What Is The Key To Keeping A Church Alive And Growing?
“ALIVE AND GROWING”
This is the key. You are asking the right question and the answer is within the words you use in that question. The genuine “church” is a living organism injected with the life-giving indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit that lives in the hearts of those sincere followers of Jesus Christ that function collectively as the “body of Christ”. We, the “church”, are the living presence of Jesus Christ in the world today. What type of things do we do to make our bodies stronger and more vibrant?
We require the flow of God’s Holy Spirit throughout our body. He is the life-giving source, our “blood” that injects all that is required for the body to flourish, to be strong, to grow. It is critical that we maintain a pure, uncontaminated blood flow, meaning that we must reject everything that is offensive to the presence of God’s Spirit and function in a manner that enhances His presence and activity, i.e., God’s blessings upon us. This happens when we do things as a church that is obedient to the instruction and Spirit of Jesus Christ concerning our Father’s will, character and His Plan for the Body of Christ.
When we begin to look “inward”, concerned more about the physical appearance, desires, gratification of the Church, we diminish the presence and power of God’s Spirit. When we begin to assume the priority of protecting what we have instead of boldly risking everything to “go outside the Church” to engage the lost world, our spiritual immune system weakens and we begin to slowly die. When we begin to seek substitutes, such as money, prestige, self-serving power, the favor of the world, society, above those essential nurturing elements of dependency and priority of God’s favor, we die.
Is your church dying because the environment around it has changed from former days with a more culturally, ethnic, diverse community surrounding it? Has the church congregation pursued engaging and ministering to those who reside outside its walls or has in crawled up in a ball like a centipede or an armadillo to protect it from change while seeking to maintain its church culture from the “good old days”?
If your community has diversified, does your paid church staff reflect the cultural mix of the community or does it consist entirely of one race, culture?
How much of the receipts of offerings and giving are used for ministries, outreach, global missions that do not directly benefit your individual church congregation?
Even if the “giving” in your church has declined due to stagnation and complacency, it is critical that the church invest a good portion of its revenue into those ministries and Kingdom service that may seem to not have benefit for your "internal" needs. God's financial ideology defies that of "this secular world's". Just like a situation in our own, personal, financial management, when the church places "God's Priorities" as being that of the church, amazing, miraculous, things occur. God blesses and provides for the church in greater abundance through "His" power and blessings than would ever occur if the church had depended upon its own human logic. Instead of "cutting" support for local/international mission ministries, increase support for those ministries in defiance of "human" logic as the means of faithful commitment and dependency upon our Lord!
It is also critical that the church prioritizes The Word of God and Gospel of Jesus Christ. Do NOT follow the perverted advice of some who advocate picking and choosing segments of Scripture to extract for guidance while rejecting other segments. The Bible in its entirety is consistent and conformed to the portrayal of God’s eternal Plan and exhibition of God’s Providence throughout the ages and all phases of the implementation of His Plan. All teaching and preaching in the church must be in harmony and consistent with The Word of God if it is to be alive and vibrant through the flowing of His presence in The Body of Christ.
NEVER compromise the teachings of The Word of God as a means to attract outsiders into the congregation. God's Word will be offensive to those bent on living in sin and who do not want to be faced with accountability for their sinful lifestyle. Too many churches are becoming infected with the virus of "compromising" The Word for the sake of engaging greater numbers of guests who come to hear affirmation of their current, Godless, lives. In reality, it is cruel and dishonest for a church to avoid those passages in Scripture which pointedly address the sins prevailing in our society. It averts the truth that such defiance and rejection of God's Word results in disaster, chaos, crisis, and depression when the greatest need is for people to be given the means of remedy for their sickness. Do not be cruel! Tell the Truth!
Selfless service, compassion for the brokenness of this pitiful world around us, sacrificial investment of ourselves for the sake of engaging ALL peoples and leading as many as we can into the eternal Kingdom of God will result in our Father’s blessings, power, and LIFE being injected into our lives and the collective body, The "Church".
