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Ep 119: Pushing Back Against The Lie Of Fast Church Growth, with Jeff Hoglen
Episode 1198th January 2026 • The Church Lobby • Karl Vaters
00:00:00 00:35:05

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Have you ever gone to a church growth conference and been told “all healthy things grow?”

Karl Vaters talks with Jeff Hoglen about what’s happening behind that idea, and why it can be a problem for a lot of pastors and churches. The conversation is based on an article Jeff wrote, called “The Church Growth Lie No One Talks About.”

Karl and Jeff talk about what that lie is, why we keep believing it, and what to do, instead.

They also discuss alternative ways to look at church health and growth, including:

  1. How growth feels more like farming than fireworks
  2. How most real growth is slow, often invisible, and always hard
  3. How the slow seasons don’t have to discourage you
  4. How to deepen before you broaden
  5. How to pursue health over hype
  6. The importance of celebrating the small stuff

And more.

Links:

  1. The Church Growth Lie No One Talks About
  2. ChurchPlanting.com
  3. Canva
  4. ChatGPT

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