Ways to Keep Your Church Alive Vision 2025 I Jentezen Franklin

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Ways to Keep Your Church Alive – Vision 2025"

Podcast: Jentezen Franklin at Free Chapel
Host: Jentezen Franklin
Date: December 7, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this powerful and candid episode, Pastor Jentezen Franklin addresses the urgent question: How do we keep our church alive? Drawing from Scripture, personal experience, and insights from Tom Rainer's book Autopsy of a Deceased Church, Franklin explores the symptoms of declining churches and offers practical, biblical strategies to keep the fire of faith, prayer, and outreach burning strong at Free Chapel and in churches everywhere. This message closes his Vision 2025 series, challenging each listener to renew their commitment to a vibrant, soul-winning, prayerful, and inclusive church.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Biblical Warning to Living Churches

• Scripture Foundation: Revelation 3:1–6.

  “I know your works, that you have a name, that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.” (05:10)

• Franklin emphasizes that churches (and individuals) can appear alive on the outside but be spiritually dead inside.
  • Quote:

    “It’s possible to look like a Christian on the outside and be lost as you can be.” (05:28)

2. Lessons from ‘Autopsy of a Dead Church’

• Book Reference: Tom Rainer’s Autopsy of a Deceased Church provides the framework for examining what kills churches.

• Franklin shares the metaphor of “CSI – Church Status Investigation” and highlights signs of demise:

  • Traces of Adam’s DNA: Human nature impacting church health.
  • Mindless Christianity: Believers lose sight of why and what they believe.
  • Hardened Hearts: Loss of compassion.
  • Itching Ears: Only wanting to hear comforting messages (07:33).
  • Dry Eyes with Blurry Vision: Lost sensitivity to God.
  • Loss of Blood: Gospel without the cross or blood of Christ.
  • Untamed Tongues: Gossip and division.
  • Unbending Knees: Prayerlessness.
  • Unholy Hands & Ugly Feet: Moral compromise and lack of evangelistic outreach.

• Franklin Reflection:

  “It’s sad when the church only has memories. The past is not our hero.” (13:25)

3. Symptoms and Causes of Declining Churches

• Slow Erosion of Passion (09:20):
  • Gradual decline in prayer, worship, soul-winning, and vision.
  • Churches begin with fire but can become only religious and stagnant.
  • Quote:

    “I don’t want us to have the slow erosion of prayer in this church.” (10:38)

• Worshipping the Past (12:40):
  • Over-fixation on “the good old days” or former glories stalls forward movement.
• Outdated Traditions: Resistance to change in music styles and service order stifles spiritual growth.

4. Vibrant and Inclusive Church Life

• Embrace Diversity (19:18):
  • The church should reflect the community's diversity.
  • Tells the story of Gwendolyn, the first Black member at Free Chapel, and her perseverance (20:38).
  • Quote:

    “If you’re going to eat a good meal, you need some salt... you need some pepper... you need some hot sauce... you need some soy sauce... let’s keep it spicy.” (21:46)

• Reaching the Whole City (24:00):
  • Renewed vision to reach all demographics, including the elderly, youth, prisoners, and every neighborhood.

5. Culture of Prayer and Generosity

• Prayer is Essential (25:30):
  • Testimony of serve teams beginning every Sunday with prayer.
  • Quote:

    “Prayer keeps this church alive... What’s your gimmick? Why does your church keep growing? Prayer keeps this church alive.” (26:55)

• Generosity and ‘The Treasure Principle’ (28:40):
  • Where the congregation invests, their hearts will follow.
  • Free Chapel supports other growing ministries (e.g., $1 million to Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell’s church in Atlanta) (31:10).
  • Metaphor:
    • A “Dead Sea” church hoards blessings and becomes stagnant.
    • A “Sea of Galilee” church lets blessings flow out and stays alive (29:45).

