Jesus Christ's Church is not dying! Jesus has established His Church in the hearts of all who believe in Him. Anyone who believes in Him shall never perish and will have everlasting life (John 3:16); therefore His Church will never die! It is not about a Sunday morning head count, it is about an eternal heart count!
You can find article after article pointing out the dropping attendance in churches across America which may cause you to conclude that The Church is dying. As a member of one of those "dying churches" I need to remind myself of the church that I am really a member of....I am a follower of Jesus Christ and a member of His Body. He has adopted me as a brother, a son, a child of the Living God. I am filled with His Spirit and He has a plan for me. When I claim and proclaim my identity in Him and follow where He leads, I know that I am part of an eternal family.
Jesus has established His Church in me and His Church will be evidenced when I accept and obey His leading. His Church is glorified and His Grace is evidenced where He chooses, when He chooses and through those He chooses. Quite frankly, if I identify myself as a Methodist, or a Presbyterian, or a Catholic, etc. I often feel like I am part of a dying organization. However, when I identify myself with Christ, I am filled with joy and purpose.
There are wonderful churches around the world filled with Jesus's Church. Perhaps, some churches could do a better job of embracing The Church living within the organization instead of seeking to be "relevant" within society by adopting man-designed programs, committees, and business models ("busy-ness"). I assume that Jesus knows how to be relevant and He gave us some pretty specific commands...Love God, Love One Another, and Preach the Gospel. He even provides the power to do these things through His Spirit.
Jesus touched people one on one. If we follow His example we will learn that His Church thrives through our availability and not by our ability.
Perhaps churches should divest themselves of worldly possessions and goals if these things are getting in the way of claiming their identity in Jesus; so that His Fruits...Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control (Galatians 5: 22-23) will be what the world sees instead of a dying church.
Discover and Proclaim the Truth of The Bible which is: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." (John 3:16 NRSV). Jesus came to humanity to proclaim and give evidence to that love and He has commanded us to do the same. We, who believe, must not merely be followers, but we must be proclaimers of the Gospel Message and we can only do that by being filled with the love of God.
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