Would we rather be a mature church or a growing church? While we would hope to be both, the reality is that growing as a congregation is going to involve welcoming in some individuals who are still very spiritually immature. A growing church is going to be producing newborn Christians. Some of these new converts may still be dealing with a lot of baggage from their past lives. Growing is going to involve patiently working through ignorance, weakness, worldly attitudes, and fleshly struggles.
Some may value the church’s maturity above the church’s growth and see these struggling souls as an inconvenience or liability. Yet, the Lord would not call this attitude mature. He might call it conceited, selfish, unloving, or even stagnant. He might say, “Woe to you… hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in” (Matt 23:13). He might describe them as those who “tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger” (Matt 23:4). If we were to pride ourselves on being a mature congregation because everyone here has their act together and there is no one openly struggling with sin, we have confused maturity with being blind, loveless, and spiritually dead.
Those who truly value maturity, will work patiently, gently, and compassionately to help the weak grow. They will equip themselves to support and encourage individuals still struggling to break free from the enslavement of past sins. In this way, growth must take precedent, because it is the only path towards genuine maturity. And if we are to continue evangelizing and growing, we will never reach a point where we have eliminated all immaturity from our midst. True maturity is found, not in ridding ourselves of the immature, but in knowing how to work with them effectively.
Certainly, we must always be pressing towards maturity, as individuals and as a congregation. We should seek to cultivate qualified men to become shepherds and deacons. We must all seek to increase our talents and be as equipped as we can be to serve, teach, and encourage one another. But if we have to chose between being a “mature church” or a “growing church,” may we always be willing to welcome the growing pains that come from having newborn Christians in our midst.