Every church probably knows where its believers come from, but it may not know where the believers have gone. When we are concerned about the lost church members, we need to focus on where they go as well as what the church should do to prevent them from going away.
According to the recent situation, the loss of believers is basically due to three reasons.
Some leave the church because they no longer believe in Jesus, and they will not go to other churches to gather. There could be many reasons why they no longer gather, but in the end it may be because they are self-centered rather than God-centered. For example, they may leave when they feel that God is neither listening to their prayers nor healing them.
The second situation is that some believers are co-opted by heresy. They are very pitiful as they have fallen into idolatry without knowing it, for they have left the church and the true God. These people have left the church, which does not mean that they no longer gather, nor that they have given up their faith. They just no longer worship the true God. In fact, they still participate frequently in gatherings, and their faith is even more godly and confident than before.
The others move to a better and more satisfactory church to gather or establish a church themselves or with others, becoming a church leader. Only a small part of them may no longer participate in any gatherings, and most of them continue to gather.
The above are three situations of lost believers. They may be pulled away by the heresy, or not believe in Jesus anymore, or move to other gathering places.
Facing this situation, the church at least must work on the following four aspects to effectively reduce the loss of believers or bring them back.
The first is to take care of believers. The Lord Jesus entrusted Peter with the responsibility of shepherding the flock three times at the seaside of Tiberias, with different keywords each time. What does this mean? This shows that the Lord Jesus asked Peter to shepherd each flock according to the actual conditions of them, that is, shepherding believers in a refined manner. This is also the same for the pastoral care of today's churches. Only adequate shepherding and personal care can effectively avoid the loss of believers and win them back.
The second is to teach the complete truth which churches today lack; this does not imply that churches lack truth. This is not only because of the pastor’s limited level, but also the tendency to choose. If the teaching falls short in a particular aspect, believers will be unable to receive the truth of that aspect, so the growth of the believer's life will not be sound enough. Once they encounter a jackal or various temptations related to that aspect, they will not be able to distinguish it, resulting in them falling for it and leaving the church.
The third is to live righteously. The church must maintain a good image embodying the functions of light and salt. This is a good testimony both internally and externally to gather people’s hearts. So church staff should live a holy life to attract and retain the newcomers.
The fourth is to teach as well as to evangelize. The Lord Jesus gave believers two great commissions in the world. One of the great commissions is to spread the gospel, requiring His children to spread the gospel in the whole world. In fact, there is another requirement in this commission not often mentioned by people, which is to teach the new disciples to obey everything He commands. We sometimes pay too much attention to evangelization, neglecting training. In fact, the two are complementary and cannot be separated.
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
信徒从哪里来，可能每一间教会都会知道；但信徒又去了哪里，可能很多的教会就不知道了。既然信徒流失的问题需要被关注，那么信徒流失之后又何去何从的问题也需要被关注。
根据一些流失信徒的基本情况来看，这些流失的信徒基本上可以分为三个大部分。一个部分是一些信徒不再愿意继续信靠耶稣，这些人就自然的离开了教会，他们也不会再到别的教会去聚会。至于他们不再继续信靠耶稣的原因就有很多了，但总归而言就是以自我为中心看待问题，而不是以神为中心，比如看神没有听自己的祷告、没有医治自己而就离开了等。
二个部分是一些信徒被异端邪教所拉拢。这些人虽然离开了教会，但并不表示他们不再聚会，也不表示他们放弃了信仰；只是他们不再参与敬拜真神的那种聚会。事实上，他们仍然会频繁的参与聚会，而且信仰要比以前还要更为敬虔和自信。这些人离开了教会，事实上也是离开了真神，而且还陷入到了拜偶像而不自知的境地之中，非常的可怜。
另一个大部分就是虽然一些信徒流失了 ，但并不表示他们就此全部都离开了教会，不再参与任何的聚会。事实上，他们中可能只是少部分不再参与任何的聚会；而多部分人仍然是继续聚会的，他们要么就是转移到了至少他们认为比较好、比较满意的教会中去聚会、服侍；要么就是自己或联合他人建立一间教会，顺理成章的成为教会领袖。
以上是一些信徒流失之后可能的去处，他们要么被异端邪教拉走了，要么就不再参与任何的聚会，要么就是转移了聚会的场所。那对于一间教会而言，面对这种情况该怎么呢？
面对这种情况，教会至少要做到以下四个方面，才能有效减少信徒的流失，以及挽回他们。
