Tapping Into God’s Power invites a fresh look at how churches approach growth and renewal, emphasizing prayer, Scripture, and a steadfast reliance on the Savior.
While your local congregation may not face the exact challenges I encounter today, every church eventually confronts obstacles to its mission. The notion that the right pastor or program alone can reverse a decline is a fallacy that has often undermined the health of local churches and the aspirations of their members. While God certainly uses leadership and strategic initiatives to reclaim a ministry, many churches short-circuit this spiritual process by focusing on human efforts rather than divine guidance. To thrive, a church must prioritize prayer, the Word of God, and a renewed connection with Christ.
The Reality of Change
By the mid-1990s, Circuit City was among the fastest-growing businesses in the market, operating over 1,500 stores globally as an industry behemoth. Yet, within a decade, the company filed for bankruptcy. This downfall occurred because their initial success led them to neglect vision casting, long-range planning, and customer focus, ultimately causing them to veer from their core values.
Sound familiar? Churches were built bigger in the 1980s and 1990s, focusing on cafeteria-style programming. Churches failed to recognize the value of community relationships, discipleship-making and studying the Word of God.
Circuit City was known for its customer service, but as times got tough, it changed, cutting its workforce, slashing wages, and reducing its employee customer training. It began to drift from its core values and became a shell of its former self. Their competitors surpassed them as they short-circuited what made them unique in the marketplace.
What was your church known for in the past? What lessons from that season of spiritual growth in the past could you learn from today? The idea that there is a silver bullet to turn a declining church around is false. It takes prayer, dedicated steps to establish community partnerships, and a long-term commitment to serve by adapting to the new information you glean quarterly and yearly from church and community members. If God is not in it, it will not work. But, if God is in it, he will see you through it.
What your local church does today sows seeds for its growth or death. The future is seeded by your decision-making today. For instance, in my local church, we are investing long-term into a three-pronged model: compassion, community, and education while maintaining our focus on growing the local spiritual health of members. The steps we are taking today will not see natural fruit for three to five years from now. But no harvest will come tomorrow if we don’t plant today.
This long-term commitment is crucial for the church’s growth and should not be underestimated. In 1988, near the height of Circuit City’s growth era, they had the opportunity to buy an upstart competitor, Best Buy, but rejected a deal, feeling they could move into Best Buy’s market and put them out of business. They were wrong. We must learn from their mistake and commit to the long-term growth of the local church.
Do Not Stop Innovating.
Once Circuit City innovated in its field by developing the superstore and big box store model. Over time, complacency took hold, and they stopped adapting and began rushing store remodels, chasing every fad in the industry, losing their way—and customers. As a church, you can’t do what the church is doing down the street. Still, you can look for models (programs and partnerships) from similar-sized churches in your denomination and communities similar to yours and adapt them to the local context.
The decline of the local church happened not because the gospel was not needed or people were not hungry for the Word of God but because the local church lost its way. Not adapting to the changing demographics of the community. The church has short-circuited its power supply: prayer, fasting, reading the Word, and disciple-making and it needs to reconnect. God has a plan for the local church, but will you trust him? Will you allow yourself to be led by him and not your desires?
In my local context, we have begun to rewire our vision by reconnecting with the power supply, God. It has been challenging; people have withheld tithes, restricted them to specific ministries, or left. But, through it all, God has consistently provided unity through the church board, a vision for the future in most people, and a new crop of believers that have seen our ministry footprint expand and new fruit harvested.
When you tap into God’s power, he provides a fresh vision, encouragement to keep going, and new fruit over time. In the end, the local church has a choice to adapt or short-circuit itself by ignoring the winds of change that have arrived. The local neighborhood church must be open to change and adapt our methods to the needs of our community, always guided by God’s vision for our church.