6. Outward Focus: Mission, Outreach, and Longevity

• Mission-Mindedness:
  • Commitment to “go into all the world” through outreach, media, and direct evangelism (33:16).
• Leadership Longevity & Support (34:10):
  • Cites statistics: Average pastor’s most fruitful years are years 6–10 and beyond. Many burnout after 4–5 years.
  • Importance of supporting and encouraging pastors for stability and continued growth.
  • Quote:

    “If all you do is whine, whine, whine about a preacher, something’s wrong with you. If you’d spend half that time praying for him... it’d be a good thing.” (34:26)

7. Personal Touches & Memorable Moments

• Franklin blends humor and vivid stories, recalling wild illustrated sermons and bold outreach efforts from Free Chapel’s history (17:00–18:30).
• Shares a heartfelt letter from a viewer whose family was touched by the church during a lonely funeral, illustrating the impact of personal ministry (39:05–41:32).
• Quote:

  “It’s not about money. This is about people. This is about what keeps the church alive.” (41:22)

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Important Quotes & Timestamps

• “You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain.” — Jentezen Franklin (05:10)
• “It’s possible to look like a Christian on the outside and be lost as you can be.” — Jentezen Franklin (05:28)
• “Prayer keeps this church alive. Somebody’s prayed over the seat you’re sitting in.” — Jentezen Franklin (26:55)
• “We are not a Dead Sea church… If you don’t have outlets, everything in that thing dies.” — Jentezen Franklin (29:40)
• “Let’s keep it spicy!” (on church diversity) — Jentezen Franklin (21:57)
• “The past is not our hero.” — Jentezen Franklin (25:00)
• “If all you do is whine, whine, whine about a preacher, something’s wrong with you. If you’d spend half that time praying for him...” (34:26)

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Key Timestamps

• Scripture Reading (Revelation 3): 01:46–05:10
• Book Insights: Autopsy of a Dead Church: 06:03–08:47
• Symptoms of Declining Churches: 09:20–14:27
• Worshipping the Past / Traditions: 12:40–16:18
• Diversity & Community Reflection: 19:11–24:57
• Prayer & Service Teams: 25:25–27:55
• Generosity & The Treasure Principle: 28:46–32:38
• Outward Focus/Missions: 32:56–34:10
• Leadership Longevity: 34:10–38:24
• Personal Impact Letter: 39:05–41:32
• Communion & Blessing: 42:55–46:01

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Conclusion & Call to Action

Franklin encourages everyone to:

• Continuously examine personal and collective spiritual health.
• Reject stagnation, prayerlessness, and nostalgia as substitutes for current faith and outreach.
• Commit to prayer and generosity.
• Support leadership and embrace the diversity of God’s people.
• “Never let this church die; keep us alive and full of your Holy Spirit.” (46:05)

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Final Blessing:

“May the Lord bless you and keep you… Never let this church die. Keep us alive and keep us full of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus mighty name.” (46:01)

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This rich, lively message provides an honest, hopeful roadmap for sustaining a healthy, growing church, centered on Christ and empowered by united prayer, generous giving, continual mission, and loving community.

Transcript

[A]

Hello, this is Jensen Franklin and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. Our goal is to provide you with biblically based teachings that will challenge, inspire and equip you to live for Jesus. If you haven't already, I'd love for you to go ahead and subscribe today to this podcast so you can get the latest updates from us and you don't ever have to miss a new message. Let's go right into the service. Record it at Freechapel. I believe it's going to bless you today.

Praise the Lord. Isn't that great? To God be the glory. Thank you, Jesus. Lord, we praise you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, all of you at all of our campuses and all of you online who hear the call and you step up and you say.

We'Re going to make ministry happen all over this world for the glory of Jesus Christ. And that's just a few of the things as we conclude this vision series. I, I keep mentioning, and then I won't say anything about it, you won't hear me say anything about it for months probably. But we don't pass offering bags, we don't take up offerings, we haven't taken up an offering in five years. We say, holy Spirit, speak to your people and tell them how they should give and show them in your word what your word says about giving. And then we let God do the work. And every one of those buildings that you saw that are soul winning stations, every one of you campuses that are joining us.

