If you’ve been a church for forty years and struggle to get 40 people to attend every Sunday, something is wrong. If your kids don’t want to go and can’t wait to leave, something is wrong. If you’re sitting in church wondering how soon you will be able to get on with your day, something is wrong! Many Christians have turned attending church into a simple formality added to one’s to-do list of weekend plans. If your kids would rather play sports than attend church, something is wrong! Not with them, but with the church they attend.
Let me share some of my experiences I’ve had while searching for a church. In one church a woman started to give a message in tongues and she was escorted out for “causing a disturbance”! In another church, they had the best music but their SS material stated that “a Christian is never supposed to fight with devil, we are only to plead the blood of Jesus for protection”!! Which kind of defeats the whole “armor of God” thing, in my opinion. They were also quite legalistic. In another church the pastor was giving a demonstration on how to witness. He had a member of the congregation come up and role play the ‘sinner”. Here is how it went, word for word:
Pastor: “Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior”?
Sinner: “No”
Pastor: “Would you like to?”
Sinner: “Yes”
Pastor: “Let us pray”
Pastor: “There, do you see how easy that was. That’s all it takes to lead someone to the Lord!”
It was all I could do to not laugh out loud. That might work if someone is on their deathbed, moments away from death but for your average neighbor, friend or co-worker, it would not go like that at all.
Another church I attended took up the offering and the pastor’s wife sat down in front of the church facing the congregation and started counting the money right there! I thought that was kind of tacky. A different church I attended for a short time refused to discuss end times even in a small group setting as they believed it was too controversial and the pastor, in his sermons, made several biblical interpretational errors.
The last church I attended was a-millennial which means they don’t believe Christ is coming back and we are in that prophesied kingdom now. They symbolize all of Revelations and do not believe in a literal interpretation at all. In another church, the song leader was very talented but instead of leading the congregation she would go off on a musical journey which the congregation couldn’t follow so instead of singing along we all just sat there, listening. It’s been frustrating to say the least but several years ago the Lord showed me what church should be like and I will share what he showed me.
The other day I was kind of wondering to myself why other people can’t see what I see? Why are they satisfied with the status quo? The Lord spoke to me then and said, “because they haven’t seen what I’ve showed you”. Then He put this verse in my mind from Prov. 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” followed by Hos. 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” So I kind of incredulously thought out loud, “You mean other believers don’t realize this”!? He didn’t answer me again so I thought it must be time to share what I was shown.
First, we need to set some parameters, so ideally, the church building would have a nursery, a good-sized fellowship hall with a near-by kitchen and several classrooms. The kitchen, nursery and fellowship hall would all have speakers so people in them wouldn’t feel left out of the service. It would also have a family-friendly sanctuary and an outdoor play area. Good musicians would also be needed. If the church is small then you have a goal to work towards. Now many things depend on the size and needs of the congregation because it would be THEIR church, not the pastor’s!
I’ve seen too many churches fall apart whenever the pastor leaves because the church doesn’t have their own identity. The local Body of Christ should know and be aware of the needs of their community and be willing to serve in whatever direction God leads them and any new pastor coming in should adapt to the church’s calling and identity, NOT expect them to change everything because the new pastor wants to go outside the local church’s calling.
The church service itself would most likely be different from anything you’ve experienced. It would start with a theme song like “This is the Day the Lord Has Made”, of course as I write this, things might be a little different depending on the desires of the congregation. This would be followed by praise reports and testimonies about what God has been doing in the lives of the congregation and/or the ministries of the church. Then would come prayer requests and as each request is given the whole congregation prays for that need right at that moment instead of them being grouped into a generic all-inclusive, non-specific prayer that is generally the case in most churches.
When that is completed, instead of ushers going around the church collecting offerings, the collection plates would be up front upon the altars where we would go to present our offering to the Lord. I think this is a little more humbling and puts WHY we are giving our money to God in the forefront of our minds. After all, it’s called an “offering” for a reason!
The service itself would be a little longer because every Sunday there would be a congregational meal and the church would decide if it wants to be a breakfast, brunch or lunch following the guidelines of Acts 2:42, 46. There would be alternative foods for those who may suffer from salt, sugar or gluten issues and/or food allergies. There would be no evening service. The meal time would be our time of fellowship which would lead to stronger bonds within the Body then your typical two or three minute, “meet and greet”.
