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***However, if you change how you worship does that water down the TRUTH. If you attract a great many "lookers" the odds on finding a real seeker increases.***

It might surprise you that I have not once said that church should "look" a certain way. I'm certain everyone reading my posts thinks I believe the pastor should be in robes, music should by pipe organ, and everyone should be in suits or dresses.

The Presbyterian Church in America has a wide variety of looks. Yes there are tightly scripted liturgical services, we have pastors in short sleeves and no tie, others in suits.

We have organs and we have praise bands. We have small country churches, we have megachurches.

We place a strong emphasis on evangelism. A lack of Evangelism is one one reason we left the Presbyterian Church (USA) back in '73. Per capita we have more foreign missionaries in the field than the Southern Baptists, and we all know how much they love missions work.

The one thing that I have never heard at any PCA church in which I have been a member is "How do we make Sunday morning more appealing to the seeker." The discussion is how do we bring glory to God in our worship. When we bring glory to God in our worship, God will bring us true seekers. I think that is evidenced in a couple of different ways:

-by the fact that if we continue on our current growth trajectory, we anticipate having 1,000,000 members sometime in the 2020s. (We started with 40,000 in 73)
-We have the sixth largest seminary in the country. We are graduating more M.Divs than we have churches.
-We are planting 2-3 churches every 2 months
-Our campus ministries are growing

What does that look like at a local church? We were part of a church plant in 2002. The Gamecock family was one of the first six families. When we left in 2004 because the Army told us to, there were almost 200 members. I visited this past summer and there are over 300. Monthly, there are new Baptisms, new members. There is no seeker sensitive nonsense. The sermons are hard as woodpecker lips. The music is piano, guitar, brass, and a fiddle (It's in Texas, OK?) Most of the songs are hymns that have been rearranged by our denominations college students.

As for the demographics, there are multimillionaire business men, and taxi drivers. Grocery stock boys and physicians. Collage students and retirees. Young families and empty nester's. Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. Military and civilians. Army and Air Force. Some people dance, some don't. Some have their hands in the air, some don't. Some are in suits, some are in shorts and flip flops.(gasp!)

Church growth experts say move to the suburbs where the people live. This church is in the middle of a large city and people drive 30 minutes from nearby towns and from all parts of the city to worship.

We strive to make our focus praising God, and trust him to provide for the Church growth.

To God alone goes the Glory. Not modern church growth theory that panders to the culture.