Church Attendance: An Indication of a Serious Problem

If you haven't checked church attendance stats recently you may be in for a shock or a laugh or possibly both. While the subject of church attendance isn't actually funny the reality of the situation is. Here's what I mean: Close to 40% of Americans claim that they attend church regularly. Actual statistics, however, indicate otherwise. This means that of the 40% that claim to attend church regularly - many (almost half) are, um, well...They're lying.  Or maybe they're confused; perhaps some think they are attending church when they really aren't.  Either way, there's a problem. If a Christian is lying then they aren't a really a Christian. If a Christian thinks they are attending church regularly and they aren't they may indeed be in need of prayer - or a reality check. Or both.

Church attendance (weekly) in France and the U.K. is around 12%. In the U.K., however, attendance seems to be dropping about 1% a year.  Several northern European nations have regular church attendance below 5%. Perhaps more surprising is the statistic that in many nations the percentage of people who NEVER attend church is greater than the percentage of people who do regularly attend.

I am Pentecostal by heritage. At its best - a good Pentecostal church is hard to beat.  Sadly, a good Pentecostal church is quite challenging to find. Revival is rare, miracles are uncommon, finding people that are still receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is unusual... And this is in Pentecostal churches. Many churches with lesser emphasis on the miraculous must be suffering from dreary nothingness. I recall reading of one pastor who was fanatical about having live foliage and flowers in his church building. When pressed for a reason he finally admitted, "It's so I can say that everything in here is not dead!"

I still believe that America needs revival in a great, transforming way. I believe that we need more services like 'the Toronto blessing' and more revivals like Brownwood, Texas experienced in the mid '90's. More repentance, more baptisms - both of water and Spirit.  

When we become willing to let God revive us - we will find that church attendance will skyrocket. Revival, you see, heals all. 

A final word... I'm told that in the U.K. many years ago ministers came together for what was called the Keswick week. It was a week of prayer and ministry; together many ministers banded together to seek a revival from God. During the course of one meeting, a spectacular move of the Holy Spirit occurred. It did not come as some of the ministers wanted, however, and the actions of a few that experienced the power of God were mocked and quenched. The ministers at Keswick week mocked the birth of what they had gathered for! We must be careful that when God moves we accept with grateful hearts what God is doing in our midst.

If we do not experience revival in our churches soon our dwindling attendance may prevent us from experiencing meaningful revival at all.  

For more information on Jonathan please visit his little spot on the web, JonathanMilam.com

Ministry in the Wilderness

The nation of Israel, when failing God shortly after their miraculous exodus from Israel, found themselves mandated to spend 40 years wandering...Simply wandering; following the same dreary paths over the same terrain for 40 years. Essentially, all they were doing was waiting for a doubt-filled generation to die off. Major bummer; massive waste of time.

When pastors find themselves leaving one church and seeking another church to pastor it has been aptly called 'The Wilderness of the Candidate'.  The term 'wilderness' is used specifically to illustrate the difficult, trying aspect of one pastor searching (with no clear road map) for one church that has needs calling for their specific strengths. The challenge of this task, a hopeful pastor seeking a corresponding needy church, cannot be overstated. Whle rarely lasting 40 years (as did the original wilderness wandering) the time spent finding a church to shepherd can seem to last forever.

Many ministers, in fact a great majority of ministers living today, are existing in a 'wilderness' situation, the length and challenge of which are so great that at times the burning, consuming, motivating desire to minister dwindles and often dies completely.  The agony and frustration of unfulfilled ministry is not only life threatening (nerves can fail, health may vanish, marriages and even families can crumble) but the core calling of a minister may come into question and ministry, as a life goal, may even be lost or abandoned.

If the church today was as powerful and successful as God planned then the challenge of finding the ideal place for for a displaced minister might be of minor importance.  The truth, however, is that the church today is NOT successful and one major reason is that many minister are not fulfilling their calling - they are lost in a wilderness. Reality would indicate that the church today is reeling in a wilderness of free-falling failure while its ministers are stumbling in a wilderness of confusion.

Frankly, I'm not surprised.  For years I have believed and shared that the greatest abuse in the American church is the unwillingness to make proper use of God-called ministers. Our lack of Apostolic methodology has resulted in a lack of Apostolic success.

Cities were turned 'upside down' in the New Testament - and this description was made by those who were NOT Christians. When an unbeliever acknowledges the power of a church to alter a city one is experiencing a genuine revival. Revival on this order is what we are NOT having in the U.S. - but we desperately need it.