They'Re all debt free. We owe nothing to no one for the glory of God. And that's a miracle. It is a miracle from God and we so appreciate you saying this time of year above and beyond, what is our tithing and our giving that makes those miracles happen is you say, lord, I want to do something extra so that those accounts can be there. So that when the opportunity comes to make a difference, we don't scrape from the bottom, but we operate from the top and say, go into all the world and preach the gospel in word and indeed and in action. And because love is a verb, love is, you can't love people and say, sorry, we are disconnected from needs. But when you become the hands of Jesus, people tend to lean into the message that you bring and you make that happen. This is a celebration of your faithfulness to God. And I hope that you've had the conversation with your family and you said, what are we going to do this year? Our family needs to be have a piece of every one of Those outreaches that. That he, that we as a church are making happen for the glory of God. Thank you. Thank you for praying about it and then doing what the Lord leads you to do. I want to go this morning to the book of Revelation. I didn't even get to read my. My Bible verse last service, so I'm gonna. I'm gonna read at least my Bible verse and then I'm gonna go into the message. But in the book of Revelation, chapter 3, and to the angel of the church in Sardis, write these things says, he who is has seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works, that you have a name, that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. For I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast and repent. Therefore, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know the hour I came upon you. He, verse 5. He who overcomes shall be clothed with white garments. And I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. You have. You have a name. Another way of saying that is you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. And there will be in the end time, in the last days. I believe we're in them. A church that has a reputation of being alive. And even Christians who outwardly.

Present themselves as being alive, but inwardly there is death and decay. And this is not a negative message, it's a positive message. I didn't come with bad news, but we need to understand that it's possible to look like a Christian on the outside and be lost as you can be. And I don't want that to be this church. I don't want us to have a reputation of life, but not actually possess Jesus the way, the truth and the life freshly in our lives. I'm preaching this morning a different message entitled ways to keep your church. How many of you would say, free Chapel is my church? Raise your hand at every campus. This is my church. Is it? Are you happy about it?

Ways to keep your church alive. A man by the name of Tom Rainier wrote a book called the autopsy of a dead church. And he actually takes many scriptures and he puts a lays out an imaginary dead church on the autopsy table and he takes the scaffold of God's word. And he begins to dissect the purposes of. Of 10 of the leading, biggest, fastest growing denominations and churches that at one time were vibrant and on fire and full of life and changing the world, but they died. And he looks into these different organizations, religious organizations and ministries and he begins to cut deep and does an autopsy on an autopsy table and has. I could see him in my mind with the gloves on and, and just, you know, it's kind of a morbid thing. But listen to some of. He called it CSI Church Status Investigation.

And some of the titles of the chapters are Traces of Adam's DNA, Fingerprints of the Murder. Mindless Christianity. He cuts into the brain. He says a lot of people who don't even know why they believe or what they think about this issue or that issue, they just are numb and they're not informed. Mindless Christianity Hardened Hearts is one of the chapters. Itching ears. When he examines a dead church, he notices that people have itching ears. As the Bible said, they want to hear something that makes them feel good. They don't want to hear what they need to hear, they want to hear what they want to hear. Itching ears. Another chapter is called Dry Eyes with Blurry Vision. Isn't that great that their eyes. You know when you lose your fear of God and you lose your tears, something is wrong if you never moved. And he's noticing dry eyes in a dying and dead church. Loss of blood is one of the chapters. And not preaching on the blood. Having a woke message or a. A social gospel rather than the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ. One of the chapters is entitled Untamed tongues set on fire. Turn to your neighbor and say that's you. Untamed tongues set on fire. Gossip and envy and strife and letting people have in a mouth that is unsanctified.

