Practicum uno

I'm doing my practicum at Main Street Wesleyan in Jonesborro, for the 20s group. Its a lot group discussion things, lead by the pastor, its a really good learning environment... This Sunday we discussed the persecuted church. We worked to come up with a definition, whether it is being physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. We found it difficult to come to a conclusion as to what warranted being persecuted, but we did agree that it was persecution for the sake of God. This is, and has been our focus for the last few weeks, and we have come together with the church to pray for the 9 countries (a different country each week) that are undergoing severe persecution today. The pastor talked of how The Church was formed under prosecution, and wonders if that is how the church is built up today. More and more, churches seem to be growing because people are migrating from one church to another, instead of gaining new converts. He posed the question if persecution is the only way to grow the church.
1. Do we need to be prosecuted to be “better” Christians?
2. Why does the church seem to be growing faster under persecution?

-Kara