With so many churches plateaued and declining, thousands of local congregations are frightened by the prospect that if new, young families are not brought into the church, the church will die. What needs to happen to turn this around? We must look to the work of God in His church and through His people for the only change that will bring Biblical growth and vitality.
As we look with concerned eyes to the future, I believe we need to remind ourselves that the work God calls and empowers us to do today sets the course of what the church will be tomorrow. Here are three guiding principles for now which will have great impact on what the church of Jesus Christ will become in the years ahead.
#1. In Christ: The church will believe what we practice, not merely what we say.
(James 2:17 ESV, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead.”)
#2. In Christ: The church will become what we do, not what we want done.
(Ephesians 2:10 ESV, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”)
#3. In Christ: The church will reach the people we speak to, not shout at.
(1 Peter 3:15 ESV, “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a
reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”)