Unbending knees. There he noticed on the knees of a dead church that there's no calluses from prayer. They're not getting on their knees, they're not praying, they're not calling. There's not a culture of prayer. And then unholy hands. The scripture said we're to lift up holy hands. But when he starts examining why a church dies, it's full of unholy hands. Ugly feet is one of the chapters. Bible said beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings in the gospel. And. And he says the church has stopped going. The church has stopped going with the message into all the world and their ugly feet when they're not taking the gospel to those who are Lost and perishing. And we need to investigate the status of Free Chapel. We need to investigate the status of our own personal spiritual lives with Jesus Christ. Do you have a reputation and a name of being a Christian only outwardly, but inwardly you're full of dead men's bones. 380,000 churches are in America and the latest statistic is every year, 10,000 a year. Shut down. They close the door, they go out of business, they sell their properties because they are dying. So this is a good question to ask. How do we keep our church alive? The reasons that they die, the reasons that they shut down, I believe are very important. And one of the main points, and I'm just going to give you a few, but one of the main points that he talks about in the beginning is a slow erosion. He said churches start out and they grow fast, they explode. They have this faith and they're excited and everything is powerful and, and everybody's just believing God for great things. They don't have much, but they got great faith and they're risking and they're walking and reaching for that soul that is lost. But there comes out of that growth, rapid growth. It can then begin to shift slowly, often slowly, an erosion of the passion, an erosion of the worship, an erosion of the prayer, an erosion of the soul winning and the vision of reaching, broken, hurting people. Less prayer, less worship, less passion, less souls, less revival arrival, less moves of God and just coming together and becoming religious instead of that initial fire and passion that starts something from that just starts with a spark and it begins to become a great flame. I don't want us to have the slow erosion of prayer in this church. I don't want us to have the slow erosion of worship. I, I don't want us to become that place where we don't see souls saved every time we assemble in the name of Jesus. The slow erosion. I believe that Free Chapel is a growing church. It is breaking the trend in Jesus name. Nobody's going to be buying our buildings. Amen. Hallelujah. I just believe that it's God's will for this church to be a glorious church. Not a dead church, not a sad church, not a moldy crusty old church. You walk in some old buildings and they smell like they're dead. Amen. They, they, they hadn't changed the furniture, they hadn't changed the carpet. They don't change nothing. And everything speaks of death. And that's why we got to keep moving. We can't ever sit back. One of the other things that that they found in the autopsy of a dead church was. When a church begins to worship the past as its hero, all they talk about is the good old days. All they talk about is how people used to love God and how the youth used to be on fire and how God used to move in the services. That's not good. That's one of the signs and signals. And by the way, if that's all you talk about and all you think about is how you used to have it, but you don't have it anymore. You used to be passionate. You need to check your own self because you're getting an autopsy and the CSI says that you probably need a fresh fire in your life. Give me a big amen right there. It's sad when the church only has memories. I remember back when, when I remember when people were getting saved and lives were being changed. The good old days. The glory was there, the presence was there. Devotion to old things like buildings and service schedules can't ever be changed. And music styles can't ever be changed. And order of services just can never be changed. I just want to stay open to the Holy Spirit. I refuse to become an old, crusty, old moldy church. Amen. If the Holy Spirit wants to get in the song, we're going to let him get in the song. And I'll put my sermon aside and preach it another time. Let's let God have control of his church again.

In Second Kings 18, it talks about the brazen serpent. And also in the book of Numbers, the brazen serpent. And how that they raised it up on a brass. A brass serpent God told Moses to make because the people had been bitten with serpents in the desert and they were, were dying. And he said, tell them all that. Look, they will live. And the scripture said the people did it and the miracle worked. And you know what they did with that brazen serpent? They didn't throw it aside and keep on marching, giving God the glory. They began to put it, that serpent up in the temple and they began to worship it. They began to worship the old move and the old way that God did miracles for them. Remember, we only worship Jesus more than anything and everything. We don't worship buildings, we don't worship denominations, we don't worship pastors, we don't worship preachers, we don't worship leaders, we don't worship our music. We worship Jesus. It's all about Jesus.

Bible said they continued steadfast in the doctrine and in the. In the fellowship and in prayers. There must come also in Our life where we begin to understand that everything can change in the church as long as Jesus is the center of it all. I like the old songs. I like the new songs. I'll even go with some rap if somebody will lift Jesus up in it. I don't care if it's touching somebody. I can lean over into it and get into it too.

The Bible said that. Sing a new song unto the Lord. But there's the song of Moses. That's the old song. There's the song of the Lamb. That's a new song. Mix it up a little bit. Give me an old song. Let Granny shout a little bit and give me a new song. And let the young people have a good time. Hallelujah. It's that simple. Quit being an old fuddy dud sitting back. I'm waiting on my song. I don't like all that mess up there. I wish they'd bring the old stuff back. We will. I do it all the time. I'm old. What are you talking about? But boy, I tell you, I'd rather see young people get set on fire. Reach them. Reach them. Reach them. Reach them. Whatever it takes, Reach them. That's the kind of church we were when we started. I. I look back on some of the stuff we did. It was marginally, thank God we weren't on the Internet. That's all I got to say. I brought in wrestlers. Amen. I brought in men in their underwear diving off the. Not that. You know what I'm saying. I mean, they had the little outfits on. It's crazy. I was a little on the edge there. I brought in a big old snake. Amen. The spirit of Python. And preached it in dancers and explosions. And one time we wanted to do an illustrated sermon on the Rapture. And they hooked me up to a wire and I. And I said, when I say this, I want you to take me out. And they did it and it got stuck right in midair. Amen. And then we had a mos. We had a little fake graveyard. And the guy who did David Clark, he's still a part of the church, but he got a little carried away with the explosives and he put a little too much in there and supposed to be. And the dead in Christ shall rise. And boom. It blew up. People were having heart attacks all over the building. If dirt was going all over the place.

