Reports in recent years have indicated a shifting of Christianity’s growth from the West to other areas of the world, particularly Philip Jenkins’ 2002 book, "The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity."

Although encouraging from a wider perspective, the fading influence of Christianity in the West can discourage pastors and church members who are praying to see God move in this troubled area of the world.

If you’re looking for an optimistic sign, one can be found in a report last week from Leadership Network and Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville.

Based on a survey of more than 100 leaders from various denominations, 200 church-planting congregations and 45 church-planting networks, the "State of Church Planting USA" study led to several key findings.

Not only is interest in church planting growing rapidly, survival and success are much greater than realized. While some observers place first-year failure rates at 80 to 90 percent, the six-month research project discovered that 68 percent of some 4,000 churches started annually were still functioning four years later.

"While much of the North American church is in decline, a surprising number and increasingly diverse group of new churches are being started in innovative ways," Stetzer said.

"I anticipate that as cultures change, through the inevitable shift of time, migration and other means, even more churches will be born that reach people from these new cultural contexts."

Another interesting finding is that local churches and church-planting networks are driving the trend, which historically has been the province of denominations. This doesn’t consign the latter to irrelevancy, though. It means they are increasingly taking an equipping role rather than directing the show.

"(Hopefully) this study and the growing number of outstanding church planting conferences and resources will inspire a new wave of planters in the years ahead," said Dave Travis, managing director of Leadership Network.

"Launching vibrant new congregations is often a more feasible and fruitful strategy than attempting to revitalize struggling congregations."

Perhaps, but looking outward is often a way for small churches to grow. In his best-selling study, "Experiencing God," Henry Blackaby writes about his Canadian congregation starting new churches when it only had about 30 people.

In writing about missions for more than 15 years, I have frequently encountered churches that expanded as members got involved in helping others and spreading the gospel.

Not only is casting an outward vision a way to attack the problem of decline, so is taking a positive look at your church’s own resources.

This surfaced in a recent interview I conducted as part of a story on church finances that will be posted on Church Central in the near future.

In it, former pastor and fund raising consultant Steve McSwain talked about one of the ways churches can overcome low offerings—simply by adjusting the way they talk about them.

Typically, a church takes its annual budget estimate and divides by 52 weeks to report their weekly offering needs, then lists the previous Sunday’s giving against that need, he says.

Instead, McSwain suggests churches examine the past five years’ average monthly income and expenses, then estimate the weekly need based on that average. He says that gives a truer picture by balancing the customary summer slump with autumn’s more generous receipts, thus yielding a more optimistic picture.

"You create the perception that we’re doing well," McSwain says. "Over time (churches) create the culture that ‘We’re doing well’ instead of the culture (many) create that ‘We’re always behind.’"

Church planting and giving may seem like two unrelated topics, but with a positive vision they can both make a difference when it comes to turning around declining congregations.