Reviving a Dying Church: 5 Ways to Revive Your Church

A little over a year ago, the way we ran church services changed because of the coronavirus. Several churches have faced steady decline between then and now, with some closing their doors permanently. It is heartbreaking, not just for the pastors and members but for the body of Christ as a whole.

Can we do anything about a dying church? Is it possible to revive a church slipping into decline? Yes, there is hope. Allow us to show you five ways to revive your church.

5 Ways to Revive Your Church

When a church faces a decline, there are two options on the table, revive or die. We all would instead pick the first option to save the church. In reality, there is no foolproof method to restore a dying church. However, there are few things that you can do to set your church on track for revival.

Humility 

Humility is one of the critical factors backing revival. Leadership must accept that something is wrong and the church is declining first before anything else. If there is no acceptance, it is impossible to see what to change. 

Humility leads you to a place of asking questions instead of blaming others for your predicament. You can easily blame the previous pastor, the community culture, millennials, or even COVID-19. Throwing blames around wouldn’t bring the revival you seek.

If you want things to change, then you must be humble enough to ask questions like:

• What have we been doing wrong?
• Who can we talk to?
• What do we need to change?
• How do we enforce the change?

Figure out your identity

A seasoned speaker and writer Rick Warren once said that you wouldn’t attract who you want but who you are. Is this even true? To a large extent, it is.

When visitors step into your church, they can tell whether you are authentic or not almost immediately. How do you stay true to your identity if you don’t even know what it is? Your identity is your calling.

What did God call you to be as a church? Who did God call you to impart? What was your mandate when you received the call to go into ministry? 

Once you notice that things aren’t going smoothly, you need to go back to these basics. Revisit the vision to discover your identity. With this information, it is easy to revitalize your services and make changes where necessary. 

Sharpen your focus

Getting clarity on your identity is just one step to reviving your church. You need to sharpen your focus towards accomplishing God’s mandate. 

At this point, you need to ask questions regarding your different processes. One such question is, do your current operations lead towards accomplishing God’s mandate? To revive your church, you must move from doing just anything to doing the essentials.

What this means is that you’d have to take some programs off your list. You’d even have to let some of your staff go and change some church leaders. You’re going to make some tough decisions that may not be palatable to everyone but will yield great results in the end.

Pray

When it comes to the matters of the kingdom, prayer is not a key. It is the key! In other words, you need to pray to unlock the revival that you seek in your church. 

Praying is a means of communication with God. Taking this action helps open your eyes to certain things that you must do to revive your church. Jeremiah 33:3 tells us to call on God, and He will answer and show us great and mighty things that we didn’t know. That’s how powerful prayer is.

Asides from the guidance you’d receive during prayers, you will also gather strength for the race ahead. Praying also helps you to build faith for the revival that you seek. Invite other members of leadership and even your congregants to special prayer meetings. Your focus at these meetings should be praying for revival for your church.

Organize outreaches

One of the signs of a dying church is a decline in attendance. Organizing outreaches can help you increase attendance remarkably. Find out the significant needs in your community and partner with other bodies to meet these needs.

An outreach is a two-edged sword. While it is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards your community, it attracts people to your church. An example is holding a sports/health meeting in your neighborhood. Another example is cleaning the environment and handing out souvenirs to invite people to church.

Before you decide on an outreach, you must have surveyed to know what’s worth your time. Ask as many questions as possible instead of just diving headlong into an idea because it seems nice.

Conclusion

It is not easy trying to revive a dying church. To achieve this feat, you must be very humble and spend time praying to God for guidance. More than anything else, you must be ready to ask for help. Check GodKulture for other articles about revival.