7 Signs Your Church Needs a Power Infusion Do you ever wonder why some churches seem to grow with little effort while others struggle just to maintain the amount of people they have? Part of this, of course, can be attributed to location. A church’s rate of growth tends to reflect the growth of the community it’s in. A church in a rapidly growing growing suburb, for instance, has better odds of surviving and thriving than a congregation in an area where population growth has become stagnant. All things being equal, the church in the growing community will grow faster than the other church. But all things are never equal, and odds don’t usually mean much when it comes to the kingdom of God. There are spiritual forces, both good and evil, that factor in to the equation, and often the culture that exists within a church will either contribute to or inhibit growth. Mindsets, attitudes, expectations, and habits of the congregation also play a role. Sometimes a church needs a bigger infusion of God’s power in order to go to the next level. Lots of articles and blog posts focus on logistical and organizational barriers to church growth. This one, however, is about some of the spiritual problems churches face. If your church has hit a plateau, is on the decline, or is growing at a much slower rate than the surrounding community, it may be time to take a spiritual inventory to figure out why. I’ve compiled a list of seven signs that your church might need a fresh infusion of power from above before it can grow: People don’t talk about Jesus. If you’re not hearing the name of Jesus in your congregation, both from the pulpit and among the parishioners, there’s a big problem. People who are being saved, delivered, and healed by Jesus shouldn’t want to keep quiet about it. Granted, some people are more reserved than others. But if hardly anyone is talking about Jesus and sharing faith stories about their experiences with him, then either your church is full of people who are what John Wesley referred to as “almost Christians” or you have genuine believers who don’t feel comfortable in your church talking about their faith. Either way, it’s a fail. Almost no one brings their Bible to church. Yes, I realize that some churches have pew Bibles, and yes I know about the YouVersion smartphone app. But I still assert that congregations who are placing a heavy emphasis on studying the word of God and who have successfully created a Bible study culture usually have a significant number of people who bring their Bibles on Sunday mornings. It’s not just a Baptist thing. I’ve observed that people in United Methodist churches, for example, often start bringing their Bibles after getting involved in a Disciple Bible study, or some other intense program. I’ve compared this phenomenon to the people at bowling alleys who bring their own ball and shoes. All serious bowlers don’t bring their own gear, but if you see someone who does, you know they’re probably serious about bowling. If people are bringing their Bibles to church, that’s probably an indication that the congregation makes Bible study a high priority. If they aren’t bringing their Bibles, it may indicate the opposite. Communion seems like an add-on or an afterthought. If the Lord’s Supper is celebrated in your church only occasionally, or if it seems like you’re rushing through it at the end of each service, you may need to rediscover the power in this sacrament. Once upon a time, I was a proponent of monthly or quarterly communion. I argued that anything more frequent would become mundane and lack power. Then I started going to a church that celebrated weekly Communion. To my surprise, rather than becoming a drag, Communion became one of my favorite parts of the service. There’s spiritual power in the Lord’s Supper, and it’s usually quite apparent to those who come to Christ’s table expecting an encounter with him. Your church promotes a culture of brokenness rather than a culture of holiness. I get irritated when I hear Christians obsess about how broken we are, or about our fallen human nature. Yes, I get Romans 3:23. “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” And Psalm 14:3… “Everyone is corrupt. No one does good—not even one person!” Even most nonbelievers understand and agree with these verses on some level—because if they’re honest, most people will admit that they don’t even live up to their own standards, much less God’s. And it’s quite appropriate to use these kinds of verses to lay the groundwork to share the gospel. As long as we don’t get stuck there! Remember, because of Christ’s death and resurrection and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can now overcome sin. That’s great news! So we shouldn’t be content to affirm people in their brokenness week after week without showing them how to be healed of it. Jesus came to put away sin, not to comfort and reassure us while we remain in bondage to it. Fasting isn’t regularly taught or encouraged. I don’t completely understand why, but based on both my own experience and the testimony of many people I trust, I can tell you with confidence that fasting is like the nuclear weapon of prayer. If you’re facing a desperate situation and need some kind of breakthrough or clarity, fasting for a day or two, or even just a meal will often shake things up and bring an answer. It’s a mystery to me why this is the case, but there’s significant spiritual power in denying the flesh for a period of time. Fasting churches are usually growing churches. Unfortunately I’ve not found many churches that teach on fasting, especially in the mainline denominations. (If you’d like to read a couple of good books on the topic, I recommend The Beginner’s Guide to Fasting and Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough, both by Elmer Towns.) People don’t talk about the devil. I certainly don’t recommend becoming preoccupied with evil, but a healthy amount of teaching and preaching on spiritual warfare is a positive thing. Satan, fallen angels, demons, and other unclean spiritual entities may seem like superstition to some, but the Bible affirms their existence. Pastors and teachers who deny or ignore the reality of these evil beings are naïve at best and recklessly irresponsible at worst. There’s not a healthy prayer ministry. Does your church provide opportunities for people to learn how to pray? Do you spend more time talking about prayer requests or actually lifting them up to God? Are the sick regularly prayed for? How many of them are healed? If prayer isn’t a big deal in your church, getting more people praying should become one of your top priorities, especially if your congregation is struggling numerically.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 17:29:45 +0000
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