I'll bring it back. Hallelujah. Whatever. I don't want church to be boring.

But you know what? The word of God isn't boring. And the holy Spirit isn't boring, and miracles are not boring. And when you preach the truth, it's not boring. But we got to be a church that's alive. You need to act like you're a Christian on the outside because it's generated on the inside. Everybody take a praise break. Let me check you out. Don't make me. I'll use some of you as the corpse. This morning.

I should have brought a body in here.

Hallelujah.

The church, one of the big things they said about a dying church. I'm preaching on ways to keep your church alive.

The church refused to look like the community that died.

They're not reaching the community. The demographic doesn't look like. Of the community doesn't look like the church. Church. The church would be significantly older than the community around it or younger than the community around it or whiter or blacker or more Hispanic. The church is supposed to look like the community around us. And if we preach the gospel, where there is grace, there is no race.

And while ago, when the choir was singing, there was a young lady named. She's not as young as she used to be, nor am I, but her name is Gwendolyn and she was leading the choir. She happens to be a black lady. And if you're getting tense about that. I'm so old. I've been around here. I've been through everything. If you don't know me by now, phooey on you. I mean, this church has broken the color barrier. It's broken the every barrier barrier. You can't imagine. You might have the most perfect family sitting on one row. And if you look down, you, you, you'll see. You're liable to see. It ain't no telling.

And that's how you know you're in a good church. But Gwendolyn was the only black person who came to Free Chapel. When I first started at free chapel 30 something years ago, she came and she got a lot of flack, but she kept coming and she kept. Is Gwendolyn in here or she leave? She. She was in both services. She always is. But she left. And you know what? A lot of things we may not agree on. She and I don't agree on much politics. She said, I'm praying for you. When I say something, I say, I'm praying for you too. But you know what? I love her. I'd fight for her and she'd fight for me. And that's a church is. Oh, come on. We don't want to be all the same. You, if you're going to eat a good meal. You need some salt. That's the white people. And you need some pepper. That's the black people. You need some hot sauce. Come on Latinos. You, you, you need some soy sauce. Come on Asians. I'm going. Have I got your attention yet? My God, you need some chili pepper. Whatever you need, let's keep it spicy.

If I hadn't offended you. Hang on.

I get called a racist. I get called this and that. When I preach something you don't understand, this and that. Let's just stick with the word. If the word says it, it's right. And if you don't think it's right, you're wrong.

And that's all we got to do. And then love one another. And don't just love people that agree with you, love people that disagree. You got you. That's between them and God. At that point.

The church refused to look like the community.

You see, it's a me first attitude, my comfort, my family.

But when a church looks like the community, it's deliberate. It's deliberate. I begin to ask the question, where, where, where? Where is the black community?

Where is the black community represented in the leadership of this church? This was decades ago. I got a burden when I saw that my church was only white. And I said, where? Where is the leadership in the staff? Where is the leadership in the team? It's not just recognizing, it's raising the gospel elevates the gifts and the talents. And we don't hire anybody because of the color of their skin. But where there is grace, there is no race. And if somebody can do the job and do it better, I don't care if they've got polka dots and they look like a zebra. I just want somebody anointed and that loves the church and loves people and God will use us. It's a coat of many colors. The Father has a coat of many colors.

And.

That'S why if you keep the focus. The Lord told me while I was getting this little message together, he said, dream of saving your city again. Not just one neighborhood or one demographic, but dream of saving your whole city again.

What are we doing to reach the lost?

What are we doing? Our best parties ought to be reserved for souls saved. We need to continue to reach the seniors in the rest home. And we have so many 40 plus services a month in the senior citizens that we haven't even highlighted. But what an amazing ministry and into the prisons and the young people and the high school clubs that are now being oh Reach them all. Let it. Let the whole demographic of the community be found in the house of God.

