Child-Bearing Churches

Let me cut to the chase and say that the above illustration is not my way of making a family announcement. However, I felt it would convey clearly what's on my heart... The human birth is nothing short of miraculous. Psalm 139 tells us that no child is a mistake or less than significant in the eyes of Creator God. My life has forever been impacted by the experience of the birth of my two young ones. Children are a gift from the Lord!
Some time back, I was given a sermon recording of the late Leonard Ravenhill (Evangelist from England) and just recently had a chance to listen to it on a road trip. He taught on the biblical account of Hannah praying for a child and likened her story with what it means to pray for revival. His thought continued in this analogy, that in light of Hannah's story of barrenness, he feared there were a number of churches that were "beyond the age of child-bearing." I must admit that this illustration rattled me to the core. The explanation to his dramatic description was that some churches had been contaminated with doubt that had disabled them from active service in the work of the Lord and had lost the anticipation of transformed lives - that they had come to the "age" where giving birth to children was a thing of the past. Unfortunately, I have witnessed some of those churches... It's not that they are "aged" because they've been around for a long time. There are many local assemblies with rich, long history that continue to be effective at winning the lost. It's those who have grown old in their mentality and emotionally have nothing left to give but to sit and be "fed." The energy and excitement that comes from experiencing spiritual rescues along with ground-level discipling of these new Christ-followers is void in their midst. It is my conviction that the Church (which was birthed by the Kingdom of God and not the other way around) is the primary sending agent in expanding the Kingdom on the earth. Her active service is most critical to the work of hope and grace that God has designed for the communities and cities around us. Along with that personal conviction, I believe that God can perform a miracle for any church that hasn't born children in a long time and senses barrenness. And, it comes out of the church's prayer for revival - as Evangelist Ravenhill explained in Hannah's heartfelt and persistent prayer for a son! This is my prayer: May the Holy Spirit bring a birthing of new Christ-followers even in your church...no matter how long she's been around. May there be a stirring of purpose and passion for the true work of the Lord in your midst...in Jesus' Name. I believe God can do that as we pray with fervency and focus. This is the day of the Harvest!