Following the meal would be our non-traditional Sunday School. (Notice there hasn’t been a sermon or a song service yet.) The church’s focus would be on teaching ages 10 and up how to fulfill the Great Commission of Matt. 28:19-20 and on Body Life in general. It would focus on practical issues like how to witness/evangelize, learning what your spiritual gift is and how it functions within the Body, various apologetics like how to reach an evolutionist or why we believe abortion is wrong. There would also be teachings on preparing for the end times and what the church might expect in the future and how to be the church if the corporate setting is no longer allowed.
Kids 10 and up would learn what is and is not acceptable behavior in the House of the Lord but they would also be included in the classes. People tend to forget that children can have spiritual gifts too, although they might change as they grow older. Children are our most precious resource for the continuation of the Body of Christ as a whole. They naturally long to be part of something greater then themselves and when raised right and given the opportunity, they like to help out those less fortunate then themselves. When treated with respect mostly they respond in kind. All members of the congregation, even kids, would be called by the title Brother or Sister to remind ourselves that we are part of a larger family, the Family of God!
After the lessons it would be time to head back to the sanctuary for our closing which would involve members of the congregation sharing through song or word what the Lord had put on their heart. This would be followed by a short, themed message by the pastor. The closing part of the service would be the song service. It would be full of loud, praise-filled, foot-stomping, hand-clapping music geared to charge us up and strengthen our faith for the week ahead. The bible tells us to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” and that “God inhabits the praises of His people”! Of course, we would make allowances for when the Holy Spirit decides He wants to be worshiped, but it would be HIS decision. We would not force Him to be in a time box of our choosing. When the gifts of the spirit are flowing freely, then we come to the point where we will recognize and obey what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. Too often it seems like the Holy Spirit is no longer invited to our services or allowed to follow His own agenda.
There would be no mid-week service. In lieu of that, it would have family oriented, ministry based small groups. These ministries could be community based or Body based; such as community food shelters, pregnancy centers or the homeless and within the Body there might be seniors in need of assistance or a family going through a hard time. Hospital/Nursing Homes visitation would also be considered a small group ministry.
If the church starts to get too large then we would divide our spiritual gifts and branch off into a new location but continuing what we have learned from the start.
So, you guys tell me, does this sound like something you would like?
Let me share some of my experiences I’ve had while searching for a church. In one church a woman started to give a message in tongues and she was escorted out for “causing a disturbance”! In another church, they had the best music but their SS material stated that “a Christian is never supposed to fight with devil, we are only to plead the blood of Jesus for protection”!! Which kind of defeats the whole “armor of God” thing, in my opinion. They were also quite legalistic. In another church the pastor was giving a demonstration on how to witness. He had a member of the congregation come up and role play the ‘sinner”. Here is how it went, word for word:
Pastor: “Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior”?
Sinner: “No”
Pastor: “Would you like to?”
Sinner: “Yes”
Pastor: “Let us pray”
Pastor: “There, do you see how easy that was. That’s all it takes to lead someone to the Lord!”
It was all I could do to not laugh out loud. That might work if someone is on their deathbed, moments away from death but for your average neighbor, friend or co-worker, it would not go like that at all.
Another church I attended took up the offering and the pastor’s wife sat down in front of the church facing the congregation and started counting the money right there! I thought that was kind of tacky. A different church I attended for a short time refused to discuss end times even in a small group setting as they believed it was too controversial and the pastor, in his sermons, made several biblical interpretational errors.
The last church I attended was a-millennial which means they don’t believe Christ is coming back and we are in that prophesied kingdom now. They symbolize all of Revelations and do not believe in a literal interpretation at all. In another church, the song leader was very talented but instead of leading the congregation she would go off on a musical journey which the congregation couldn’t follow so instead of singing along we all just sat there, listening. It’s been frustrating to say the least but several years ago the Lord showed me what church should be like and I will share what he showed me.
The other day I was kind of wondering to myself why other people can’t see what I see? Why are they satisfied with the status quo? The Lord spoke to me then and said, “because they haven’t seen what I’ve showed you”. Then He put this verse in my mind from Prov. 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” followed by Hos. 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” So I kind of incredulously thought out loud, “You mean other believers don’t realize this”!? He didn’t answer me again so I thought it must be time to share what I was shown.