Not me first mentality.

Not the past is our hero. The past is not our hero. We are here and we want to make sure that there is not a slow erosion of our passion, that there is not a worshiping of the past, that there is not a refusing to reach and look like the community that is all around us.

God wants to increase miracles and numbers of souls and the glory of his presence and the influence of this ministry. Give me a big amen right there. And we're not going to let it die. Tell somebody, I'm not going to let this church die. This is my church. Not going to let it die. One of the big things they said that they saw as a pattern of dying churches is prayer became a lesser thing. A praying church. Praying individuals, praying pastors, praying leaders. Thank you for making prayer a priority. Thank you. That when we go on the 21 day fast in a few weeks in January of 2026, that there will be thousands of people who will show up to pray. That is the secret sauce of everything that we do. Thank you. Serve teams for praying. Do you know that before you got here early this morning, early this morning, there were teams that put the yellow vest to stand out in the parking lot, whether it's raining, whether it's pouring, whatever. But before they go out and stand there, they join hands and they pray. They're ushers that got together and they prayed. Music teams, praying people praying. We. There's a culture, there's a climate, there's an atmosphere. It's not just preaching, but it's preaching that's backed up with more prayer than study even. Prayer is everything. Most of my week is spent worth walking and talking with Jesus. That's what I do. I know that my greatest service to you is if I get with him, if I've been with him, then I can come in here and I can touch you for him and lead you to him and he can meet every need in your life. But we must spend time with Jesus in prayer. Prayer keeps this church alive. Turn to somebody and tell them that prayer keeps this church, church alive. No, no, you're not listening to me. What. What's your gimmick? What's your deal? Why does your church keep growing? Prayer keeps this church alive. Somebody's prayed over the seat you're sitting in, somebody's walk, the aisles where you're sitting. Prayer keeps this altar alive.

The church, the churches that died were obsessed with their buildings. More than prayer, it has to have a culture of prayer. Even before we hand out boxes of food to people every month, twice a month there's a prayer meeting that happens with that group. Because we're not just here to do that. We're here to pray over every family that box of food goes into in Jesus name. You see, when you understand what I'm preaching, it's a powerful, powerful thing. Another thing that they pointed out was what they called the treasure principle, that where you put your money, where congregations and congregants put their money.

Is where their heart will follow. That's why what we have been sharing with you the last three weeks really matters. The focus of money moved away to other things when the church was dying, when the churches that died, that the man studied that did an autopsy on dead churches, he discovered that the resources were moved to other things by the congregants instead of the house of God. I just want to say, thank God that Free Chapel is a giving church. I just want to say, like I wrote it down the other week, I do not want Free Chapel to ever be a tight wad church.

We're not a tightwad church.

We'Re a generous church. We are not a Dead Sea church. We're a Sea of Galilee church. The Dead Sea is in Israel and it's in the lowest spot on planet Earth. You cannot go any lower than the Dead Sea. It's so many feet below sea level that there's no spot on the earth lower. And the water that goes there has nowhere to have an outlet to flow to. Therefore the water becomes poison. It's so full of salt that there is nothing alive in the Dead Sea. The lesson is very simple. If you don't have outlets, everything in that thing dies.

The Sea of Galilee is filled with fish because it's flowing in rivers in every direction.

Some weeks ago.

One of my kids told me about a pastor in Atlanta that pastors a church and they're lining up at five o' clock in the morning. Five, five services a Sunday. This man has been faithful to God, faithful to his wife, faithful to his church. And it's just started to explode in the last couple of years. His name is.

Philip Anthony Mitchell and I heard about him and we had a board meeting and I felt led of the Lord to. I couldn't shake it. I tried to leave it alone. I tried to mind my own business. But I heard he got a piece of property and he's trying to build a church and preaching the truth, preaching on the Rapture, the, the Muslims hate him. The, the. The something. They call themselves Israelites, but they're. They're not Israelites. They're liars. Amen. And now I'm gonna get us in trouble.

