Why is Genuine Revival Important for the Church in our Generation？ — Stephen Elliott

The Church’s Decline and Need for Revival

Why is revival needed for in the church these days? Well, the answer I think is really clear. First of all, the church needs reviving. Anybody that studies anything about the church growth patterns and health knows that the church in Canada especially is in a freefall in attendance.

Most denominations are losing hundreds of thousands of people. When I did my doctoral dissertation, we discovered that 8 .7 million Canadians are fewer are attending church these days than were 10 years ago.

So there's something about how the church is operating right now in Canada that is not, the world is not finding attractive. It's not, we're not retaining people for Christ, and so people are just not being there.

Genuine Encounters with God

My contention is the number one reason why people go to church is in the hopes of encountering God. And if they're not encountering God at the church, if they're just going through the motions, singing the songs and praying and things of that nature, but they're not having a genuine encounter with God, at some point they'll grow disillusioned and discouraged.

And I believe that's the number one reason why people stop going is because they don't sense they're encountering God. And so the church needs reviving because we need the presence of God in our midst.

Revival and the Transformation of Christian Character

So not only just for issues of attendance, but also for the character of God's people. Lots of people have said this, George Barna, the researcher, has noted this as well, that the average non-Christian sees no difference in the lifestyle and attitudes between a Christian and a non-Christian, a person that goes to church and a person that doesn't go to church.

And so something needs to happen that changes and transforms the hearts and minds and lives of people. And I believe it's an encounter with God. So the first reason why the church needs reviving is the church needs it.

Society’s Need for the Gospel

But second of all, society needs it. We are at least in a post-Christian era, if not a pre-Christian era, with 88 of Canadians not being in any church on any given Sunday, only about 12 of Canadians are in any type of a place of worship on any given Sunday.

Society needs what the church and the message of the church. And so society needs what the church has to offer, which is the message of the gospel. So that's why the church needs reviving.