First, we need to set some parameters, so ideally, the church building would have a nursery, a good-sized fellowship hall with a near-by kitchen and several classrooms. The kitchen, nursery and fellowship hall would all have speakers so people in them wouldn’t feel left out of the service. It would also have a family-friendly sanctuary and an outdoor play area. Good musicians would also be needed. If the church is small then you have a goal to work towards. Now many things depend on the size and needs of the congregation because it would be THEIR church, not the pastor’s!
I’ve seen too many churches fall apart whenever the pastor leaves because the church doesn’t have their own identity. The local Body of Christ should know and be aware of the needs of their community and be willing to serve in whatever direction God leads them and any new pastor coming in should adapt to the church’s calling and identity, NOT expect them to change everything because the new pastor wants to go outside the local church’s calling.
The church service itself would most likely be different from anything you’ve experienced. It would start with a theme song like “This is the Day the Lord Has Made”, of course as I write this, things might be a little different depending on the desires of the congregation. This would be followed by praise reports and testimonies about what God has been doing in the lives of the congregation and/or the ministries of the church. Then would come prayer requests and as each request is given the whole congregation prays for that need right at that moment instead of them being grouped into a generic all-inclusive, non-specific prayer that is generally the case in most churches.
When that is completed, instead of ushers going around the church collecting offerings, the collection plates would be up front upon the altars where we would go to present our offering to the Lord. I think this is a little more humbling and puts WHY we are giving our money to God in the forefront of our minds. After all, it’s called an “offering” for a reason!
The service itself would be a little longer because every Sunday there would be a congregational meal and the church would decide if it wants to be a breakfast, brunch or lunch following the guidelines of Acts 2:42, 46. There would be alternative foods for those who may suffer from salt, sugar or gluten issues and/or food allergies. There would be no evening service. The meal time would be our time of fellowship which would lead to stronger bonds within the Body then your typical two or three minute, “meet and greet”.
Following the meal would be our non-traditional Sunday School. (Notice there hasn’t been a sermon or a song service yet.) The church’s focus would be on teaching ages 10 and up how to fulfill the Great Commission of Matt. 28:19-20 and on Body Life in general. It would focus on practical issues like how to witness/evangelize, learning what your spiritual gift is and how it functions within the Body, various apologetics like how to reach an evolutionist or why we believe abortion is wrong. There would also be teachings on preparing for the end times and what the church might expect in the future and how to be the church if the corporate setting is no longer allowed.
Kids 10 and up would learn what is and is not acceptable behavior in the House of the Lord but they would also be included in the classes. People tend to forget that children can have spiritual gifts too, although they might change as they grow older. Children are our most precious resource for the continuation of the Body of Christ as a whole. They naturally long to be part of something greater then themselves and when raised right and given the opportunity, they like to help out those less fortunate then themselves. When treated with respect mostly they respond in kind. All members of the congregation, even kids, would be called by the title Brother or Sister to remind ourselves that we are part of a larger family, the Family of God!
After the lessons it would be time to head back to the sanctuary for our closing which would involve members of the congregation sharing through song or word what the Lord had put on their heart. This would be followed by a short, themed message by the pastor. The closing part of the service would be the song service. It would be full of loud, praise-filled, foot-stomping, hand-clapping music geared to charge us up and strengthen our faith for the week ahead. The bible tells us to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” and that “God inhabits the praises of His people”! Of course, we would make allowances for when the Holy Spirit decides He wants to be worshiped, but it would be HIS decision. We would not force Him to be in a time box of our choosing. When the gifts of the spirit are flowing freely, then we come to the point where we will recognize and obey what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. Too often it seems like the Holy Spirit is no longer invited to our services or allowed to follow His own agenda.
There would be no mid-week service. In lieu of that, it would have family oriented, ministry based small groups. These ministries could be community based or Body based; such as community food shelters, pregnancy centers or the homeless and within the Body there might be seniors in need of assistance or a family going through a hard time. Hospital/Nursing Homes visitation would also be considered a small group ministry.
If the church starts to get too large then we would divide our spiritual gifts and branch off into a new location but continuing what we have learned from the start.
So, you guys tell me, does this sound like something you would like?
