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I think my church may be dying. What can I do?


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1 minute ago, Cool of the Day said:

You've lost me and I am desperately, sincerely trying to follow. How have we turned to the world when our desire is to seek and save, care for the widows and orphans, visit the shut ins...

I've got you, Cool of the Day. Some folk have axes to grind, God bless them. The good thing about the "remnant" I was part of was the close fellowship. For 5 years & 8 months I chauffeured members across our city to and from our midweek evening in-home Bible study group because I believe in small group fellowship around the Word of God. Anything above 8 people assembled and the dynamic changes from organic to something more institutional, so small congregations of those that love the Lord and love to search the Scriptures in order to edify and comfort one another can be an absolute blessing...nothing to be ashamed of but definitely an opportunity to trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding. 

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1 hour ago, Cool of the Day said:

I'm oversimplifying, but I hope you get the gist. 

 

Hi, I live it!

At age 75 I have just been led to be a member of a different local body of Christ Jesus than I have been member of for over 20 years and an employee  of it for 14 of those years. I love the members of the body that I had been member of for those many years till now, but I have been led by God to yet another local body of Christ. Both are growing in numbers and both teach verse by verse the world of God pretty much in the mode of a Charles Spurgeon.

It is just the way it is.

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2 hours ago, Cool of the Day said:

When I look around I see more and more empty pews. Only select Sundays are they filled. The majority of the buzz from the elders is "how do we attract/keep the younger generation here?"

We are a Bible rooted church, but, I do think we lean more to head knowledge vs. truly getting to the heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to flow freely and unhindered. 

All that said, do any scriptures come to mind that I can pray? Or take back to the elders when they ask me my thoughts/ideas?

God Bless

Okay, yay! Thanks everyone for your thoughts and imput thus far. Now that we've thoroughly touched on the first part of my OP, any thoughts on the second and third parts?

 

 

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2 hours ago, Cool of the Day said:

You've lost me and I am desperately, sincerely trying to follow. How have we turned to the world when our desire is to seek and save, care for the widows and orphans, visit the shut ins...

Hi again,

Well, I suggest the possibility that it is God that wills the members to disperse- for the spreading of the Word. If all went well at Jerusalem  would there have been the dispersion of the early church saints to numerous other locales? 

Even as I am led to a new local body of Christ I am also led to pick up and move away to where I will have to become associated with yet another local body in addition in whatever form it may exist where I am now being led to spend at least part of my time.

 

My very first home church died while I was led to leave it to move to another church 2800 miles away for a period of time before returning to find  the old home body had been following a brilliant teacher a pastor instead of Christ Jesus our Lord in worship and in obedience to God The Father. It had been a church well established it seemed, with  over 1500 individuals, and all sorts of outreach programs. It up and died overnight, when the pastor failed in his responsibilities to God for leadership of a local flock. The sheep there learned  what happens when they depend on a man instead of what the man is teaching. They could not stay together for they  were fascinated by the pastor more than by  Jesus.  I found so was I. It was a good hard lesson.

God moved me along over time to many other adventures in corporate worship. I had thought final my membership was to be where I was led to work 14 years. Yet, that has not been God's plan for me. I suspect that  is not all that much different than God's plan  for many of us.

I think we are to  rest lightly in the pews, eat in haste, and be prepared to be moved on in an instant, by God's call to exodus to a new landing  place for life and worship of Him.

ps- My first church body had a bus ministry  for over 300 kids had 1500 seniors in Super 60's, had another 1100 of us too.

pps- I also knew of Dr. Robert Schuler and his soon to be Crystal Cathedral. What a growth story in my then home area! And it died! For the people followed him and prosperity or possibility thinking of Norman V.Peale and not so much Jesus. It happens and yet the sheep get freed from what had been holding them back. They learn not to worship the trappings of success, and instead to praise Jesus regardless of circumstance, giving thanks in all things.

That's my present opinion anyway-

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12 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

Hi again,

Well, I suggest the possibility that it is God that wills the members to disperse- for the spreading of the Word. If all went well at Jerusalem  would there have been the dispersion of the early church saints to numerous other locales? 

Even as I am led to a new local body of Christ I am also led to pick up and move away to where I will have to become associated with yet another local body in addition in whatever form it may exist where I am now being led to spend at least part of my time.

 

My very first home church died while I was led to leave it to move to another church 2800 miles away for a period of time before returning to find  the old home body had been following a brilliant teacher a pastor instead of Christ Jesus our Lord in worship and in obedience to God The Father. It had been a church well established it seemed, with  over 1500 individuals, and all sorts of outreach programs. It up and died overnight, when the pastor failed in his responsibilities to God for leadership of a local flock. The sheep there learned  what happens when they depend on a man instead of what the man is teaching. They could not stay together for they  were fascinated by the pastor more than by  Jesus.  I found so was I. It was a good hard lesson.

God moved me along over time to many other adventures in corporate worship. I had thought final my membership was to be where I was led to work 14 years. Yet, that has not been God's plan for me. I suspect that  is not all that much different than God's plan  for many of us.

I think we are to  rest lightly in the pews, eat in haste, and be prepared to be moved on in an instant, by God's call to exodus to a new landing  place for life and worship of Him.

 

And if I'm being led to stay put? Our small group breakouts are amazing. The Word preached does not stray. 

