The Prevailing Church: An Alternative Approach to Ministry

by Randy Pope

Growing a church God's way takes wisdom and direction. The Prevailing Church answers the call for a solid, biblical resource to guide pastors, elders, and students through the minefield of church growth. Whether the church is 50 people or 5000 people, this book addresses key concerns common to all. Randy Pope covers topics ranging from the practical, such as Realistic Goals and Cultural Relevance, to the theological, such as Holiness, and Discipleship.

Genres: Theology

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Marc Minter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look elsewhere for good ecclesiology and the implementation of biblical polity.

In his book, The Prevailing Church, Randy Pope lays out his vision for success in the local church. Books in the church-growth genre are often replete with “keys” and “components” and “practices” that are sure to produce growth, and this one is no exception. This book, however, is distinct among many others like it because it was published just before a massive new trend in American Evangelical churches. One source stated that there were 10 multisite churches in America in 1990. Eight years later, there were 100. The Prevailing Church was published in 2002, and three years later there were more than 1,500 multisite churches. Today, there are several thousand. Obviously, numerous factors contributed to the spate of multisite churches, but it is clear that Randy Pope was on the cutting edge of innovation in regard to local church polity in the twenty-first century.

In this review, I will summarize the content of The Prevailing Church, giving special attention to the author’s polity. Then I will offer four criticisms, upon which I will base my conclusion that this book has made an unhelpful contribution to the ongoing discussion and practice of ecclesiology among Evangelicals.

A Summary

The Prevailing Church. In the opening chapter of his book, Randy Pope gives an introduction to his concept and his aim. Pope bases his idea of a prevailing church on Jesus Christ’s words to the apostle Peter, recorded in Matthew 16. Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Pope does offer an interpretation of this hotly-debated verse later in the book, but the foundational point to make here is that he believes Christ’s words of promise may be applied to a local church. In other words, each and every local church should strive to be a prevailing church.

The author defines a prevailing church as one “that conquers in regard to her mission to be victorious against spiritual resistance in order to bring a wider community into an encounter with the kingdom of God; and to see her people and then her social, moral, political, and educational environments come into greater conformity to the will of God” (20). This is an all-encompassing mission, to be sure, but Pope offers the reader a comprehensive strategy.
Marks of a Prevailing Church. In chapter two, Pope lists four marks of a prevailing church. These characteristics can “serve as a diagnostic tool” for pastors and church leaders to evaluate whether or not their own church is in fact prevailing (or succeeding). Pope writes, “The prevailing church is composed of people who live out the confession that Christ is Lord” (27). In this first mark, Pope is arguing that the members of a local church must be seeking to submit to and follow Christ if they are to prevail as a church. The second mark, Pope says, is that the members of the church “live out their confession within the shadows of the gates of hades” (29). With this enigmatic statement, Pope means to say that church members should be actively engaged in the world around them with the intended purpose of making a positive difference.

For mark three, Pope says, “the prevailing church accepts its commission to take up the battle for the souls of lost people” (31). By this, the author means to convey the idea that church members are to be “mission-oriented Christians” and not primarily seeking to focus on their own spiritual ambitions (such as growing in biblical knowledge, advancing in personal holiness, or building relationships among fellow believers). And, finally, Pope lists a fourth mark of a prevailing church: “[it] wins the battle against the gates of hell” (35). The author’s explanation of this mark is unclear to me, but it seems he intends this phrase to mean what he says more explicitly a few lines later. The prevailing church “will see large numbers of lost people won to Christ and healthily integrated into the family of God” (35).

An Effective Ministry Plan. Chapter three is the springboard for the remaining content of the book. Pope begins by writing, “What causes a church to grow? In one sense, the answer is quite simple… God Himself” (39). Then he goes on to say, “in another sense, however, the answer to the question of what makes a church grow can be quite complex” (39). From there, Pope lists seven “causes” for church growth: (1) A biblical theology and polity; (2) spiritual renewal dynamics; (3) spiritual, discerning, and gifted leadership; (4) spiritual and ministry-oriented laity; (5) adequate property, facilities, and parking; (6) adequate financial resources; and (7) an effective ministry plan. Pope offered these seven “components” or “factors” as “crucial” and “critical” to the “development of a prevailing church” (40).

The rest of the book is devoted to explaining and promoting “an effective ministry plan” (46). Since this “ministry plan” is what the book is all about, it will be worth citing the author’s summary definition in full.