The American church can have revival any time it wants. But the American church won't have revival until it will claim its ministers from the wilderness. Prayer is key; it always was and still is. We need prayer that God will open doors in churches for ministers to minister. Singular ministry, where one man essentially controls one church (rather the norm in America today in many churches) is unbiblical and is largely responsible for the failure of the American church today. When Samaria needed the Holy Spirit they didn't call for only for Peter: They called for Peter AND John.  Jesus didn't send ANY of his disciples out one by one; he sent them out two by two. And this didn't mean husband and wife; a husband and wife equal one in biblical perspective.

We need multiple ministers working together in every church; this is the will of God and was consistently the method used in new testament, biblical ministry.  Until we have this as a common practice in America - America won't see the revival she needs. 

The thought above is my heart on ministry: We need revival. As one many said, 'We need a weeping revival, a reaping revival and a sweeping revival'. I agree. But it won't happen until we have redeemed many ministers from the wilderness.

For more information on Jonathan please visit his little spot on the web, JonathanMilam.com

The Time of God's Coming to You

  "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but…you

did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."  (Lk. 19:42-44, NIV)

Strange, isn't it?  Jerusalem suffered much loss because one day, just one day, they missed an opportunity for peace.  I don't know if it was the day taxes were due, or a day that elections were held day but I do know they didn't recognize the day that God reached out to them in a special way.  Talk about bad days...

I believe that timing is vastly important in the Kingdom of God; we need to, in the midst of all our strategic planning, remain very sensitive in allowing God to work in every aspect of our lives.  I recall speaking to one pastor about revival in his church.  "Well, he said slowly, "We can't have revival in the summer months because so many people go on vacation.  We can't have revival in the fall because we have some farmers in our church and they harvest then.  We can't have revival in December because of the Christmas confusion and January is hard on finances.  May never works because of school graduations..."  Needless to say, this pastor had a dwindling and depressed church; even God wasn't allowed opportunity there 8 months a year.  Thinking like this is perhaps what happened in our text: when God chose to work Jerusalem was not ready.  

At another time Jesus lamented similarly, "Jerusalem...how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate... (Lk. 13:34-35, kjv)  What a penalty; desolation is the result of that city not knowing the time of their spiritual opportunity!  

I recall one pastor having said, "We can become so occupied with the work of the Lord that we forget the Lord of the work!"  Very true - and this makes me want to stop and ask God, "Is there something that you want to do in my life, Lord?  Anything that I may have prevented you from doing by being distracted or otherwise concerned?"

I want to be ready always for the God's approach in my life!  

You may discover more about evangelist Jonathan Milam at www.JonathanMilam.com or https://twitter.com/JMinTX

A Cancer Healing

In a previous blog I'd mentioned a very special church service I was privileged to be a part of; I titled that blog, "A Healing Service" because there was a strong, general healing power present for an entire congregation.  That night there began a miraculous chain of events that led to a woman being healed from lumps in her breast or, as her daughter said, "My Mother was healed from cancer!"

I'd preached on, "A Redemptive Gift" that Sunday morning and the presence of the Lord was felt mightily in the sanctuary.  That evening I ministered faith to the congregation and then prayed for people that felt like they needed a special touch from the Spirit of God.  I recall one lady came forward and when I asked what she desired from the Lord she responded by saying, 'I've had X-rays taken that show lumps in my breast!'.  I then prepared to lay hands on her (Hebrews 6:2, Mark 16:18) and to pray believing for the healing power of the Lord.

At this point, though, I felt and did something I've never done since; I told her, "Sister, I don't want to pray for you tonight.  I believe you need your faith strengthened (to receive and keep a healing touch was my unspoken thought).  I'm going to be ministering and teaching on faith for the next few weeks, I'll pray for you later."  I must say, she appeared quite dissapointed - and I didn't blame her at all.  Still, I had felt the delay to be the will of God.  So, I watched her for the next 2 weeks.  I don't believe she missed a service!

The last night of revival at that church I looked for this sister; I hadn't forgotten her.  She hadn't come forward for prayer that I had noticed; I believe she felt abandoned and forgotten.  Nonetheless, I finally located her in the sanctuary, approached her and said, "Now I believe you're ready to receive a healing touch from the Lord!"  I then laid hands upon her, prayed as faithfully as I could, rebuked the spirit of cancer and went on to my next revival.

My next scheduled revival was about 25 miles away at a different church.  As I went in that first night of a new revival a lovely young lady approached, shook my hand and joyously informed me, "My mother was healed of cancer!"  I smiled and said something like, "Wow; that's wonderful!"  She then said, "You don't know who my mother is, do you?" To which I responded, "No, I really don't."

