of doing evangelism, but notice that I said “in their own neighborhoods.” Motivate your people to reach their immediate neighbors with the Gospel. The personal connection is important here. Hopefully, they already have a good reputation and testimony with the community in which they live, and when it is time to present the Gospel, the neighbors
will not feel as though they are being approached by a total stranger (which is often ill-advised in this day and time) or by a bad, inconsiderate neighbor (which is probably worse). God instructs us to be “blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Evangelism – daily evangelism – is the second key to gaining momentum as a church. Implement the ideas in this chapter, and you will be well on your way to being a winning congregation.
The real business of life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. The real business of life is glorifying God and being used by Him to transform unbelievers into people whose great delight in life is to know and trust Him... Evangelism, helping people get saved, is deeply rewarding because it fulfills the reason for our existence. Evangelism is why you are here... You must make the real business of life, the salvation of souls, the real business of your life. Don’t waste your life living for yourself. Don’t waste it pursuing pleasure, position, or possessions. Don’t waste it merely collecting experiences and adventures. Don’t waste it at all. Instead use it for that which will bring you the most fulfillment on Earth and the most joy in eternity. Invest your life in glorifying God by the salvation of souls. Dave Earley and David Wheeler, Evangelism Is...: How to Share Jesus With Passion and Confidence
3 Momentum in Discipleship Discipleship gets more airtime in the church than prayer and evangelism, but what passes for discipleship in most churches is just activity. We mistake involvement in programs, events, and small groups for true spiritual growth. We are obsessed about dividing the church up into various subgroups by age (children, teens, adults, seniors) or status in life (married, single, divorced). We think that as long as everyone is “involved” or “plugged in” to the right program, they are growing spiritually, but that is not always the case. Often, our children's groups are just for entertainment (and keeping boisterous little munchkins occupied while the parents go to the “real” church); our youth groups are just for socializing; our divorce care groups are just glorified second-chance dating clubs; and our small groups are places where grown-ups go to commiserate about the problems of
day-to-day life. Are some of these ministries valid and necessary? Yes. But we should not mistake them for true discipleship and spiritual growth. Again, we can turn to the early chapters of the book of Acts to find out what true discipleship involves. Chapter 2, verse 42 tells us that the first three thousand souls who were added to the church “continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine.” The apostles did not toss the new believers into a program. They taught them the same “doctrine” that the Lord Jesus had personally taught them. That is what discipleship is: learning the fundamentals of the Christian faith and beginning to live one's life in accordance with those fundamentals. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul praised the believers for “obeying from the heart the doctrine” that had been delivered unto them (6:17). This interpretation of discipleship as primarily the teaching of doctrine with a view to obeying the doctrine that is taught is backed up by Jesus' own words in the Great Commission. He said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations... Teach them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:9-20). That is what the apostles did with those first three thousand souls who were added to the church. They taught them everything that Jesus had taught them. Failing to properly disciple new believers is akin to abandoning a child shortly after birth without teaching him or her the life skills it needs to live in the world. What will happen to that child? He will be preyed on by animals, exposed to the elements, and eventually die of malnutrition. How many young believers have died spiritually because they have not received the “milk of the word” that they might “grow thereby”? Proper discipleship teaches a believer how to be a follower of Jesus. In the Gospels and in the lives of the twelve disciples, we see what discipleship is all about. These men spent three years watching, listening to, and gaining an understanding about who Jesus is and what He came to do. They saw by example how
they
should
live.
They
deepened
their
relationship with Him. They grew in the faith and
became more knowledgeable about what God was doing in the world. Too often, we let baby Christians into the world thinking that, just because they are saved, they can handle anything the devil throws at them. But, the disciples were sheltered for three years and did not begin working on their own until Jesus had left them. Discipleship is a time wherein a believer learns more about the faith and begins to conform his or her lifestyle to what they have learned. What can churches do to gain the momentum of discipleship?
