Ways to Keep Your Church Alive | Vision 2025
Sunday, December 7
What
separates a thriving church from a dying one? In this inspiring message, Pastor
Jentezen Franklin reveals key elements that will keep our lives and churches
flowing with generosity, outreach and impact.
Revelation
3:1-6; Romans 10:15; Numbers 21:7-9
1.
Slow
erosion. Many
churches explode when they start— full of excitement and a willingness to take
risks. But that momentum can shift. No church dies overnight. A lack of
worship, prayer, and passion leads to death.
2.
Worshipping
the past as a hero. Don’t
let yourself only talk about the good ‘ole days and how God used to move. God didn’t just move back then; He’s
moving right now. Don’t worship anything but Jesus!
3.
Refusing
to look like the community. The
church should look like the entire community: black, white, Hispanic, young,
and old should be celebrated, not tolerated. Where
there is grace, there is no race. Keep dreaming of saving your city. Have a
soul focus and a “one lost sheep” mentality. Your greatest parties and shouts
should be reserved for the lost being found.
4.
The
lessening of prayer. When
prayer is not the priority, churches begin to die. But when you pray, there is
power behind what you do. Prayer keeps the church alive.
5.
The
focus of money moving from the church to something else. Your money should reflect gratitude
for God. When you build God’s house, He will build your house. Don’t let your finances be like the Dead Sea, with no
life and no river flowing out. Be like the Sea of Galilee, full of life with a
river flowing out of it.
6.
The
lack of longevity of pastors. When
people give their lives to ministry, it comes at a cost. So, pray and fast for
your pastors and their families.
Introduction
Today we’ll explore the message, “Ways to Keep Your
Church Alive” Pastor Jentezen Franklin. With passionate urgency, Pastor
performed an “autopsy” on dead and dying churches and showed us the warning
signs so Free Chapel can stay spiritually alive, on fire, and fruitful for
generations to come. The message was both a loving rebuke and a hopeful battle
cry to keep reaching, praying, giving, and loving without limits.
This week we will dig into:
·
Don’t Worship The Past – Stay A Risk-Taking
Church
·
Look Like Heaven – Reflect The Community God
Gave Us
·
Stay A Praying, Giving, Flowing Church (Sea
of Galilee, Not the Dead Sea)
Let's Start the Discussion:
·
What stood out to you in this past Sunday’s
message?
·
What is the most important ministry of Free
Chapel to you? Why?
Don’t
Worship the Past
the past or make it our hero—that is a subtle form of
idolatry that leads to spiritual death. It’s easy to romanticize “the good old
days” and wish everything could feel the way it used to, but a church that
camps out in nostalgia soon becomes moldy, and lifeless.
Pastor
pointed to 2 Kings 18:4, where the people began worshiping the bronze serpent
Moses had made (the very thing God once used to heal them) until it had to be
destroyed because it was pulling their eyes off the living God.
2
Kings 18:4 (NIV) “He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut
down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made,
for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.”
When we keep
taking bold risks to worship Jesus and stay hungry for the fresh fire of the
Holy Spirit, we remain alive and relevant in our generation. The moment we
settle for “the way we’ve always done it,” we slide from risk-takers to
caretakers to undertakers, and spiritual life begins to drain away. ·
·
What
is one fresh risk God might be asking you to take right now for His Kingdom?
·
Where
in your own life have you noticed yourself (or someone close to you) slipping
from “risk-taker” into “caretaker” mode—prioritizing comfort and nostalgia over
fresh obedience?
·
If
you knew Jesus was calling you to one bold, uncomfortable risk this month that
could bring fresh fire and reach lost people, what do you sense it might be—and
what’s holding you back from saying yes?
Reflect
the Community God Gave Us
Dead
churches pull away from the people around them and stop reaching out. Pastor
Jentezen Franklin put it straight: churches die when they no longer look like
the community God placed them in. He said there's no race in God's eyes—only
grace—and heaven will be filled with every tribe, tongue, nation, color, and
background worshiping together.
Revelation
7:9 (NIV)
“After
this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could
count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb.”
A living
church reaches out on purpose, breaks down walls, and makes room for everyone
Christ died for. When we stay comfortable with only people who look and think
like us, we limit what God can do through us.
·
How has God used people different from
you to grow your faith?
·
What practical steps can we take as a
group or church to better reach and include the full community around us?
·
Do you think intentionally reflecting our
community's diversity keeps a church alive and effective?
True unity
comes from focusing on Christ, not our differences. When we build a church that
looks like heaven, we stay alive in our mission and honor the God who saves
everyone the same way.
Stay a Praying, Giving, Flowing Church
(Sea of Galilee, Not the Dead Sea)
Two clear symptoms of a dying church are when
prayer is no longer a priority and when giving stops flowing outward.
Pastor Jentezen Franklin taught that when a church stops praying and stops
giving, spiritual life begins to dry up.
In Scripture and in nature, we see this truth
clearly in Israel’s two bodies of water—the Dead Sea and the Sea of
Galilee. The Dead Sea receives water but has no outlet. Because nothing
flows out, nothing lives. The Sea of Galilee, however, both receive and
releases water—and it is filled with life.
God designed His church to live like the Sea
of Galilee, not the Dead Sea.
Free Chapel stays alive because we pray as
though everything depends on God—and it does. We give as though everything
belongs to God—and it does. Through generous giving, resources continually flow
outward to bold ministries, the poor, single mothers, the lost, and communities
around the world. When the church remains open-handed, God keeps the river
flowing.
Prayer creates spiritual power and
atmosphere. Generosity keeps the mission moving. When prayer stays hot and
giving remains generous, the life of God flows freely, bringing renewal,
healing, and resurrection life wherever it goes.
May we always be a praying church, a giving
church, and a flowing church—alive in the Spirit and effective in our calling.
·
Which
feels more alive in your life right now—your prayer time or your giving? What’s
one tiny step you could take this week to turn up the “flow”?
·
When
has someone’s generosity (or your own) surprised you with joy or opened an
unexpected door?
Conclusion
Acts 2:46-47 (NIV) “They worshiped together…praising God and
enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily
those who were being saved.”
Pastor Jentezen performed an autopsy so we would never
need a funeral. The signs of death are real—worshiping the past, refusing to
reach the community, quitting corporate prayer, and closing our hands—but so is
the power of Jesus’ promise: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades
will not overcome it!” Free Chapel is called to stay a risk-taking, praying,
diverse, generous, excellence-driven, soul-winning station for generations to
come.
Call To Action:
·
Choose one area (prayer, generosity, reaching
someone different than you, or taking a new risk)
·
Choose to stand back up on your feet,
·
Seek the Lord’s guidance in prayer on how you
can be more involved in that ministry,
·
Go ‘all in’ to keep the river of ministry
flowing.
Prayer:
Lord, I thank You for the gift of Free Chapel
and the ability to be part of this ministry.
Guide me in how You would use me and my talents and resources to further
Your Kingdom’s work at Free Chapel.
Grant me a generous spirit so that I am available to help support and be
the hands, feet, and voice of Free Chapel in my community and circle of
influence. Empower me to be a Your
ambassador and that our church will be able to shine Your light in this very
dark world. In Your Holy Name Jesus, I
pray. Amen.
Resources
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