Pastor's Thoughts: February

As we have entered 2024, God has put an emphasis of the necessity of prayer on my heart as the pastor of NHBC. I believe that corporate and individual prayer is an essential aspect of the health of our church. This is why we have begun this year with a sermon series that focuses particularly on corporate prayer. I hope that we have been able to see the theological truth that when God’s people call on His name, He shows up. I know that we want God to show up at NHBC. We want God to do great things in and through our church. If we hope to see God work in a mighty way at NHBC, we must prioritize prayer. I hope you will join me in putting a greater emphasis on prayer in your life and the life of our church this year.

This Saturday and Sunday we will host The Praying Church Weekend at our church. I hope you will make plans to come and be a part of what God will do this weekend. Keeney Dickenson will be leading our time together. We will have two sessions on Saturday. The first will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and the second from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided between the two sessions.

In February, we will begin a new sermon series that focuses on church revitalization. I know this is a term that I have used somewhat regularly since I became the pastor of NHBC. However, I want to bring some clarity to exactly what church revitalization is. So, I will offer a description and a definition of church revitalization here.

When considering the concept of church revitalization, it should be understood the concept of church revitalization has been around for almost 2,000 years. Ever since churches have existed, there has been a need for church revitalization. Several of Paul’s letters serve as examples of churches that needed correction to return to the mission of the gospel (e.g., Gal., 1 Cor., and 2 Cor.). Where the need for church revitalization is most clearly seen, in the book of Revelation chapters two and three. In these two chapters, Christ is confronting seven of His churches.

Of the seven, there are only two that are commended without Jesus offering a condemnation as well. First, the church in Smyrna was struggling in tribulation and poverty but Jesus told them that they are rich and that if they stayed faithful unto death, He would give them the crown of life (Rev. 2:8-11). Second, the church in Philadelphia was a small church with little influence. However, they were faithful and did not deny Jesus’ name. Jesus commends the church for its patient endurance and exhorts them to hold fast until He returns. These two churches, along with the other churches that Jesus offered commendation, teach the church today what metric Jesus uses to measure the success of a church, which is faithfulness.

In our culture today, for the most part, we tend to measure the measurable things, which are things like attendance, baptisms, and budget. It is important to understand that measuring these things can be helpful, but they are not what Jesus used as his metric for success; Jesus measured the seven churches by their faithfulness. The only two churches that were not condemned by Christ were not the biggest in number, program, or budget; it was the two that demonstrated faithfulness to Jesus. I think this is something that churches need to refocus on when it comes to church revitalization. We must move away from pragmatic measurements of success and judge our success as a church the same way that Christ does.

While the term “church revitalization” has been around for a while, there are many ways of understanding what church revitalization is, in addition, there are just as many approaches towards church revitalization. Therefore, I would like to offer my definition of church revitalization for the sake of clarity on the matter. I believe that church revitalization is, the process in which God works in the hearts and the lives of the individual members of the church, which produces spiritual health and growth in the church as a whole, which leads the church to be united as a single body and brings the church to focus on the mission for the glory of God.

At the heart of church revitalization, is the idea of bringing new life back into the church. The reality is, that this is work that only God can do; therefore, He must be the focus of church revitalization. In other words, without God moving in the church, the church has no chance for true revitalization to take place.

Dear Heavenly Father, I give thanks to You for all of your many blessings in the life of NHBC. I thank you for every member of our church. I pray that You will continue to add to our number those who You know we need to do the work that You have for us to do. I thank you for the great salvation that you have blessed us with through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that You would work in the lives of the members of NHBC for Your glory. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will bring unity and power to the life of our church. Father, help us to fulfill the mission that you have given us to make disciples in our communities and to the ends of the earth for Your glory. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.