Is there something we haven't tried?

So, I've been continuing to reflect on my thoughts about if dying churches can be saved. While I believe in death and rebirth and that it is a very realistic reality on the horizon for many churches, the never-give-up rescuer in me says, "Isn't there something else that could be tried? Maybe we just haven't thought of the right thing yet because it's not in God's timing. Be patient and keep looking and trying."

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to worship at a new church start. They are small in number but seem to have a huge heart for the Lord. There is a level of authenticity and godly character exhibited in their words and seen in their eyes as you speak with people one on one that is hard to miss and quite refreshing. There was such a sweet spirit of humility and focus on God's desires and praises by the worship leader and pastor that it over shadowed any glitches in the projection of words, the rising temperature in the room due to lack of air conditioning or the toddler that was wandering around the room, uninterested in sitting with his mother. I sat there thinking to myself, "This is a glimpse at the pure and healthy DNA God desires churches to have. Why can't more churches have this DNA? Why can't existing churches have their DNA re-written to look like this?"

Then it suddenly dawned on me. How do most pastors go about trying to revive a dying church? Some churches focus on developing new programs and ministries. Almost all of these churches will in some way try and have a special emphasis on evangelism, trying new methods, encouraging people to be more active in their efforts to share Christ. I think of all the sales pitch emails I have received for programs that will increase your attendance, raise your offerings and "save" your church from death. Implement this new program or have your church go through this new study and you will surely succeed.

And that is when it hit me. These churches are treating the symptom and not the illness! They may for a brief time be successful at decreasing symptoms but the illness is still present which means that eventually they will get sick again. They have not been cured. The illness has just been momentarily masked.

Then I thought about that good DNA I had the opportunity to see up close and I realized that maybe the way to save a dying church is to focus all efforts on creating intimacy, authenticity and godly character in the congregation. The natural outgrowth of this change will be a vibrancy that is hard for a visitor to resist and an internal change that will naturally express itself through evangelistic outreach. They will want to share their faith with others because of the vibrancy of their relationship with the Lord. They won't be able to help themselves. It will just overflow from their being. In addition, they will have something to share with others. Right now, most church member's spiritual wellness is so non-existent that it is not surprising that they would not be sharing with their friends their faith. It is not impacting their life in a way that they want or desire others to gain what they have.

Basically we have dying churches because we have spiritually dead people sitting in them. Revive the people spiritually and you can revive the dying church. But revival isn't about emotion or spurring the people into action to do more. It is about strengthening their connection with the Lord, developing intimacy that is the incubator for authenticity and the development of godly character. It is about growing and nurturing an internal motivation to include God in your daily life.

If you are a pastor of a dying church, I would encourage you to stop trying new programs and encouraging your congregation to become more evangelistic. Instead focus all of your efforts on creating spiritually healthy members through the development of intimacy. Embrace your small numbers and look at them as blessings. It's always easier to create intimacy when your numbers are small. But being small in number won't be enough to create that intimacy you are looking for. (That has been evident for quite some time as you have dwindled in numbers.) It takes the brave encouragement to be transparent with others, highly valuing authenticity and making a focused effort to allow God to change you.