It has nothing to do for me with a fear of moving on. I just will not move until the Lord prompts me. I'm not just a one service observer. I'm relied upon there for various things.

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3 hours ago, Cool of the Day said:

When I look around I see more and more empty pews. Only select Sundays are they filled. The majority of the buzz from the elders is "how do we attract/keep the younger generation here?"

We are a Bible rooted church, but, I do think we lean more to head knowledge vs. truly getting to the heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to flow freely and unhindered. 

All that said, do any scriptures come to mind that I can pray? Or take back to the elders when they ask me my thoughts/ideas?

God Bless

There's a safe way to increase attendance in any church:

1) Invite Sunday attendees to anonymously write in the top 10 topics they want to hear about on Sundays

2) Address those topics on Sundays/personally in the hearts of the leadership

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4 hours ago, Cool of the Day said:

When I look around I see more and more empty pews. Only select Sundays are they filled. The majority of the buzz from the elders is "how do we attract/keep the younger generation here?"

We are a Bible rooted church, but, I do think we lean more to head knowledge vs. truly getting to the heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to flow freely and unhindered. 

All that said, do any scriptures come to mind that I can pray? Or take back to the elders when they ask me my thoughts/ideas?

God Bless

I don't know your church's history, but let me say this: I've been to a lot of churches and many of them just plain need to die. And the believers there will find another church with the vitality, community and solid bible teaching they need.

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6 hours ago, Sonshine☀️ said:

Teaching the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse.  People today are hungry for the Word of God.  

God bless…

Sonshine has given you your answer to the elders...,

During the Jesus People revival in the late 60's the Holy Spirit introduced His method for the Church, ...back to the Bible, ...teach the Word, book by book, chapter by chapter and verse by verse in and through the anointing of the Gift of Teaching, which is: ...read distinctly from the Word of God, ...show and explain the spiritual principle being taught in the verse(s) and, ...help the people to appropriate the principles to be lived out in their daily lives, Neh 8:8, ...in other words, to be doers of the Word and not just hearers Jas 1:22, ...in teaching the Word this way the pastor is not under any pressure as to what he will teach on next, he starts at Genesis 1:1 and teaches through the entire Bible to the end of Revelation, then start all over, ...and in doing so the Church will find it's where it's at, at that time, corresponds with what the Holy Spirit is teaching 1 John 2:27, ...so that His Church is prepared, ready, comforted, strengthen, equipped for what ever it might be going through.

This revival is still alive and going strong fifty years later and has spread around the World, in any and all churches that use His method, ...we all know God is Love, with that in mind, ...Father will prepare a "nest" a safe place where He can place His new born children where they can be safe and nurtured in the milk of His Word, growing in the Grace and Knowledge of the Lord, so that they won't be tossed to and fro with any/all of the aberrant doctrines present in the world today.

The most important thing to remember is, ...If you allow the Holy Spirit to build and guide His Church the way He wants it to be, ..He will bless,  it, ...He is active and working it all over the world today!

...and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.  Acts 2:42b

Lord bless 

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Both churches that are in my recent history, the past twenty years, teach word by word in detail.  -Like lets spend the next six years of Sundays in the Book of Matthew.

Plus; one also had a once a month ask an elder session to bring up subjects of interest to them. Well that idea has been  a flop. Boring to all but th eone who had asked th equestion! 

The major difference that I notice between the two is the deep sense of presence of the Holy Spirit in the one and not so much in the other. Yet both are filled with well informd born again believers. My new to me assembly brings tears to my eyes in worship, and I find I am in the Spirit, actively feeling the Holy Spirit about the gathered body. The other was more like attending  Bible College class assembly, which I also absolutely love and learn from. But the second, - wow it has the emotion, the awakening  like a Billie Graham crusade when the Spirit moves amongst the gathered. Perhaps advice for the elders, or request of them, is  do not fear, do not squelch the Holy Spirit, trust that the membership can discern just as an elder might be able to do.Let the individuals enjoy their times of worship.

The only other bit  for consideration is teach the do's! Give positive example of things to be doing not just a condemnation of what must not be done.- That came to me years ago from my then 11 year old son after we had moved. He said he liked the new church, the was good but always taught don'ts. This one teaches do's. 

 

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14 hours ago, Cool of the Day said:

When I look around I see more and more empty pews. Only select Sundays are they filled. The majority of the buzz from the elders is "how do we attract/keep the younger generation here?"

We are a Bible rooted church, but, I do think we lean more to head knowledge vs. truly getting to the heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to flow freely and unhindered. 

All that said, do any scriptures come to mind that I can pray? Or take back to the elders when they ask me my thoughts/ideas?

God Bless

Hi Cool of the Day,

This is happening everywhere. The style of format that has been recognised as `church meeting` has only been going for a few centuries. Today people can go on line and get scripture, sermons, discussions, etc and they can also get together with each other for fellowship, plus be involved with helping in many areas of the community or outreaches to poor, homeless, youth, elderly etc.

The key point is that people are seeing that a few people in the old format don`t have all the skills and abilities to oversee all these aspects of service that people need to be involved in to facilitate their giftings by God. They sense the power and control by a few as constricting.

Thus I would encourage you and your group to see what you as a group can do to serve others and not be concerned with pew numbers. We are all in the Body of Christ and a local (small) group can really only do one or two `helps` into the community. Do that well and you will encourage, (perhaps) others who want to be of service in that way too.

regards, Marilyn. 

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