A lukewarm church lacks enthusiasm for the Great Commission. It seems to worship normally and carry out various ministries, but it lacks love for Christ. We can and must change the church's lukewarmness. The following are the practices of the three churches:
Elder W has rich experience in grass-roots church pastoral care. He once increased the number of members of a rural church who used to be full of contradictions and lukewarmness from over 100 to more than 400 in five years. His secret is to "concentrate on God's affairs."
When talking to a sister, I learned that the church holds testament and worship meetings on the last Friday afternoon of each month and prayer meetings every Wednesday afternoon. After its gatherings were resumed, many signed up for the testament and shared God’s presence and leadership during the pandemic. As there were many testaments, people looked forward to holding worship meetings.
In Church H, a county church, people join groups, with everyone being a disciple and participating in ministry. The senior pastor shared that the church guides believers to participate in ministry part time and also strives to create positions for them. The pastor believes that no matter the size of the organization, what is important is participation. For example, group reception, food preparation, and cleaning are all ministries. "Although these are small matters, they need to be done. During the service, group members have a sense of participation and being part of it."
A grass-roots church breaks down the discipleship life into specifics, which is called "Project 333". Each believer reads three Bible chapters daily, prays for three disciples daily, and preaches the gospel to three people every week by taking pictures and posting them all over the church. An old sister who is over eighty and still serves in the church enthusiastically. She preached the gospel and promoted the establishment of the local church after believing in the Lord. Over the years, she insisted on preaching the gospel so that 14 believed in Christ because of her the year before last, five last year, and three have accepted her gospel so far this year.
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
