What Makes a Church Alive?
The early church in Acts wasn’t alive because they had impressive programs and great music. They were alive because they devoted themselves completely to God.
What Makes a Church Alive?
There’s a difference between a busy church and a living church.
A church can have packed parking lots, polished music, clever sermons, beautiful buildings and tons of activity while still being spiritually cold. On the other hand, I’ve seen little country churches with squeaky pews, faded carpet and fewer than 50 people worship God with a depth that makes mine seem superficial by comparison.
What makes the difference?
The Holy Spirit.
I’ve walked into churches where people were desperately hungry for God. You can feel the difference almost immediately. They are driven by worship.
The early church in Acts wasn’t alive because they had impressive programs and great music. They were alive because they devoted themselves completely to God.
Acts 2:42
“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Notice what made that church powerful:
They loved the Word of God.
They prayed.
They worshiped together.
They served one another.
They walked in reverence and humility.
The Holy Spirit moved among people whose hearts belonged fully to Christ.
I sometimes think that our churches can become addicted to excitement while neglecting holiness. We can become so focused on growing crowds that we forget to cultivate disciples. We can entertain people without ever confronting sin, repentance, surrender or obedience.
But great churches still exist. They are the churches where people repent sincerely. Where the Bible is preached boldly. Where worship is directed toward God instead of personalities. Where prayer matters. Where conviction still falls on hearts, broken people find grace and the proud still find humility.
They’re not perfect churches. They are churches that make room for the presence of God. Jesus warned us about hypocrisy. A church can have a reputation for life while being spiritually empty. May we never become satisfied with appearances while lacking the power of God.
The church will always need repentance. It needs truth and prayer.
It needs the Holy Spirit. That’s what makes a church alive.
