Did you know that whenever you read the word "church" in the Bible, it is refering to a "group of called-out people,"  NOT a "building" or meeting "place?"  

That's right... even though it sounds grammatically ugly, according to the Bible, the church is the people! 

Consequently, the only way a biblical Christian church really grows is through the growth of the people. 

While that may sound obvious, it is not quite as obvious as it sounds...  You see, real church growth, by definition, can only happen when and if a group of "called out people" grow spiritually - not just numerically.  This is a crucial but often ignored distinction.

Consequently, God's plan was for churches to help people to grow into their divine potential.  In God's eyes, the real measure of a church is the "horizontal " spiritual growth  that is happening within its called out group of people.