A couple days ago, the gospel reading for Mass spoke of the "easy way" and the "hard way" to live. What Jesus called the "easy way" was the way that leads to destruction. It appears easy because it allows one to choose his own pleasures first. The way that Jesus called "hard" leads, instead, to eternal life. It is genuinely hard because it requires obedience. It demands repentance and a diligent effort in righteousness. We think of these two ways of life mostly in relation to our own spirituality, and that is good, because that is what Jesus was speaking about primarily. Yet, there are other applications for this principle.
When we think of Church growth, we must realize that it is an effort in spirituality. It is an effort in making people go from a life of sinfulness, unto a life of holiness; that is indeed the major issue of spirituality. In fact, any other kind of Church growth would be somewhat "anti-spiritual" for it would lead a person away from God and closer to the evil one. Hence, evangelism is spiritual growth on a large scale, and Church growth is the specific goal of proper evangelism. After all, the reason we evangelize is to just to get people in the pews, but to enable more people to sing the praises of God while they are on the path to eternal life.
It would not take long to show that there are a number of ways that have been utilized to bring more people into the Church. During my years in the Protestant Church, I saw many different ways (some of them embarrassing and others even sacrilegious). Catholics usually tend to be a bit more discerning about how to bring people into the Church, but not always. I read about a Catholic priest recently who brought large numbers of people back to his parish. He told them that Jesus accepts them "just as they are" and that neither repentance nor the confessional were truly necessary, so long as they came to Church faithfully.
Here we have a prime example of the "easy way". Virtually no rules or requirements are given, and morality is openly referred to as not really necessary. Is this the path that leads to life? With Jesus description in the gospel, we can almost always assume that if we have found an easier method for spirituality, then it is probably not the best one. The whole idea of spirituality for imperfect people (as we all are) is that we must "strive" and "labor" to do good works for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Although nothing can genuinely be earned by our good works, we are still called to do them because that is how we grow spiritually.
When it comes to growing the numbers of members in a Church, we can easily accomplish a short term growth, but that growth has no long term strength if we choose the "easy way". That cannot, however, be our goal. Just filling the pews with warm bodies does not help anyone to stay on the path to Heaven (and will encourage many down the path to Hell because they are led to believe that the "easy road" leads to Heaven!). I could probably get a number of people to come and sit in the pews by offering a "free gift" to the first 25 new visitors (someone did this in a protestant Church in Southern California years ago, and I am sure others have tried it since then). That kind of growth is more like piling rocks than making a tree bear fruit; it gains volume, but not real life.
The "hard way" to grow a Church is to give people the authentic gospel, not a watered-down version of it. Tell them of the wonderful grace of Christ available to those who truly repent and follow Him. Foster a community of people who seek to live in relation to one another and are willing to help each other in their lives. Help parents in raising their children in the faith. This is nothing new or surprising, but these details are often taken for granted (or outright forgotten) because modern man is always looking for the quick and easy, new-fangled method. How these truths are communicated may differ from parish to parish, but the primary component in spreading the word is that the laity do so in their own particular circle of influence (work, school, neighborhood, etc.).
This is the method that the early Church used, and though it is difficult (the "hard way"), it is what leads to lasting spiritual growth. This is how people are brought to love Christ and to love one another. This is what Jesus calls us to when He says to "[g]o therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." The "easy road" may offer baptism, but it also teaches people to be unconcerned with "all that Jesus commanded us". Let us, willingly, choose the hard road, and place our hope and trust in Christ to fulfill His promises.
