The same pastor or staff team that guides a smaller church through major growth might not be ideally suited to lead the larger congregation. Just as a company s founding entrepreneur may have to turn the reins over to professional managers when the business goes public, some successful pastors may eventually have to transplant themselves to a less complex church where their gifts and vision are appropriately fitted. Staff members can t be all things to all churches. Church growth is both a blessing and a curse. New members place new demands on ministries and additional responsibilities on burnout-prone leaders.
Growth always comes at a cost.
Ironically, churches are most vulnerable to conflict and contention precisely when they are grown fastest. The better things are going in a successful, dynamic church, the greater the expectations of its staff and members to the extent these expectations are realistic, tensions rise. In mushrooming churches, Job-like patience is often in short supply. Church growth is not always real growth, nor is it always good for churches. What passes for growth in some churches is actually nothing more than membership transfer.