“A ministry plan consists of a clearly defined vision and mission with values and is supported by a biblically sound and culturally relevant philosophy of ministry. It includes a strategically designed infrastructure and has well-documented job descriptions and goals. In addition to all this, it has both a commitment and a strategy to successfully accomplish its vision and mission. Effective ministry plan development forces the church to deal with the many functions of its life… These functions include: leadership development, teaching and preaching of God’s Word, discipleship, evangelism, church transitions, assimilation of new people, [and] caring for God’s people” (47).

Ministry Plan Components. Ten of the remaining nineteen chapters are given to describing Pope’s ten components of an effective ministry plan. These components are (1) a God-honoring purpose, (2) a faith-oriented commitment, (3) a God-given vision, (4) well-prioritized values, (5) a well-defined mission, (6) biblically based job descriptions, (7) a strategically designed infrastructure, (8) a culturally oriented strategy, (9) well documented goals, and (10) a time-bound schedule. Interspersed throughout the book are also a number of chapters, which more foundationally describe the leadership and organizational structure by which an effective ministry plan can be formulated and implemented. These additional chapters describe Pope’s “TEAMS-based” organization of the laity (in which Pope includes both church members and attendees) and his hierarchical structure of staff and volunteers. I say that these chapters are more foundational because Pope’s constant refrain is that the ministry plan is always subject to change. However, the structure Pope describes for his organizational model (or polity) is the unchanging base upon which it’s all built and rebuilt.

TEAMS-Based Organization. Pope offers a TEAMS-based model for organizing the laity of a church. His TEAMS-based church is a replacement of the program-based church, which became a popular organizational model in the late twentieth century. Many American Evangelical churches are still program-based, functioning as a sort of conglomeration of programs for various demographics and groups comprising the membership. Programming for children, teens, young families, retired adults, singles, sportsmen, crafters, and a whole host of other groups dominates the church’s budget, staff, volunteers, and calendar.

Instead of this programmatic model, Pope advances an organizational structure which arranges the laity (again, members and attendees) of his church in small, manageable groups. He argues that such groups are used as the church’s “primary method of making mature and equipped followers of Christ, [centering] on the use of Truth, Equipping, Accountability, Mission, and Supplication” (113). Pope did not offer any further explanation of these five words from which the acronym TEAMS is formed, nor did he give much of a description of group functions. Though he went on to say that the church’s primary “outreach, nurture, education, care, discipline, and equipping [should] take place in [these] small groups where the leader is considered the pastor…” (114). Similar to the program-based church, Pope’s organizational structure clumps people together by life-station or activity interest, but his arrangement broke new ground by ordering these groups into something like small churches within the larger whole.

Leadership and Authority. As many books on church polity do, Pope took at least some time to address the matter of local church authority by providing an argument for who holds the “keys” (from Matthew 16:19). He wrote, “When He gave the keys of the kingdom, Jesus spoke not only to Peter but also to all the assembled apostles. He gave them collectively the authority to ‘bind and loose,’ that is, to speak and act for God” (144). Pope went on to assert, “This corporate apostolic authority was subsequently transferred through the laying on of hands to biblically qualified and selected elders in local churches.” With this argument, Pope places himself within the stream of those who affirm an elder-ruled polity, a polity configuration which entrusts the collective elders with unilateral authority to speak for the whole church on all matters (including the inclusion and exclusion of church members).

Unlike many other books on church polity, however, Pope argued that Jesus’ instructions from Matthew 16:13-20 and 18:15-20, coupled with the command to “obey your leaders,” from Hebrews 13:17, formed a basis for divine authority behind all of the elders’ decisions. I’ll let Pope speak for himself here.

“After argument is made from both sides, the elders have to make a decision. Whatever that decision is, the party ruled against must see that ‘whatever you [the elders] shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven’ (Matthew 16:19). Thus, the decision made on earth (assuming it doesn’t contradict the Word of God) becomes that upon which the Lord places His approval. This is to carry the authority of His will. In many of the same decisions, I’m sure eternity will reveal much lack of wisdom, even some mistakes. Nevertheless, even as in a civil court of law, the authority rests in those holding the responsibility to make the decision… Their [the elders’] declarations express God’s will” (148-149).

Pope’s amplified version of an elder-ruled polity forms the top of his hierarchical structure (151). He doesn’t make the entire structure clear enough for me to understand how all the lines are drawn, but there are “nine ruling elders” (151), which “take care of policy making, discipline and theological issues, staff personnel issues, and approval of our overall mission plan” (150). The “staff [are] responsible for programming,” which means the implementation of the mission plan (150). The small group (or TEAMS) leaders may or may not be recognized as elders (Pope also failed to make this clear to me), but these leaders are volunteers from among church membership. So, members and attendees are directly attached to a small group, which functions as a miniature church, and in this way are joined to the larger church.

