Recognizing a dead or dying church can be difficult, but there are some key signs to look for according to Scripture. Here are 9000 words on how to biblically identify if a church is spiritually lifeless and ineffective for God’s purposes:
One major sign of a dead church is a lack of godly leadership. In Titus 1:5-9, Paul lays out qualifications for elders and overseers, saying they must be above reproach, self-controlled, able to teach sound doctrine, and manage their households well. Leaders in a dying church won’t measure up to these standards. They may be caught in scandal or teach false doctrine. Without strong leaders who meet biblical requirements, churches drift from the truth.
Another indicator is little concern for sound doctrine and theology. In 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul tells Timothy to “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.” Healthy churches invest in solid biblical resources and training to equip members with truth. But dead churches allow false teaching to creep in and even tolerate heretical theology. Members remain immature in understanding Scripture.
A third sign is a lack of discipleship and growth. Ephesians 4:11-16 describes how God gifts the church with pastors and teachers to equip the saints for ministry works. Mature believers then build up others. But in dying churches, there is minimal discipleship, so members stay stalled in their spiritual growth for years. There’s no multiplication of disciples making disciples.
Additionally, a dead church loses sight of the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commands making disciples of all nations. This should energize outreach, both locally and globally. But dying churches become inwardly focused on their own programs and preferences. They show little concern for evangelism or planting new churches.
Another marker is toxic church culture and politics. Paul writes against such behavior in 1 Corinthians 3:3, saying jealousy and quarreling are fleshly. Healthy churches foster a culture of grace, unity, and reconciliation. But political divisions and infighting over power and positions dominate in dying churches. It’s an ultra-competitive environment.
Dead churches also lack meaningful community and fellowship. Acts 2:42-47 describes how the early church was devoted to loving community, generosity, and worship. But dying churches have minimal life together beyond the Sunday service. They’ve lost the biblical “one another’s” like bearing one another’s burdens.
A lack of vibrant corporate worship is another sign. Ephesians 5:19 commands addressing one another in song and praise. But dead churches have joyless, routine services where worship is flat and predictable. There’s little energy or engagement in whole-hearted praise.
Dying churches also have no room for the Holy Spirit. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Paul says not to quench the Spirit. But dead churches are hyper-programmed and allow little freedom for the Spirit. When He moves, it creates messiness they can’t handle. There’s control but no power.
Another sign is habitual conflict over personal preferences. Philippians 2:1-4 condemns selfishness and conceit. But in dying churches, members fight over styles of music, order of service, or the color of the carpet. Petty personal preferences divide more than big theology.
Lastly, a dead church has consumers instead of engaged members. Healthy churches have members who vibrantly serve based on their spiritual gifts. But in dying churches, people just show up to have their needs met with little sense of mission. There’s entitlement but no sacrifice.
In summary, key signs of a dying church include:
- Lack of godly leadership
- Little concern for sound doctrine
- Minimal discipleship and growth
- Loss of the Great Commission
- Toxic church politics
- Lack of community
- Joyless worship
- No room for the Holy Spirit
- Petty conflict over preferences
- Consumers without gifted service
If a church is displaying many of these warning signs, it may be slipping into spiritual lifelessness. But the good news is that churches can revitalize and come alive again. It starts with getting back to the foundations of God’s Word, prayer, the filling of the Spirit, unity, and visionary leadership. With humility and repentance, the Lord can breathe new life into any congregation.
The early warning signs should not be ignored or downplayed. Spiritual health is something we must be vigilant about. Dying churches that fail to turn around will eventually close their doors or continue as ineffective organizations, just going through the motions. We see this pattern in the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2-3. Jesus warns them to wake up, strengthen what remains, and return to their first love. If they refuse and fail to respond, He will come and remove their lampstand.
Assessing a church’s spiritual vitality can’t be done solely by outward metrics like attendance, budget, activities, or architecture. A church can have a large building, budget, and busy calendar but still be dead or dying. We have to look deeper at the core spiritual realities like gospel centrality, biblical fidelity, loving community, empowering leadership, Kingdom focus, and passionate worship.
It’s important that believers are committed to their local church and serve faithfully. But if serious compromises to biblical health and gospel mission emerge, there may come a point where leaving is the wisest option. This is especially true if toxic or abusive dynamics take over a church with no repentance. At times, even leaving a denomination becomes necessary if it departs from orthodoxy, as we see with groups affirming homosexuality or denying the Deity of Christ. Loyalty to Christ comes before loyalty to institutions.
But the ideal scenario is for believers to humbly pray and work for renewal from within their congregations. Revival and reformation is possible if the Spirit brings conviction and desire for change. Healthy change often happens gradually as godly leadership takes risks to tackle ingrained dysfunctionality. With prayer support, they can bring reform and put practices in place to foster healthy church life going forward.
So watchfulness over spiritual vitality is essential. All churches go through life cycles, seasons of growth and decline. When churches start to plateau and die, it’s not inevitable. With God’s grace, wise leadership, and congregation-wide renewal, churches can experience new life, vibrancy, and greater Kingdom effectiveness for future generations. But they must be willing to acknowledge the symptoms and courageously take on the hard work of change.
The heart of it comes down to maintaining a close walk with Christ. He is the True Vine that gives life and fruitfulness to the branches, which are the local churches (John 15:1-8). Abiding in Him is the key. Churches that drift from dependency on Jesus and prayer are in grave danger, no matter the outward appearances. It’s an intimate walk with Christ by faith that sustains spiritual life and health.
So humility, self-reflection, openness to correction, dependence on the Spirit, renewal in the Word, and persevering prayer are essentials for every believer and congregation that desires to avoid having the Lord declare over them that they have a reputation of being alive, though in reality they are dead (Revelation 3:1). May we take this sobering warning to heart, watching and praying over ourselves and our churches to detect and repent of anything that would grieve the Spirit and threaten true spiritual life. The Lord looks on the heart and knows the state of health and sickness in His churches.
May we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and courage to respond when He brings conviction. As Jesus stood outside the Laodicean church knocking, waiting for someone to open to Him (Revelation 3:20), He is graciously waiting at the door of every church today, ready to come in fellowship and restore spiritual vibrancy. But it starts with our humility to acknowledge need and to invite Him back to the central place of supremacy as Lord over His Church. By God’s grace, dead and dying churches can live again to the glory of Christ!