Can dying churches be saved?

Thinking about dying churches further, I have been contemplating if a dying church can be saved. Is it possible? Can a church near death and on life support be revived? Is it even possible to rewrite unhealthy DNA? And even more importantly, is this something God desires or does he intend to let these churches completely die off the vine? Does God know that bad DNA can't be re-written and therefore He is in the process of birthing a new type of church with a healthy DNA?

I wish I knew the answers to these questions but unfortunately I do not. Because of the high numbers of dying churches in the Kingdom I am inclined to think God desires to birth something new and completely different. My instinct says that we are on the brink of a new type of revival within the Kingdom. One that will form a new type of church, not seen since the beginning of Christianity. The way in which we gather as Christ followers and live out our faith will be redefined for us in such a way that it will be hard to see any resemblance to our current church culture. We will be re-birthed and made new, in the fullest sense.

Some say that this won't happen until Jesus returns to claim His Kingdom. Maybe so. Maybe Jesus is coming back sooner than we think! I don't know. What I do know is that there is a huge amount of evidence mounting that Kingdom-wide, a large percentage of churches are dying and that there are more churches close to death now than at any other time in history. I also know that with death comes rebirth and a new life. Therefore I must acknowledge the church deaths and keep my eyes on the horizon for the rebirth.

This is an exhausting and challenging time to be in ministry, but it also is an exhilarating time. While the hardships are great, the joys are just as intense and wonderful. I liken these times to be similar to the birth of our nation or the beginning of civilization. We are cavemen on the brink of discovering fire! The changes and discoveries on the horizon for the Kingdom of God are so great that the impact won't be fully realized for generations to come. People will say to us, "Were you there? Did you see it happen? Were you a part of the rebirth? What was it like?" and they will marvel at our experiences, wishing they had been there too.