Along the lines of change, how do spark a culture change – specifically a Revival in a church? What does it really take? I know the obvious answer of prayer and a few dedicated people. But what if the church is not revival minded? There is no special emphasis placed there, no special event or time of year. How do you take a good church to a great church? I have heard recently how we might not want to do something then because it is hard to get people to church on ‘other’ nights. ‘Other’ being not a Sunday or a Wednesday. Why?
I don’t want a church so legalized we go to church just because it is church, it’s open and that is what we do. I want to be a part of a congregation that is so God-only, Christ-first and Spirit-led that we are looking for the next opportunity to serve, witness or worship our awesome Creator and Lord. What legacy do we want to pass on to the next generation? One where God is #1 when we can fit Him in or He is #1 and we can fit other things in too?
I am ready for a Revival. R U?
Hey cowboysfan. I never really understood those “revivals”. I’d drive by a church and see a sign that says “revival tonight!” or something like that. I’d think, “You can schedule those?”
Never having been to one of those meetings, I can’t comment on what happens there, or whether the people attending are God-only, etc..
I can tell you that I’ve been around a group of people who are as you describe, and what a fantastic experience it is. Times like that have helped to form me into what I am today.
My take on what is needed for revival: a few folks who are willing to devote some of their free time to praying for that specific thing: a community of God-only, Christ-first, and Spirit-led believers who are looking for the next opportunity to serve, witness, or worship our awesome Creator and Lord.
The idea of revival itself could probably use some reviving. My in-laws live in a small rural community where one’s church is established at birth like eye color or height.
The churches have no real outreach of any kind. Kids go to church because that’s what they do, then they leave for better jobs and that’s that. The churches literally die out.
Yet, they schedule revivals. They bring in speakers and sometimes musicians and open up the building on the week nights.
An entirely predictable and increasingly small number of people attend. Most of them probably couldn’t say why, except that it’s expected.
True revival, while I haven’t seen one, probably has little to do with this.
As a follow-up comment; I would like to say the goal or point was not to say we need a ‘week’ of revival. Quite the contrary. Since we don’t have that, how do we create a spark, a fire in the hearts of people to really grow and be alive in Christ, not just exist in Him?
Yeah, that’s the question. I think in all fairness to the traditional way of reviving, the week set aside for it, we’ve got to recognize the attempt to do something beyond the status quo, and that’s admirable.
But is there really any way to spark another person? Can you ignite that in someone else? I honestly don’t know, and so I for sure don’t know how you’d go about trying.