Then came the bombshell:  "My mother is the lady that you prayed for last week that had lumps in her breast - an X-ray had shown them.  She went back to the doctor yesterday to determine how they would pursue treatment - but they couldn't find the lumps!  My mother was healed!"  Now, I could rejoice with her; thank God!

I could write much of faith and healing (and will attempt to in other blogs); several times I've seen people with various stages of cancer healed but let me say this:  It takes a special kind of faith to receive the truly miraculous from the Lord...But it takes a special kind of faith to maintain the touch one receives as well.  Hebrews (2:1) refers to 'letting things slip'.  I know it's a reference to the things we have heard but I believe we can let the things we have received slip as well; one can receive a miracle of healing and let it slip.  In fact, in the carnal world that we live in it's precious few saints that actually keep all that they may receive.  Still, what a God we serve; He is mighty to heal and abundantly willing as well!

For more information about Evangelist Jonathan Milam you may visit his spot on the web at JonathanMilam.com

A Healing Service

I hadn't thought about this until just recently and something jogged my memory...  Years ago I was preaching in southeast Texas and feeling great liberty in revival services.  Perhaps half the time I'd preach across the Sabine River in Louisiana where it seemed there simply wasn't the liberty or blessing.  I began to feel that the two areas, in two separate States, were operating as differing 'principalities'.  Convinced of this, I wrote several pastors in Texas including some scriptures about 'open doors, times and seasons' and so on.

Within a few days I received a phone call from a pastor in southeast Texas.  "Bro. Milam, I want to know who you've been talking to in my church", he asked.  After thinking a moment I replied, "I don't believe I know anyone in your church, Pastor."  He seemed surprised but went on to say that the scriptures that I had included in my letter to him had been prominent in recent public prophecies within his church; wonderful - I thought.  We agreed on a date and before long I found myself preaching my first message at his church.

I'd been quite delighted with "Taking Our Cities for God", a great book by John Dawson, in previous weeks and I felt led to speak about their city and its church's redemptive gift. "This city is not known for ship building but ship repair", I preached that morning.  "And this is also the redemptive gift for this church: to repair vessels that have been worn down and hurt...".  It was a simply enough thought but the intensity and focus brought to bear by the presence of God in that service was simply shocking.

In this facet I'm not sure I've ever been in a similar service:  As I ministered about the healing of vessels (the healing of the saints) a tremendous agreement, a marvelous unity seemed to bind us together.  Many of the church members began to weep as the presence of the Lord moved upon them, and I do mean WEEP!  At one point the weeping was so powerful that I simply could not be heard.  I recall pausing from my sermon and looking back at the pastor, seated (and sometimes standing) behind me; he simply shrugged and raised his hands as if to say, 'This is different from the norm for us, too...'.

The beautiful thing about that morning seemed to be not only the weeping of the sainthood but as they yielded to the Holy Spirit and received this word it seems that a healing balm came and miraculously began to heal the inner wounds that many saints had carried for many years.  What a God and what a service! In the following weeks there were many physical healings to match the spiritual and emotional healing of this first service; God is so good!  I recall to this day the power of the Lord in that service.  My prayer remains, "Dear Lord, show us our redemptive gift, open us to our innermost needs and meet them with your power and glory, through your word and your Spirit.  In Jesus' name I pray; Amen".

For more info on Jonathan and his ministry you may visit his website at jonathanmilam.com

The Next Great U.S. Revival?

Some time back I had a vision; always a wonderful thing!  Strangely, I was driving south on I-71 between Columbus and Cincinnati when it happened (angels may have kept me on the road, I have wondered).  Anyway, as I drove along I suddenly saw a woman poised by a riverside in great distress.  I watched as she wept and the Spirit made known to me that she represented the church and was ready to give birth but there were serious problems hindering her.

Somehow I suddenly realized what God was trying to convey to me; there was (still is) a revival waiting to take place in the Ohio River Basin.  This is a good size area occupying most of Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee and parts of Illinois, Pennsylvania and Alabama as well.  Imagine; a revival awaits millions in these states!

I believe a great revival is still awaiting!  Wouldn't it be great to have another Toronto Blessing - but in the United States?  How exciting to anticipate another Brownstown - but centrally located!  As has been said so well before, "If not now, when?  If not here, where?  If not us, who?"  Let's pray that God will enable our nation to experience a revival that will unite us in Him and sweep across the entirety of our nation.

So, where do I think the next great U.S. revival will be?  In the Ohio River Basin - and I'm doing all I can to make it happen!  

For more information on Jonathan please visit his little spot on the web, JonathanMilam.com