866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
As in the case of the individual, a church that is not making spiritual progress is going backwards. If there is not revival, there is backsliding. If there is not bold forward movement, there is regression.
The churches in question are presently holding to sound doctrine, the right Biblical text, sacred music, modest dress, fairly good standards for workers, and other wholesome things, but they are dying. They are barely holding on. They aren’t growing. A large percentage of the congregation is elderly. In many cases, the pastor is elderly and there are no younger preachers in sight who are likeminded and can take over the pastorate. More people are coming than going. More are dying than are getting saved. A great many of the youth are spiritually half-hearted. They aren’t sold out to God’s will. They aren’t serious, self-denying, pilgrim disciples of Jesus Christ. Many of them don’t stay around when they reach adolescence. Most of the families aren’t aggressively godly and separated and wise in rearing children to Christ’s glory.
In such a church, the next generation is on very shaky ground, to say the least.
The Bible says the church is a body (1 Corinthians 12:13), and a body is composed of many members. If a body has some healthy members but overall it is weak and sickly, the future of that body is not encouraging.
But there is no reason why a church must die. What a poor testimony for God before a needy world! The church is God’s program. It is Christ’s plan. He said, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mt. 16:18). The church is the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Ti. 3:15). It is the headquarters for world evangelism (Acts 13-14).
Christ has everything that a church needs to live and prosper in this wicked world. In Revelation 2-3, Christ is in the midst of the churches. He holds the angels of the churches in His right hand. He knows the church’s works and trials. A church might be “of little strength,” like that of Philadelphia, but it doesn’t have to be dead or dying.
It is God’s will that His people bear fruit (John 15:1-8), and those who do not bear fruit do not please Him. “Herein is my Father glorified, that he bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (Joh. 15:8). Christ taught that when there is no fruit, something is wrong spiritually. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (Joh. 15:1-2).
We would give the following practical recommendations to dying churches:
A dying church can be saved by strengthening membership standards, which include being as careful as possible about salvation.
A dying church can be saved by strengthening its prayer life.
A dying church can be saved by strengthening the biblical depth of the people.
A dying church can be saved by strengthening standards for workers.
A dying church can be saved by strengthening the evangelistic “program.”
A dying church can be saved by serious education of the families.
A dying church can be saved by serious discipleship, of the youth, the adults and parents, and the senior citizens.
A dying church can be saved by re-envisioning its zeal for evangelism and world missions.
A dying church can be saved, but it won’t be saved easily. It will be saved when the pastor stops pretending that things are OK and acknowledges that the situation is desperate, and he rises to the occasion to do everything that is necessary to turn the ship around.
We have dealt with these and other things in the book The Discipling Church: The Church That Will Stand until Christ Returns, which is available in print and eBook editions from Way of Life Literature, www.wayoflife.org.
- Receive these reports by email
- www.wayoflife.org
______________________
Sharing Policy: Much of our material is available for free, such as the hundreds of articles at the Way of Life web site. Other items we sell to help fund our expensive literature and foreign church planting ministries. Way of Life's content falls into two categories: sharable and non-sharable. Things that we encourage you to share include the audio sermons, O Timothy magazine, FBIS articles, and the free eVideos and free eBooks. You are welcome to make copies of these at your own expense and share them with friends and family. You may also post parts of reports and/or entire reports to websites, blogs, etc as long as you give proper credit (citation). A link to the original report is very much appreciated as the reports are frequently updated and/or expanded. Things we do not want copied and distributed are "Store" items like the Fundamental Baptist Digital Library, print editions of our books, electronic editions of the books that we sell, the videos that we sell, etc. The items have taken years to produce at enormous expense in time and money, and we use the income from sales to help fund the ministry. We trust that your Christian honesty will preserve the integrity of this policy. "For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward" (1 Timothy 5:18). Questions? support@wayoflife.org
Goal:Distributed by Way of Life Literature Inc., the Fundamental Baptist Information Service is an e-mail posting for Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. Our primary goal with the FBIS is to provide material to assist preachers in the edification and protection of the churches.
Offering: Offerings are welcome if you care to make one. If you have been helped and/or blessed by our material offerings can be mailed or made online with with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or Paypal. For information see: www.wayoflife.org/about/makeanoffering.html.