Leading the Comeback Church

Can the stagnant church thrive again? Once a church has hit a plateau, does that spell finality for the ministry? The answer to that question is emphatically, NO! It has been said that it is easier to give birth than it is to raise the dead, but one must remember that this is not worldly wisdom that is being dealt with. It is heavenly wisdom. God can do those things that man sees as impossible.

In his book, Leading the Comeback Church, David Nixon says, “No one step accounts for the way the church exploded with growth. Sometimes a spark is all that’s needed to ignite the flame of growth. The people were ready. Their willingness became contagious.” A lot of the time, that one little spark is truly all that is needed to get a church back on track. Just like businesses, sometimes there is a hiccup and things fly off kilter. The issue is to try to get the church back on its tracks before it travels too far off course.

The Apostle Paul writes, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” 1 Cor. 3:6 (NIV) Man is obedient to God and does the work that he has been called to do, and when it comes to the area of church growth that is 100% God’s work. Man cannot take credit for this area; the credit belongs alone to God.

There are a lot of different evangelism and church growth ideas that have been tested and tried. Many of those programs have resulted in church growth, but none of those programs were successful apart from God. It was His will for the growth to take place.