Through this multi-leveled structure of responsibility and authority, connecting individuals to smaller units through which they are connected to the whole, Pope’s desire to be ‘one church – many congregations’ is made possible (130). Because the church is not centralized (members united to one another as a single group), but rather decentralized (members united respectively to various leaders who are in turn united to other shared leaders), it is able to grow unconstrained and efficiently. Borrowing language from the authors of The Multi-site Church Revolution (published four years after The Prevailing Church), multiple congregations across various geographical locations unite as a single church through a “shared vision, leadership, budget, and board.”
Pope’s polity seems to have had a major influence on the discussion and practice of ecclesiology among Evangelicals in the twenty-first century. Many multisite and multi-service churches apply this polity or something similar. I want to argue, however, that Randy Pope has made an unhelpful contribution to the discussion and practice of ecclesiology.

Four Critiques

As I read this book, I appreciated the author’s desire to see the world impacted by Christ and His people. Furthermore, I loved Mr. Pope’s emphasis on evangelism and discipleship. He is right to urge pastors and church leaders to be active in equipping church members, so that they may take the responsibility for making disciples upon themselves. However, the author has given us a book that does more to hurt than to help the advancement of healthy local churches. I will offer four critiques in order to argue for such a negative statement.

The Church is Assumed. Pope’s book on the church doesn’t define the church. If I were writing a book on successful powerlifting, the reader would be rightfully irritated if I left out a section on the proper form for a bench-press or the necessary break of the parallel line when one attempts the squat. Such things are basic to the subject and essential knowledge for the powerlifting competitor. And yet, Pope, like many other church growth authors, simply leaves out the fundamental content of his subject matter. An article on a single aspect of the church can be excused for not defining what a church is, but a book on what a church should do in order to be successful must include some definition of what a church is in the first place. Otherwise, what is the author talking about?

Polity is Absent. Pope’s book on the right organization of a church woefully lacks a clear polity. Other than a brief section on the authority of elders, looking at Matthew 16, Pope did not present not argue for any particular polity. He wrote, “The church that consistently embraces the most accurate biblical theology and polity eliminates… unnecessary obstacles to healthy church growth” (41). But Pope never explained what accurate polity is! Who has authority to do what? How are members related to one another? What responsibility does the elder board have to the membership? Who can be a member? What actions provoke discipline? How will people come into membership, and how will others be put out? All of these are critical polity questions. Any book that seeks to address the characteristics of a healthy or prevailing church must take the time to speak to questions like these.

The Vision is too Broad. One of the things a pastor must constantly do is keep himself and his church from being distracted by good things. We may do many good things, but we must do several essential things. If one seeks to use a mission or vision statement to hone in on the essential purpose of a local church, then it should help keep the main things clear. However, Pope verbalized the vision statement of Perimeter Church so broadly that it doesn’t mean anything. He wrote, “We are seeking to bring the people of greater Atlanta and all places where we serve into a life-transforming encounter with the kingdom of God” (96). It seems to me that this statement isn’t even narrow enough to preclude its use by a synagogue or a mosque.

The Plan is Impersonal. Pope asks the question, “What kind of Christian was Perimeter (his church) designed to produce?” (84). The answer he gave was the basis of his “outline of measurable expectations regarding the kind of believers we [the leadership] desire to produce.” Such a question and outline are impersonal. This is the way a business owner evaluates his or her assembly-line construction of a widget. This is not how a pastor talks about members of his congregation. A pastor is not trying to produce a kind of Christian. He is warning and teaching his congregation in order to present each one to Christ on that great Day (Col. 1:28).

This book on the prevailing church has indeed had a significant impact on Evangelical churches in America. Subsequent books have taken a similar approach, and Randy Pope’s organizational structure continues to have its adherents. However, I want to argue that the church is far more than an efficient organization. In fact, the local church is often inefficient and difficult. Pastoring is messy because sinners are messy, and church membership bears a greater responsibility than simply sharing the same budget and leadership with a bunch of Christians you never see.

The local church is a marvelous institution, with its unique polity and mission in the world. There simply is nothing else like it. If you are a church leader or pastor, then you will do far better with your time to read other resources on the local church. Look for those authors who cite lots of Bible and argue for faithfulness to Christ in ministry as success.