by Pastor Betzer | 5 Comments »
Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
According to a recent poll, the church in America is growing rapidly and thoughts of a “post-Christian” America are just not true. People who never went to church or went only occasionally are now signing up as official members in growing numbers across the nation. Well over half of Americans are connected to the church in one way or another. My friend, that’s a clear majority!
In my own part of the world, southwest Florida, churches that fervently declare the old-fashioned Gospel of the Bible are the ones that are flourishing. Those congregations that entangle themselves in politics or even social issues alone (good though they may be) are declining. Jesus promised us His power to fulfill His divine redemptive mission on this earth; therefore, the mission is possible by His Spirit.
Church growth is not rocket science. Decades ago, I heard Dr. Robert Schuller teach three principles I have never forgotten. He claimed that every pastor and church leader needs to be able to answer these questions: 1) What in the world am I trying to do here? (A recent poll indicated that 90% of church leaders cannot clearly articulate the vision of their church.) 2) How in the world do I plan to do it? 3) Why in the world do I do the work? Decades ago, in this church we clearly concluded and stated what our church goals were. Then we prayerfully and painstakingly laid out the plan of how we believed Jesus wanted it done. Through very hard work, fervent prayer and vision we have seen miracles of every kind. Post-modern, indeed! This is the day of the Holy Ghost!
Prayer: O God, may our church faithfully reflect Thy majesty, compassion and wisdom. Empower us by Thy precious Holy Spirit to do your work on earth, occupying until you return. Amen.
July 27th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Pastor Dan:
I recently found on the internet songs that Rusty Goodman had written and sang with the Goodman’s. With the condition of the economyI found several of these Video presentations would be helpful to heal the broken Spirit of many.The following are the name of the songs.
Look FOR ME
WHO AM I
TILL The Storm Passes By
God Walks The Dark Hills
THE HOLY HILLS OF Heaven
July 27th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
It is the day of the Holy Ghost and as Christians we must claim it. I teach music and I am seeing more and more young people hungry for gospel music. I thank God daily that I have been given the knowledge by him to teach his word through music.
July 28th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I’ve been to your church many times and love your ministry. I do have a question for you which I hope you can answer. My niece and her husand say they belong to Dominion church in Missouri, but they maintain I cannot go to Heaven unless I belong to their church. I am a Presbyterian. I looked up Dominion and it indicates it is a part of Assemblies of God – well, we all believe that Jesus is Lord. Am I missing something here?
July 30th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Dan,
This is the Thursday of the Cedar Falls Bible Conference. I miss Dan Betzer.
Ken Carter
August 9th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Pastor Betzer, Thank you so much for writing this article. After time at the Council this week and listening to those that would be concerned about our stand on the Infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues I am relieved to see that some are still holding to the facts taught in Scriptures. This has been a challenging year with Books from our Fellowship Pastors being written that claim that we can interrupt messages in tongues without having the Infilling of the Holy Spirit to the idea of not receiving the sign of tongues with the infilling experience. I begin to think that maybe I am getting too old and what I have learn through the years may not be as welcome as it used to be. Your writing here has be encouraging to me. I do believe that if we grow we will have to grow through the Power of the Spirit and not only through method. Things have changed and we need to do some things differently that 50 years ago but the Spirit must remain the same. Thanks again.