Growth vs. Mission: Which Is It?

For years, many in the church have struggled to reconcile the apparent tension between discipleship and evangelism, or between growth and outreach. What is the primary mission of the church? Is it to reach those outside, or is it to build up those inside? Is church primarily for the unbeliever, or for the believer? Should mission flow out of community, or should community flow out of mission? Should it be growth, discipleship, or community taking center stage in our church, or should we strive first for evangelism, outreach, or mission?

The answers to such questions are not irrelevant theological points: rather, they are of critical and far-reaching importance, as the DNA and basic structure of nearly every church community flows out of their answers to these questions. In an attempt to resolve this tension, some churches make their primary aim to reach those outside the church. As those far from God are now brought into relationship with Him, they reason, community will naturally emerge in the pursuit of that common goal. Still others lean towards equipping and building up the believer in their meetings, assuming that if that goal is achieved, mission will naturally flow out of their lives during the week. Nearly all churches fall into one of these two camps to some degree, and they can often adhere to their position on this issue passionately; witness the deep objections many believers have over the "seeker service" pioneered by Willow Creek, for example. Even many church splits over seemingly trivial issues, such as updating to a "contemporary worship service" for example, are at their core splits over this same fundamental question: who is this church really for? Is it for those outside or inside? Should we alter our structure for the sake of those outside our community, or should we focus on keeping the insiders happy? Deep down, most Christians can't believe you can do both, and they tend to pick one side or the other. It is this supposed contradiction between discipleship/growth and evangelism/outreach that fuels much of the divisions in today's church.

So which should take precedence, you ask? Evangelism or discipleship? Though both approaches have their validity and solid Biblical footing, picking either side in this debate betrays a fundamentally flawed logic: that community, discipleship, and spiritual growth is naturally at odds with outreach, mission, and evangelism, and that one cannot be pursued simultaneously along with the other. But is it possible that discipleship and evangelism can not only be done together, but in fact should be and are one and the same?

We will explore this idea further in our next post.