A revisionist look at the ICoC’s recent history remarked the following in part three of the series:

If everything burned, why are there still around 500 churches spread throughout every continent of the world? How did over 100 churches get planted among us between 2003 and 2007? Can that really be due to the power of men? If everything that was built in our movement was built by the power of men with wood, hay and straw, how did so many people become Christians?

After the Fire: Not Everything Burned

I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Numbers do not show the favor of God, the work of God, or the spirit of God. Numbers show numerical growth. Tying numerical growth to the Holy Spirit puts a Christian in a cycle of not being happy except in moments just before leading another person(s) to Christ. It also causes a Christian to see times of God’s refinement as personal weakness instead of the working of the strength of God. There is a big difference, most notably in where attention is focused.

God at work creates change and transformation. Sometimes it is in increased numbers, sometimes it is in decreased ego. Whatever the work of God brings into a Christian’s life, it is not always moving from one degree of glory to another. The depths and valleys bring growth as well. As someone I know can tell you, I don’t think Ezekiel’s ministry was ever marked by tremendous growth sustained over time. Yet Ezekiel has some of the most dynamic stories to tell about his relationship to God and His people.

Here is food for thought using numbers from a large denomination with a worldwide presence:

From 2000-2005 the church grew overall by 13.479%

In the US and Canada, the church grew by 9.2%
Outside the US and Canada, the church grew by 17.2%

The congregations in Cambodia more than quintupled in membership, in Mongolia, membership tripled. In Mozambique, the membership grew by over 5.5 times.

Hey, even the membership in the British Virgin Islands grew by 140%

Can this kind of growth be the work of men? Is it the work of God? What would you need to know to make that determination?

During the same time period, the ICoC has shrunken by 25.66% :

In the US and Canada, the church shrank by 32.17%
Outside the US and Canada, the church shrank by 20.2%

That’s just to compare apples with apples based on the most reliable data available. Since 2005, the big denomination has grown by yet another 2.33%. The ICoC has continued to dwindle another 5 – 6%

Does God have a plan for the ICOC? I believe so, otherwise, we would have been completely destroyed. Looking for the working of God’s strength, though, requires that we look in unaccustomed places. Our usual haunts (numbers) and our usual rhetoric (shut up and baptize) are not encouraging. My hope is that the ICoC is not like Egypt which was built up only to be destroyed as an example to the whole world.