Stay on him. I'll pray for him. Amen. But, but, but, but everybody hates this guy except Jesus and people who want to hear the truth. And he's winning thousands and thousands in South Atlanta. And so we said, well, let's help him with his new church. And we sent him 250,000 last month. We're sending him 250,000 this month. We'll send him 250,000 in January, 250,000 in February. $1 million. Why would you do that? Because God doesn't just want to fill up our church. He wants. Wants to fill up his kingdom. And if somebody's doing it, let's remember we were there one time. We were desperate for a building. And I want to be a part of that miracle of reaching South Atlanta. And the world.

Has no meaning to me if we can't do stuff like that.

We're the body of Christ, and that's not the first one we've done it for. Sometimes I talk about it, sometimes I don't.

And that's God's business.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Dying churches forget the command to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

We are here to go. We are not here just for me and my family. If this church ever stops going, we go through television, we go through Internet, we go all over the world. We go physically, we go, we preach the gospel, and that's what God has called us to do.

And when you understand that. I thought this was interesting. Can I finish this little message? Got one or two quick things, maybe just one, but I thought it was so interesting that the churches that were dying, they said that on average, the average pastor stays at a church for to five years. And then that's called the honeymoon period, where the guy can't do any wrong and everybody loves him. And then trouble breaks out in the church and the people begin to devour one another. And they have fried preacher for lunch after service.

And if all you do is whine, whine, whine about a preacher, something's wrong with you.

If you'd spend half that time praying for him.

It'D be a good thing. Get off the Internet. Get on your knees.

Oh, you didn't like that, but that's the truth.

But listen, they said the first four years.

Four to five years is the is the. On average, how long a pastor stays at a church, and then the next six to 10 years are the most fruitful, and they start seeing the greatest growth if the pastor can hang on. Isn't that amazing? This is all done by stats. This guy gives it 11 years and beyond becomes the crossroads for ministry. I thought this was so interesting. Pastors get tired, they get burnt out.

They just coast.

There's no new vision.

They're running all the time.

Most of them can't afford the kinds of staffs. And that's. That's. That's why I want to bring pastors to that ranch that these amazing people have provided and love on them and fill their tank up.

Put the heart things on their vision again, spend days and nights with them and eat and fellowship and hang out around a fire. And.

We'Re just people, too. We. We need to know somebody cares and other things. But listen, 11 years and beyond is the crossroad.

But think about that. One of the purposes in examining the churches that died was the lack of longevity of pastors.

Which said to me when I read it, people need to be praying for all their pastors. Your campus pastors, your youth pastors. It's many times thankless. It's. It's a thankless job. People, these amazing pastors that we have love on them, take them out, do something for them, love on them, care about them, show them that they matter. Show them they don't have to care. They don't have to do that. They could go, you know, you can make $150,000 driving a truck or something like that, and that's honorable and powerful. But. But these people give up their lives to be ministers.

And it's an honor, but it's also a pressure on the family and on the home and on everything, because the calls never stop.

It never stops. And just when you think, whoo, I got through that, here comes something you never saw coming.

And that's why I got this one and this one and this one and this one and this one. Do you see how y'. All. I was in that video?

You did that to me. And you and you and you and you.

Pray for your pastors.

Pray for your leadership. I mean, fast for them one day during the fast, Pray for their marriages, pray for their families, pray for their children, pray for their finances.

I don't. I'm. I'm so blessed. But I remember those days.

Where I had to go supplement in any way I could.

With a growing family.

I want. I want to keep this Church alive. I want our passion to burn, our vision to burn. I want us to come in here and on the very first song, lean in and say, I don't want a name of being alive and be dead. I want it, Lord. How many of you want it? How many of you want it? Like never before Stand to your feet.

I want to read you something in conclusion that came in the mail this week. I thought it was. Thought it was neat.

And it's a letter and this is what it says. Now I just lean in one more minute here. I just want to take this opportunity to thank you for your ministry and all of God's people have known of you since 1994. And our family comes to the church and I like to come visit when I have a chance. I'd like to share an event that touched my heart and has stayed with me ever since my sister in law.

Her brother tragically took his own life. And we gathered at Memorial Park Funeral Home, that's right here in Gainesville for the service. When we walked into the small chapel.

There were only 10 to 15 people present. And I remember thinking, oh my God, this is the saddest thing I've ever seen. This young man has taken his life and it seems no one cares.

