Importance of Church "Climate"

Our world today seems full of turmoil and trouble. It is quite easy for churches to begin to reflect that their ministerial task is to confirm with the congregation that there is evil and wrongdoing all around us, then preach and lead the congregation to battle through our lives with faith. That perspective may be comforting to some, but it is defeating and inhibiting to the uplifting power of the Holy Spirit within us. Furthermore, it is not really what Jesus asked us to do in the Great Commission.

The churches that seem to be thriving and growing are those that take a strong stand that Jesus is love and is our hope. They consistently lead their congregations in developing a deep understanding of the Word of God and its meaning to us in our everyday lives. There is occasional recognition of the challenge of human fallibility, but that is not the point. We are to become children of God and be redeemed from sin, through the majesty of Jesus. Knowing and understanding that, we are to be equipped to lead others to being disciples of God.

The most vital “climate” is therefore one of hope and joy, through deep understanding of the love and forgiveness of Christ, supported by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us all. Churches that do not have this climate seem cold or just lukewarm. They may be welcoming on first impression but leave the congregation unfulfilled. People are constantly bombarded with bad news from just about every source and media. They don't need another dose of bad news from their church. They constantly need the message of Christ’s Good News from their church.

Establishing this climate takes work, especially in preparation for worship services. Research into the historical and interpretative meaning of scripture and cross-referencing various scriptural passages is essential to helping the true value of the Word become obvious to the listener. Complementary music and praise are critical support elements of the worship services. And, one of the important measures of the success of the services is that people bring their Bibles and have a reason to take notes during the sermon and the service.

Without the experience and passion of the Holy Spirit being encouraged to radically burn in the hearts of those attending church each Sunday, personal calls to action are few and the likelihood of leading others to Christ is small. Without worship services and every activity of the church being fully saturated with hope and joy, efforts to solve issues with leadership, involvement, financing, and other important success essentials will struggle.

Conversely, people bathed in messages of joy, hope, forgiveness, praise, grace, and love find the fire of the Spirit flaring up within them. They are inspired to action, looking for anyone and everyone they can find to share their joy, hoping to change the world, one person at a time, beginning with themselves. They become bold in their quest to make disciples in spite of the circumstances of life today. All of the other potential needs within the congregation, like leadership, financing, staffing, etc., take care of themselves, through God’s grace and the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.