I spent the afternoon at the Church Consultant Training here in Louisville, Ky. The three-day course will include all four levels of training to be a certified consultant. A group of more than 65 church leaders gathered from more than a dozen states and a handful of various denominations to learn more about healthy churches. Presumably these men and women of God are intent on helping struggling churches regain vigor.

John Ewart, who is senior pastor of Cedar Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, and an adjunct professor for the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, instructed along with Dr. Chuck Lawless, dean of the Billy Graham School.

Ewart instructed on congregational analysis and church diagnostic tools. He backed up issues of church health that may seem like common sense, with numbers that he said consultants could use to "make a case" for change within a particular church.

Here is one example:

Guests want to be contacted.

Maybe that makes sense to most church leaders. Perhaps some would think just the opposite and shy away from intruding on people's lives. The statistic Ewart cited indicated that contacting guests within 48 hours of their visit increases return likelihood by nearly 100 percent. (Ewart said after further discussion with the trainees that something more than a letter, a personal contact, but not necessarily a face-to-face, was necessary.)

"The idea is that this church cares," Ewart said.

He said that in a healthy church, (i.e., one that is following closely the six purposes of the church: worship, evangelism, discipleship, ministry, prayer, fellowship) 40 percent of first-time guests join per year and 70 to 75 percent of second-time guests join per year.

Can church growth really be that simple? A visitor arrives at your church, presumably finds the parking, campus and facility adequate, is welcomed and called on, returns another weekend, then joins?

Ewart cited a plethora of other church health statistics compiled in large part through the research of Dr. Thom Rainer, founding dean of the Billy Graham School. But he also cautioned the soon-to-be consultants not to read too much into the data.

"Don't live on these numbers," Ewart said. "But they support what you see in the [Church Health] Survey, the things you hear in interviews, and become pieces of the puzzle you're trying to put together."

Once the puzzle comes together these consultants should understand specific areas where changes must be made in order for a church to grow, and they know specific action steps churches can take to make a broader impact on their communities.

Good stuff. Life-changing stuff—I hope.

More training sessions this year are offered May 23-25 in Dallas; August 22-24 in Louisville; and November 7-9 in Louisville.

To find a trained consultant check the Church Central directory.