Average Sunday attendance became the touchstone of success. The huge growth of some charismatic parishes in the 1970s and 1980s reinforced the notion that success in proclaiming Jesus is validated numerically. Indeed, the statistical measure is back in the news. There is a movement afoot to declare a goal of doubling the size of the Episcopal Church by 2020. While there is nothing wrong with seeking to grow, the question is whether numerical growth is a measure of success in proclaiming the Gospel.
Church history suggests otherwise.
The Arian heresy grew quickly. So did the Millerites, Mormonism, Christian Science, among many others. Surely we can distinguish between authentic growth and flashes in the pan. But that takes time and wisdom. On the other hand, numerical decline does not automatically signal degeneracy, as the sixth chapter of John's Gospel makes clear.