Is your church dead? The answers to the following questions might be a clue.

Are lost people coming to know Jesus? 
Have there been any baptisms of people who are not children of existing members? (not that children’s baptisms are unimportant, but the point is asking if the church is reaching people beyond its walls?)
Has someone other than the pastor led a teenager or adult to the Lord?
Is someone other than the pastor doing the work of an evangelist?
Does the church have a regularly scheduled, extended, intentional, time of prayer?
Has anyone in the church answered the call to full time ministry?
Has the church issued a local minister’s license in the last three years?
When was the last time the church abandoned the normal flow of a worship service to allow the Spirit of God to move? 

If the answer is “no” or “never” to the majority of these questions, the church is dead. No matter how many people are filling the pews; no matter how nice the people are; no matter how knowledgeable the pastor is– the church is dead.

News Flash: Dead is not fixed by revitalization.

Revitalization is a buzz word in church circles these days. But can we be honest about what many churches need? (Hint: it’s not revitalization). It’s a resurrection. Revitalize implies that the church is somewhat alive and needs a kick start. Maybe it’s a new program; a new pastor; or a fresh coat of paint. It needs to be spruced up a bit and it will be fine. Revitalization is good for those churches with a pulse (there are many in this category), but for cold, dead churches (there are many in this category too) revitalization is like putting lipstick on a pig (or better stated “putting lipstick on a corpse”).

Resurrection recognizes the cold hard truth. The church is dead. Life hasn’t been evident for years. A few people may still show up on Sundays. Their tithe is keeping the lights on and the pastor underpaid, but the church is dead. New paint or a new sound system isn’t going to fix dead. The pastor alone can’t fix dead either. Death is only undone, by the work of God. Only God brings about resurrections. 

The disciples were “revitalized” after the resurrection of Jesus. Of course, they were. Jesus, who was dead, is now alive. Yahoo!! But in spite of that earth shattering news, the Bible records no new followers between Easter Sunday and Pentecost. Not one. Only 120 people managed to gather in the upper room. You’d expect more, wouldn’t you? 

But that small band of believers began to pray. They prayed and prayed and prayed. Then they prayed some more. Church resurrection begins with prayer (that’s our part). The Holy Spirit then answered the prayers of the remnant in a profound way. The church was born. It was resurrected (that’s God’s part). 120 people, newly filled with the Holy Spirit (resurrected, hope-filled people) poured into the Jerusalem streets proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. Resurrected people are missional. They’re evangelistic. Evangelism is the tangible result of a resurrected church. Evangelism leads to change lives and changes lives changes the course of churches. The church became alive. 

What resuscitates dead churches? Kindled in prayer, renewed and rejuvenated by the power of God– dead churches are resurrected through evangelistic victories. A Holy Spirit empowered evangelistic effort leads to new life. Resurrection is what the dead churches of America need today. Good News: God specializes in resurrections!