– Many churches today struggle with declining memberships and have difficulty attracting new members. It seems like people are no longer interested in spiritual things. Many church leaders feel the church is no longer relevant and are trying to change the way they do things to make the church seem more relevant. In addition, they down play the Christian message or ignore it altogether because they think that it is offensive to people. In fact, the Christian message is relevant and is needed more now than it was 60-70 years ago. The fact is, the church is not getting its message out. Those things that worked 60-70 years ago no longer work.
The number one question I am asked by pastors in America is how to get people more involved in the church. Many churches are constantly struggling to carry on with only a few members actively involved. People used to be actively involved but over the years it has become more and more difficult, until it is very difficult to get people to help. However, the problem is much deeper. While many pastors say that their churches are going well otherwise, I do not find that to be the case. When I survey churches, I am primarily concerned about whether they are fulfilling Christ’s command to win the lost and make disciples, because that is how God measures the church. Many churches have not had a single conversion in years. All their new members come from those who have previously been members elsewhere, in spite of the fact that the portion of the population that has a church background continues to shrink. Yet churches overseas are experiencing unbelievable growth as many unbelievers flock to the church. What is the difference?
They are not doing very well at making disciples either. In many churches, members are little different than unbelievers though they have been members for many years. If Jesus came to show us a better way, why aren’t Christians living out that new life and why aren’t they eager to serve God? Many members struggle with balancing what they hear in church with what they hear from the world around them. They may pay lip service to the teachings of the church but do not live them out in their everyday life. .