Turning a Dying Church into a Thriving Church

2 Kings 12:14

But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the LORD.

Many churches around the world are in disrepair. When I talk about disrepair, I am not talking about the buildings we meet in; I am talking about the church itself not doing anything for God. As I look around the world, I see the great need to get our churches to thrive once again. When you see the need of the lost, and you see the Muslims growing and taking over countries, we can see the great need to repair God's church so that it becomes a thriving church once again.

I believe there are many good men that pastor their church who are just holding on to a church that is in disrepair. When I took over the Maranatha Baptist Church, the previous pastor was a great man, but the church was maintaining, but not thriving. Not only was it maintaining, but it was very small, and the age group of our church was an older age group, which did not bode well for the future of our church. When I became the pastor, I followed the methods found in 2 Kings to help turn MBC into a thriving church. Let me share some of the things I found in this chapter that are needed to turn a dying church into a thriving church.

First, it takes people who are willing to work. You will notice in verse 14 that there were workmen repairing the temple. The word workmen is plural, which means that there were many people working to repair the temple. No church will become a thriving church with one or two people involved; it takes everyone working to make the church a thriving church. If you sit and wait for everybody else to do something, your church will continue to die. It takes many working people in a church to turn it into a thriving church that can reach its area for Jesus Christ.

Second, it takes people who are willing to serve. You will notice that they repaired the house of the LORD, which means that somebody had to serve. As a church grows, it takes people willing to serve in ministries they are not comfortable with, but that are needed so we can reach more people for Christ. You must be willing to let your pastor place you in a ministry he believes you can best serve in if you want your church to be a thriving church. A thriving church is not built by talented people, but by serving people; people who are willing to serve in whatever area they are needed.

Third, it takes faithful people to build a thriving church. You will notice that the workmen dealt faithfully. You can have workmen and people serving in different ministries in the church, but if they are unfaithful, the church will never become a thriving church. Faithfulness is a choice, a revelation of character, and a necessary trait to please God. Every thriving church has many people who are faithful to their responsibilities; faithful, even when they don't feel like being where they are supposed to be.

Fourth, it takes people who are willing to give financially to build a thriving church. At the end of the day, churches have bills, and those bills take money to pay. It takes money to pay bills, but it takes more money than what is needed to pay bills to have a growing church. A church needs extra money to invest in reaching the lost. A thriving church is a giving church; giving of self to serve, and giving financially. You will never find a thriving church without these elements. I challenge you to be a contributor to your church in these areas to help your church become a thriving church.