{"id":791683,"date":"2022-12-06T05:00:42","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=791683"},"modified":"2022-12-05T08:05:45","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T14:05:45","slug":"7-christmas-card-truths-for-churches-needing-revitalization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/7-christmas-card-truths-for-churches-needing-revitalization\/","title":{"rendered":"7 \u201cChristmas Card\u201d Truths for Churches Needing Revitalization"},"content":{"rendered":"

In North America, more churches than not are plateaued or declining. At the same time, though, church revitalization is a growing movement today (with, in my judgment, Church Answers leading the way). For those churches needing revitalization, maybe these reflections about Christmas will give you hope today:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Darkness is not final.<\/b>\u00a0The prophets had foretold Jesus\u2019 coming, but darkness reigned a long time. It seemed to rule for centuries, through the rise and fall of several kingdoms. It faced its end, though, when the Light was born in Bethlehem. The darkness won\u2019t win over God\u2019s church, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. God works in His time.<\/b>\u00a0It was in the \u201cfullness of time\u201d that God sent Jesus (Gal 4:4-5) \u2013 at exactly the right time in history. I wish I could tell you how long it will take for God to revive your congregation. I don\u2019t know that answer, but this I do know: God\u2019s timing is always right.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. God works in unexpected ways.<\/b>\u00a0As far back as the Garden, God announced He would send someone from the seed of woman to defeat the serpent (Gen 3:15). His plan, however, was surely unexpected: God would come as a baby born to a virgin likely resting among animals in a small village.\u00a0<\/span>How<\/span><\/i>\u00a0God will revitalize your church might surprise you and your congregation, but that\u2019s okay. He works that way sometimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Humility matters.<\/b>\u00a0God lowered Himself to become one of us. The baby Jesus was born to a young unmarried girl whose name is now known solely because of her role. He wasn\u2019t born in Rome, or even in Jerusalem, but in the small town of Bethlehem. God is looking for humble leaders \u2013 not those seeking to build their own kingdoms \u2013 to be instruments of revitalization.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. God\u2019s got this.<\/b> Read the genealogies of Christ in Matthew and Luke, and you\u2019ll remember again how complete and right God\u2019s plan was\u2014from the beginning. Over the centuries and across the cultures, God was fully in charge of the plan. Nothing worried Him, and nothing caught Him by surprise. He <\/span>still is<\/span><\/i> in charge . . . He\u2019s <\/span>still <\/span><\/i>not worried . . . and your situation <\/span>still<\/span><\/i> hasn\u2019t surprised Him. He\u2019s got this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Resurrection Day\u2019s coming!<\/b> Christmas without Easter is incomplete, but we needn\u2019t worry about that reality. God knew resurrection day would come when He sent His Son to Bethlehem; He knew the tomb Jesus would borrow would be only a temporary stopover on the way to granting eternal life. Christmas is all about hope when we know a greater day\u2019s coming\u2014so, look forward to tomorrow as you serve God in revitalization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7. It\u2019s okay to rejoice out loud.<\/b>\u00a0The angels sang out, \u201cGlory to God in the highest\u201d (Luke 2:13). The shepherds glorified and praised God after they\u2019d seen the baby (Luke 2:20). Simeon and Anna quickly spoke of the Christ child when they met Him (Luke 2:25-38). When God works miracles (like revitalizing a dying church), somebody needs to be singing out loud. Perhaps your church will find renewed life if you lead them today with a revived song in your heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re leading a struggling church, let the story of Christmas give you hope today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In North America, more churches than not are plateaued or declining. At the same time, though, church revitalization is a growing movement today (with, in my judgment, Church Answers leading the way). For those churches needing revitalization, maybe these reflections about Christmas will give you hope today: 1. Darkness is not final.\u00a0The prophets had foretold…","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":791758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,175,186,177,14796,176,196,189],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-791683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-grow","category-health-and-metrics","category-lead","category-monday-wednesday-featured","category-revitalize","category-staff-and-organizational-issues","category-turnaround-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 \u201cChristmas Card\u201d Truths for Churches Needing Revitalization | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In North America, more churches than not are plateaued or declining. 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