Growth Barriers

Navigating Growth Transitions

Churches face growth barriers when attendance crosses a range of benchmark thresholds. These barriers come around 100, 200, 400, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 attenders as the scale, leadership structure, ministry strategy, budget and programs adjust to a new reality.

Some aspects of growth transitions are specific to the context and size barrier being crossed, while others are common themes running through almost all of them. Reference these growth barrier articles for a quick summary:

“7 Internal Barriers to Growth in a Church” by Thom Rainer
Lifeway Research (July 25, 2017)

  • Growth Barrier 1: Facility Barriers
  • Growth Barrier 2: Governance Barriers
  • Growth Barrier 3: Staffing Barriers
  • Growth Barrier 4: Cultural Barriers
  • Growth Barrier 5: Church Calendar
  • Growth Barrier 6: Worship Times
  • Growth Barrier 7: Website Barriers

5 Barriers to Church Growth” by Nelson Searcy
Outreach Magazine (November 14, 2012)
  • Growth Barrier 1: Space
  • Growth Barrier 2: Self-Development
  • Growth Barrier 3: Sharing
  • Growth Barrier 4: Worship Service
  • Growth Barrier 5: Staff

30 Barriers to Growth” by James Emery White
Church and Culture (April 15, 2013)
  • Growth Barrier 1: Teaching
  • Growth Barrier 2: Assimilation
  • Growth Barrier 3: Invitation
  • Growth Barrier 4: Evangelism
  • Growth Barrier 5: Structure
  • Growth Barrier 6: Location
  • Growth Barrier 7: Facility
  • Growth Barrier 8: Atmosphere
  • Growth Barrier 9: Worship/Music
  • Growth Barrier 10: Children’s Ministry
  • Growth Barrier 11: Student Ministry
  • Growth Barrier 12: Participation
  • Growth Barrier 13: Serving Recruitment
  • Growth Barrier 14: Internal Communication (among staff)
  • Growth Barrier 15: Communication to Church Members/Attenders
  • Growth Barrier 16: External Communication
  • Growth Barrier 17: Marketing
  • Growth Barrier 18: Discipleship
  • Growth Barrier 19: Next Steps
  • Growth Barrier 20: Vision
  • Growth Barrier 21: Mission
  • Growth Barrier 22: Internal Morale
  • Growth Barrier 23: Volunteers
  • Growth Barrier 24: Staff Morale
  • Growth Barrier 25: Staff Quality
  • Growth Barrier 26: Leadership
  • Growth Barrier 27: Volunteer Leadership
  • Growth Barrier 28: Macro-Thinking
  • Growth Barrier 29: The Relay Race
  • Growth Barrier 30: Prayer

8 Reasons Most Churches Never Break the 200 Attendance Mark” by Carey Nieuwhof
Carey Nieuwhof (September 30, 2013)
  • Growth Barrier 1: The Pastor Is the Primary Caregiver
  • Growth Barrier 2: The Leaders Lack a Strategy
  • Growth Barrier 3: True Leaders Aren’t Leading
  • Growth Barrier 4: Volunteers Are Unempowered
  • Growth Barrier 5: The Governance Team Micromanages
  • Growth Barrier 6: Too Many Meetings
  • Growth Barrier 7: Too Many Events and Programs that Lead Nowhere
  • Growth Barrier 8: The Pastor Suffers from a Desire to Please Everybody

Growth Barriers Reading List

George, Carl F., and Warren Bird, How to Break Growth BarriersRevise Your Role, Release Your People, and Capture Overlooked Opportunities for Your Church, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2017).