Pastor Greg Laurie of the Harvest Christian Fellowship Church knows a thing or two about keeping the ministry alive and in the hearts of the faithful. Still, there are times when even a strong faith and devotion can be overpowered by temptation and trial in a way that results in spiritual death.
That is why on Palm Sunday, the pastor shared with his congregation how to identify the signs of a dying church so that measures can be implemented to keep it from crumbling completely, Christian Post reported.
To emphasise his point, Laurie shared the story of the Church of Sardis from Chapter 3 of Revelation in the New Testament, in which churchgoers had no idea that their church was sick and dying.
He said that despite the fact that all of the signs were there, the churchgoers did not understand that their church was failing because it was not fulfilling its purpose – which is to glorify God, edify the saints and evangelise the world.
"Often, the person who is dying spiritually is the last one to know," he said.
In his view, one sign of a dying church is when it worships its past, living in its past achievements which it can no longer duplicate instead of focusing on the future and what it can still do for the faithful.
"Two, a dead church is inflexible and resistant to change. Sometimes, we're flexible when we need to be inflexible, and inflexible when we need to be flexible. We need to be inflexible about essentials or things that are non-negotiable, but flexible about how to express them, like embracing new technology or different genres of music for the sake of the outreach," he explained.
He also said lazy leadership could be a factor in dying churches, resisting change even though that change is relevant to the faithful simply because the leaders do not want to make the effort.
"Four, a dead church neglects youth. It is important for the older generation to reach out to the next generation," he said.
A final sure sign that a church is failing is when it is missing its evangelical zeal because without new believers that pump life into the church, it is already not meeting its purpose.
"Good news is that Jesus has prescribed ways to seek spiritual renewal so that a church doesn't die spiritually. We need to wake up, stabilise what's frail, be watching for the return of Jesus Christ, be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit and live a life that brings glory to God," he reminded.