一是要对信徒关顾到位。主耶稣曾经在提比里亚的海边三次把牧养羊群的责任托付于彼得，而且三次托付的关键用词都有所不一样，这说明什么呢？这说明主耶稣要求彼得要根据每一羊群的实际情况来牧养他们，也就是要精细化牧养。这对于当今教会的牧养也是如此，只有教会对羊群给予了到位的牧养，关顾到了个人，那才能有效的避免信徒的流失，以及争取他们重新回来。
二是要教导全备的真理。现今教会不是没有教导，而是比较缺乏全备的教导。之所以会这样，既是水平有限的缘故，也是跟选择倾向有关系，没有选择那一个方面的教导，信徒也就无法领受那一个方面的真理。若信徒没有领受到那一方面的真理，那就说明信徒生命成长的不够健全，一旦遇到了豺狼或涉及到此方面的各种引诱，那么就无法分辨，会很容易跌倒、流失出去。
三是要活出圣洁。从教会整体方面来说，教会要保持良好的形象，要充分体现出光和盐的功能，这样对内对外，都有好见证，也有益于聚拢人心。从教会同工方面来说，更要活出圣洁生活才可以，因为唯有如此，才能够吸引人以及留住人。
四是要有传也要有训。主耶稣在世上赐给信徒两个大使命，其中一个大使命就是广传福音的使命，要求祂的儿女们到普天下去传扬福音。其实，在这条使命中还有一个要求是不被人经常所提起的，那就是使人做主耶稣的门徒，凡祂所吩咐的，都要教训他们遵守才行。只是我们有时候过于注重传，而忽略了训，其实，这两者是相辅相成的，不可分开。
http://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/56014
流失的信徒都去哪了？教会该怎么办？
Every church probably knows where its believers come from, but it may not know where the believers have gone. When we are concerned about the lost church members, we need to focus on where they go as well as what the church should do to prevent them from going away.
According to the recent situation, the loss of believers is basically due to three reasons.
Some leave the church because they no longer believe in Jesus, and they will not go to other churches to gather. There could be many reasons why they no longer gather, but in the end it may be because they are self-centered rather than God-centered. For example, they may leave when they feel that God is neither listening to their prayers nor healing them.
The second situation is that some believers are co-opted by heresy. They are very pitiful as they have fallen into idolatry without knowing it, for they have left the church and the true God. These people have left the church, which does not mean that they no longer gather, nor that they have given up their faith. They just no longer worship the true God. In fact, they still participate frequently in gatherings, and their faith is even more godly and confident than before.
The others move to a better and more satisfactory church to gather or establish a church themselves or with others, becoming a church leader. Only a small part of them may no longer participate in any gatherings, and most of them continue to gather.
The above are three situations of lost believers. They may be pulled away by the heresy, or not believe in Jesus anymore, or move to other gathering places.
Facing this situation, the church at least must work on the following four aspects to effectively reduce the loss of believers or bring them back.
The first is to take care of believers. The Lord Jesus entrusted Peter with the responsibility of shepherding the flock three times at the seaside of Tiberias, with different keywords each time. What does this mean? This shows that the Lord Jesus asked Peter to shepherd each flock according to the actual conditions of them, that is, shepherding believers in a refined manner. This is also the same for the pastoral care of today's churches. Only adequate shepherding and personal care can effectively avoid the loss of believers and win them back.
The second is to teach the complete truth which churches today lack; this does not imply that churches lack truth. This is not only because of the pastor’s limited level, but also the tendency to choose. If the teaching falls short in a particular aspect, believers will be unable to receive the truth of that aspect, so the growth of the believer's life will not be sound enough. Once they encounter a jackal or various temptations related to that aspect, they will not be able to distinguish it, resulting in them falling for it and leaving the church.
The third is to live righteously. The church must maintain a good image embodying the functions of light and salt. This is a good testimony both internally and externally to gather people’s hearts. So church staff should live a holy life to attract and retain the newcomers.
The fourth is to teach as well as to evangelize. The Lord Jesus gave believers two great commissions in the world. One of the great commissions is to spread the gospel, requiring His children to spread the gospel in the whole world. In fact, there is another requirement in this commission not often mentioned by people, which is to teach the new disciples to obey everything He commands. We sometimes pay too much attention to evangelization, neglecting training. In fact, the two are complementary and cannot be separated.
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
How Should Church Reduce Loss of Members?
