FBC Gridley

According to the North American Mission Board, 84% of Southern Baptist Churches in America are either plateaued, in decline, or dying.

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In any congregation, there is a large number of people who have just a surface commitment. They did not intend to be that way when they first made their decision for Christ. They were enthusiastic, they were dedicated, they were excited, but something happened along the way. They became disillusioned with people, or they became careless in their habits, and their enthusiasm waned.

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And while now they may still go to church, they're just going through the motions. It's just on the surface.

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Paul spoke about the last days, people who will have,

a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:5

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Having a veneer of Christianity, but no power, no vitality in their life. Every preacher knows people like that. He prays about them, he weeps over them, and unless he is rare, he has on occasion joined their ranks.

 

Paul writes to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 1,

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:6-7