And I sat down beside my brother and I asked where the young man's friends and family were. My brother said he didn't know. Then the chapel door opened and a man entered with a saxophone around his neck. I said, philip, that's your pastor. He replied, yes, it is. And you walked over and said, I'm going to say a few words if that's okay. Dennis did not have a pastor, so we asked Mr. Merck, the funeral home director, if he would say something at the funeral after you spoke and played Amazing Grace, my favorite. That moment has never left, left me. I have been watching you on TV and reading your books ever since. I cannot imagine how many lives the people at Free Chapel have touched. You brought a little girl who grew up in Chicopee Village closer to God, and I thank you for that. I watch every Sunday online. Please accept this check to continue the wonderful work you and your church are doing. May God bless you, every one of you. At Free Chapel. And this individual sent a $4,000 check.

Watching online.

Well over 4,000.

So it's not about money. This is not about money. This is about people. This is about what keeps the church alive.

We don't tell people what to give. We're not going to pass a bag. We don't pass offering plates we haven't taken an offering in five years.

It's up to you. This is your stuff. You do the autopsy. And don't leave out the giving side of your walk with God. And do a checkup, do an evaluation and say, lord, what would you have me do? And when you do what God tells you to do, and I do what God tells me to do, and we all do, it's more than enough. And we can impact people that we'll only know about, just like this story right here.

When I heard it was one of our free chapel people, that's what got me. When Merck called me and said, it's a free chapel member.

And they don't have a pastor.

I said, I'll come. And it's not that I'm great. We have pastors that do that all the time. Do you understand that? They do it all the time.

And you make it happen. How will we go if they are not sent? There are senders and there are goers, and you are the senders. And I thank you for that. I think we ought to end with communion this morning.

I'm so glad we don't have an old dead corpse of Jesus Christ.

But he said, this bread is my body.

And this cup is my blood.

And when I take this bread, I take in the body.

It's his body in my body, hallelujah.

And on his body are stripes whereby I am healed. When I take his body in, when I take this in my body, it's his body in my body, his strength, his peace, his power. This do in remembrance of me until you come, take, eat the bread.

And when I take this cup of the fruit of the vine which represents the blood of Jesus Christ, it's his blood in to my blood.

It's his blood in my bloodline. Praise God. Every curse is broken, every addiction that may have gone for generations.

It's his blood into my blood. The blood of Calvary by faith.

Is transformed his blood into my bloodline. The blood is on the doorhouse and the door post, like the Old Testament of every home that takes this blood. And you need to say this. And if you're not saved, you can say this and take this meal. But everybody pray this and say, lord, I believe in the blood that you shed on Calvary for me. It cleanses me. Your blood goes into my blood. It washes away my sins. It takes away and breaks every demonic curse. In the name of Jesus, I am free. I am washed, I am cleansed. I am forgiven. Because your blood is now in my blood. Take, drink this do in remembrance of me until I come again.

Hallelujah.

Will you raise your hand now and receive this blessing upon your home, upon your family, upon your business, upon the work of your hands, upon your mind, upon your physical body.

Upon everything you set your hand to do.

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine on you. May the Lord be gracious unto you. May he lift up his countenance upon you. And may he give you peace and keep God. Would you bless Free chapel. Never let this church die. Keep us alive and keep us full of your holy Spirit. In Jesus mighty name. And everybody said amen if you prayed the prayer of salvation. We did a little different this morning. Go by next steps and tell somebody about it. We love you all. Merry Christmas. Hey. Next Sunday, the children, the kids will be leading in praise and worship. Don't come dragging in late. You will miss it. They're going to lead. A massive choir of over 400 kids will be leading the worship and the praise and it's going to be glorious as we enter in to Christmas, as we enter into the spirit of Christmas and all that. That message is beginning next Sunday, leading right up to Christmas Sunday. And don't forget the candlelight service Christmas Eve. Beautiful times to bring your family and create great memories. God bless you. Have a great week, everybody.

I really want to say thank you for joining us this week. If you haven't already, make sure you click on the subscription button and leave us a review. It helps this podcast reach each more people when you comment, when you give us your feedback. For more messages and inspirational materials, download the Jensen Franklin app or you can head over to JensenFranklin.org I want to thank all of you who give generously to help us produce weekly content like this to reach the world with the message of Jesus. God bless you and we'll see you next time.