10 Signs Of A Dead Church

10 Signs Of A Dead Church

KEY SCRIPTURES

Revelation 3:1 “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things say he that has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars; I know your works, that you have a name that you live, and are dead.”

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Revelation 2:5 “Remember therefore from whence you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto you quickly and will remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent.”

INTRODUCTION

The church is a gathering of believers to worship God and learn about the doctrines in the word of God in order to have a balanced life in Christ. The first church was initially established after the baptism of the holy spirit which made the disciples of Christ and other believers bold to preach the word. Signs and wonders follow suit as well at the mention of the name of Jesus Christ. After then, they went about evangelizing to different regions, spreading the gospel near and far. While disciples were doing all this, the church was increasing the numbers because the trinity were in operation and also involved in all they were doing. All things done during the early church were inspired from God and not to enrich their pocket. Jesus promised the disciples that greater works will be achieved by them only if they walk in the spirit and not fulfil the lust of the world.

The church can be alive spiritually or dead depending on what is being practiced by the people in it. The word of God teaches us that there are times God’s presence can leave a group of people or tribe just as he did in 1 Samuel 4:21-22 after the ark of God was taken by the Philistines and Ichabod the grandson of Eli was born. Also, it can leave a church too just like in Revelation 3:1 when a message was sent to the church in Sardis about them being dead. In Revelation 2:5, God told the Ephesus to repent of their sins or he will come and remove their candlelight which represents the glory/ presence of God. A church can be dead not by Satan’s involvement in shutting it down but by God himself when his presence no longer exists there. There are signs that will have been manifested or practiced by the people that will make a church to be dead. In this article, we will be considering 10 signs of a dead church.

10 Signs Of A Dead Church

1. NO FUNCTIONAL PRAYER GATHERINGS: 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing : Prayer is a powerful tool to use in conquering the enemy of the church and also the master key to open the blessings of heaven upon the church. If the church has no functional regular time for prayers with its members, then something is wrong. When few people show up to pray and seek God together but they have no sense of his presence among them or no hope of the prayers being answered, then this is an indication that the church is only alive in name only but dead spiritually.
2. NO VISIBLE MANIFESTATION OF POWER OF GOD: Jesus said in Luke 11:20 “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you, which implies that there must be manifestation of the power of God in a church that is alive spiritually and miracles must abound but when there are no such instances of God’s divine intervention in a church and bad things continue to happen in such church, it is a sign that the church is dead. Signs and wonders are expected to be a norm in the life of a church and believers are expected to use faith to receive answers to prayers even move mountains but where such is absence, we can conclude that the church is dead.
3. LACK OF AUTHORITY IN THE WORD OF GOD: In Mark 1:22 “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes, Jesus taught as the church as a preacher that has authority in the word and was able to also correct, instruct and convict them of evil ways but if a church preacher has no function to instill faith, motivate the people, correct their actions or convict the people of sin, then it is an indication the church is dead. Jesus was no respecter of no person, he has authority and full with anointing to discern all spirits if they are of God or otherwise but if a preacher in a church is lacking in these areas, the church is dead because sins will abound.
4. NO PLANS FOR DISCIPLE MAKING: The Church has been mandated by Jesus to make disciples of all nations according to Matthew 28:19. A church must have a pattern of making committed Christ followers. No matter how large a church is, if no matured Christians who are spiritually sensitive or alert are developed to positively continue the process of winning more souls to God’s kingdom, then it is a sign that the church is dead. When churches don’t train new leaders for key positions or empower people for tomorrow’s future, failure will soon doom the church. If leaders recognize these indicators and address them effectively, most churches will be saved before it is too late.
5. FEW PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO SERVE: Psalm 110:3a “Your people shall be willing in the day of your power” implies that in a spiritually filled church, more people are always willing to volunteer to serve in the ministry, they are ready to invest their finances into all projects that promotes God’s kingdom but if few people or no people are willing to volunteer to serve and no member wants to commit their resources into the growth of God’s kingdom, it is a sign of a dead church.
6. NO INSPIRATION OR IMPARTATION THROUGH THE WORD: In Matthew 5:13-16, the bible said that believers are to be salt of the earth and the light of the world. When the church is no longer changed by the power of the gospel or when all so-called revival doesn’t bring positive changes to the church and its surroundings, it is an indication that the church is dying or dead. When words coming from the pulpit during preaching / teaching don’t impart or inspire people to serve God deeply, this is a problem that God’s presence is not active in that church again.
7. PEOPLE SEEK POSITIONS AND TITLES: A church without the presence of God will most likely have a culture with people posturing for positions and titles. They depend more on affirmation of men than seeking the glory of God. The people in such churches know less of God intimately because all identities are connected to credentials and titles. The place of the Holy Spirit is missing in such churches because they are men-pleasers and this hinders flow of the anointing due to the fact that there is no integrity in such churches. The church is dead already.
8. ENTERTAINMENT ARENA: 1 Timothy 3:15 “But if I tarry long, that you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth”; When church is now based on food, fun and frolic instead of biblical edification of the believers, when things done in the world are now being welcomed in the church. When the church is not into the entertainment business and not a ground or pillar of the truth of God, the church is either decaying or dead. When children do what feels good and the adults do what is good, these are signs of a dead church.
9. TOLERANCE INSTEAD OF DISCIPLINE: When toleration of sin is swept under the carpet, no correction of any sort but teaching like learn to love, not to judge, and let people live as they are which are false teachings from confusion about the love of God exist in a church. When the church doesn’t teach members to be remorseful of their sin and change for the better but make no mention about it, then the church is exhibiting the signs of being dead.
10. LACK OF GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT: When the gifts of the spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit; To another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirit; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” is not in operation in a church. When services rendered in a church doesn’t contain all the gifts of the spirit, then the flesh is the one controlling all services rendered and sins will abound in such a church which points to the fact that the church is dead.

CONCLUSION

Once any church starts exhibiting these signs, the church leaders need to deeply themselves and go back to the Lord in prayers, asking the Lord what they want them to do to help resuscitate it. They must come together, reason them out, and present all decisions made to God in prayers, beseeching him to revive the church by mercy. Also pray to God to raise men who will cause great revival in that community where the church is located in order to draw thousands of congregations and awaken lost sinners too. The church must have missions and evangelism plans because it is part of Christ’s commands.