I have lived in the Myrtle Beach area on and off since 1993, and I must say there are quite a lot of churches here and in the surrounding area. We all know why we are called to plant churches. (Ephesians 3:8 -10)
However, are these churches being run properly? Are they filled with the Spirit? Are they preaching and teaching properly? I dare say no.
I have the pleasure of being a member of First Baptist Church, Myrtle Beach, where the preacher tells it like it is. He does not pull any punches or “candy coat” sermons to please the congregation or make the unchurched interested. Many times we think we must change things in order to make the congregation keep coming back or to get them coming in. While this is true to a point, we are to never preach “plexiglass sermons” or to rely on these so-called programs to grow the church. There is nothing wrong with drawing upon resources in order to articulate; however, to trust in a program or add or subtract from the Word rather than trusting in the Holy Spirit to fill the church and those listening is not only against the word of God, but is obviously detrimental to the life of the church.
The church is the body of Christ, and a church not being run properly and filling it with impurities is like a person who smokes. Sooner or later, that person will develop a cancer and lose his life – and in the same way, the church will lose its life.
Perhaps it is not the quantity we should be researching, but the quality. Perhaps instead of focusing on the amount of churches we have, we should invest our time, money and talents developing godly churches and then watch the fruit that develops.
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