Implement a curriculum for discipleship and make it mandatory for every church member to go through. If your church does not have a discipleship curriculum already, you need to get one. You do not have to start from scratch; there are a few good ones that are already available. I can recommend the curriculum provided by Source of Light Ministries (www.sourcelight.org). It may appear simplistic, but it is exactly what baby Christians need. It is free from
“Christianese,” religious jargon, and big theological terms. It starts from the beginning of the salvation experience, explaining why man needs to be saved, and ends with all of the “equipment” that a Christian needs to live a victorious Christian life. Another great resource is the Fundamentals of the Faith Bible Study by John MacArthur. If your church has not had a discipleship curriculum up to this point, every member of your church family should go through it – even those who have been in the church for years. Every new believer should go through it. You can set it up as a three-month course or a six-month course, and repeat it at regular intervals. Most people are looking for the excitement of the Christian life; but the Christian life (like most of the rest of life) is filled with doing a few basic, simple things over and over again. A proper discipleship course will help your people to understand this and equip them to live successfully as believers in the world. If necessary, you can make church
membership
contingent
completion of a discipleship course.
on
successful
Assign “disciplers” to work with “disciplees.” As I mentioned above, true discipleship is also about learning by observation. Jesus didn't just teach the disciples how to live, He showed them how to live. Young Christians need that today as well. Ask those Christians in your church who have been faithfully walking with the Lord for twenty years or more to prayerfully consider becoming disciplers. Everyone cannot fulfill this role, so you must rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment as the apostles did in Acts 6 when they set out to choose seven deacons to help in the work of the ministry. Watch out for those who are just looking for a position or title in the church. It is often the people who are not clamoring for recognition and who are not seeking to be leaders who will make the best leaders in your church family. Let the Lord guide you carefully through this delicate process. The right people can take new believers under their wing and walk with them through the baby steps of the Christian faith. They can handle any questions the other person may have and show them by example how to live in a way that is pleasing to Christ.
Use your discipleship class as an evangelistic outreach. In a world in which religious pluralism is rampant and many people simply don't know what they believe or why they believe it, it is becoming increasingly important for Christians to be able to articulate the foundations of their beliefs. Frankly, many people want to “understand” Christianity before they commit to a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is our job to give the Holy Spirit room to work in the heart and life of skeptics and doubters by exposing them to a clear presentation of the Bible's teachings. McLean Bible Church in the Washington D.C.-area hosts a Christianity 101 class that is not only for people who have just accepted Christ as Savior but also for those who are “thinking about” doing so. Dr. John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California says his church's discipleship classes are not only for new believers, “but for evangelistic outreaches, and as an introduction to what our church believes.” He says the classes are
“easily the most effective evangelistic tool [they] have used.” Making your church's discipleship program “available to the public” can be a great way to get unbelievers to come and ask any questions they may have without feeling like they are being pressured into making a decision. Discipleship cannot take place only on Sunday. Sundays are too busy for that. Discipleship must take place throughout the week so that new believers can see how the truths that they have learned are lived out in their everyday interactions and experiences. Successful discipleship is the third key to church momentum. If you get this down pat, your church will be well on its way to consistent winning.
“The Great Commission involves discipleship, not just evangelism. You cannot disciple people until you win them to Christ, but you do not fulfill the Great Commission just by winning souls. In fact, the command of Christ is not to win souls but to make disciples. As the pastor wins the hearts of his people and disciples them from the pulpit and in small groups, enlisting the members to help him in this discipleship process, they will automatically widen the circle of fellowship and leadership to include new members.� James W. Bryant and Mac Brunson, The New Guidebook for Pastors
4 The Results of Momentum Consistent
prayer.
Consistent
evangelism.
Consistent discipleship. These are the keys to having a church that wins. Getting and keeping church momentum is truly that simple. What are some of the benefits you will see through the implementation of these three keys?
Your people will stay focused. Some of the best advice I have ever heard is, if you want success, focus on a few things and do those few things well. That goes for the Christian life too. Pastors, if you can get your people to zero-in on the three keys explored in this book, you will not have to worry as much about people getting distracted by trivial matters. You will have fewer people worrying about what kind of seats the church should have or what color the drapes should be. They will know what
is most important, and they will be focused on that.
People will stay encouraged. It is a well-known fact that people who do not have purpose in life are more likely to be depressed. They meander through life wondering what they are meant to do. (The Bible says, “Without a vision, the people perish.�) On the other hand, when people have a strong purpose and clear-cut goals, they have life and vitality. They know where they are going and what they are meant to do. If your people know that their main purpose for each day is prayer, evangelism, and discipleship (either being discipled or helping to disciple others), they will stay encouraged and motivated even when times get tough.
The devil will have less room to work. The devil is able to get over on many Christians simply because they don't know, or they act like they don't know, what they are supposed to be doing. (The devil knows what we are supposed to be doing, but his aim is to keep us distracted.) If more of God's
people are praying, evangelizing, and engaged in discipleship, the devil will have less room to work because we will be on guard and ready for his attacks. Will the devil still try to attack us? Yes. That is his job. Our job is to make sure that we are not ignorant of his devices and that we do not give him any opportunity to work. Your church can be a winning church. Your church can be a victorious church. Your church can be a church with momentum.