HEALTHY CHURCH: Is Your Church Essential?

      Let me answer that question, yes. Your church is essential because it is a part of God’s plan in making known His manifold wisdom (Eph. 3:10). Jesus stated clearly He would build His church, and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). Paul told shepherds (pastors) to be on their guard because the churches they were appointed over were purchased with Jesus’ own blood (Acts 20:28). The book of Acts is a church planting story in Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica and beyond. Epaphras worked hard for three churches: Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis (Col. 4:13).

      Even if your church is stuck, stagnant, or has accepted the status quo, it is essential to preach the Word to one another (discipleship) and preach the Word to others (evangelism). To say your church is not essential seems almost sacrilegious because it is God’s Plan A for carrying out His mission, and He does not have a Plan B. If your church is stuck, you need to seek God’s face to get unstuck. If your church is stagnant, you must cry out to God to send revival and restore your passion for Him. If your church has settled for the status quo, pray that He will shake you and move you forward again.

      Your church is essential, and in The Church Revitalization Toolkit, Sam Rainer stated, “If God can save any person, He can save any church.” If God can save a soul and revive a life, He is able to refocus, revive, restore, refresh and revitalize any church, no matter how dead it may appear. In Church Revitalization by Russell N. Small, he declared, “Revitalization is the supernatural work of God that restores health and vitality in a plateaued or declining church evidenced by submission to God’s Word, right relations among members and a renewed commitment to Great Commission ministry!” This process begins with much prayer (II Chron. 7:14).

      Please notice the ingredients mentioned by Russell Small. First, it happens by the supernatural work of God. Churches have a physical address, but they also have a spiritual address because they belong to Him. Post-modernity is the term everyone started using to describe the culture we were ministering in. Now, it is post-pandemic, post-Christian and just about post-everything. Have you asked yourself, "Why is giving down?” “Why isn’t our attendance increasing?” “Why are people not growing deeper in their faith?” “How come those who visit never come back for another visit?” Ministry can be discouraging.

What do you really want out of your church? Do you desire something more than what can be explained by personalities, propaganda, programs or great planning? Do you desire a church where God is on the move and in your midst and where it cannot be manufactured because it is God’s supernatural work? Here is the reality: you cannot afford to be a member of a dead church, and you do not have to be. Revelation 3:15-16 says, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

The church is a called-out assembly of born-again, baptized believers.No member is accepted because of their moral record, education or elite status. God gives salvation as a gift to all who repent and receive it in humility and faith. J.D. Greear referred to this as “inclusive exclusivity!” Tim Keller stated, “All religions are exclusive, but Christianity is the most inclusive exclusivity there is.” What does that mean? You must be born again, and that is the supernatural work of God. What made the gospel scandalous in the first century was not whom it excluded but whom it included. We are not a showcase for the saints but a hospital for sinners.

Small stated that revitalization is the “supernatural work of Godthat restores health and vitality in a plateaued or declining church.” God’s involvement in this process is essential, but that does not relieve us of our responsibility. Philippians 2:12-13 illustrates this well, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Are you doing enough to make your church “essential?” Are you working it out?

      One of the goals and values of Healthy Church Solutionsis to resource disciples, leaders and churches by providing tools that will help you in fulfilling your roles in carrying out the work of the ministry:

      • Contextual tools that focus on the outside (Demographics).

      • Institutional Tools that focus on the inside (Systems).

      • Spiritual Tools that focus on the individual follower of Christ (Personal Spiritual Development).

      Please reach out to us. It would be our privilege to inform you of these free tools and resources available to you, your leaders and your church. Honestly, you have not because you ask not.

      In Essential Church by Thom and Sam Rainer, they pointed out that more than two-thirds of church-going young adults drop out between the ages of 18 and 22. That is right at 70%. What was the reason, and why did they say they drifted away? They said it was because the church was no longer “essential” to their life. There can be many reasons for that perception on both sides, but here is another question. Why did the 30% who remained active in the church stay? They said it was because they saw the church as essential to their lives and families. It would be time well spent figuring out what made it so essential.

      Let’s go back to the church in Laodicea because the answer to a church being essential is found in Jesus’ prescription in Rev. 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Pray, invite Him to be in control, restore Him as Lord of your church, and then remember the African proverb, “When you pray, use your feet.”