|“Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching.” – 1 Timothy 4:12-13
The church is a living, breathing organism. As with any living, breathing organism, there is a cycle of life, death, and renewal. There is birth. There is increase. There is decrease. There is death. So is the life of the church.
The church is not a mere building. The church is composed of members. They are the church. As the members grow, the church grows. As the members mature, the church matures. As the members age, the church ages. As the members live, the church lives. As the members die, the church dies.
The church is not only composed of members. It is also composed of generations. Generations come and go. One generation follows another. Generations are cyclical. There is a cycle of increase and decrease, followed again by increase. As one generation increases, another decreases. As one generation decreases, another increases.
The older generation within the church will naturally decrease as they age and die. The younger generation within the church will naturally increase as they grow and mature. In this way, the church survives to serve another generation.
Of course, the church’s survival is contingent on two things: (1) that there is a younger generation and (2) that the younger generation grows and matures within the church. In other words, the church won’t survive without a next generation. If the younger generation doesn’t take over for the older generation, the church will die.
Regardless of your age or gender, please consider supporting the church. Please do what you can, during worship services or at other times. This is your church. It is here for you. Your church needs your support. It will not survive without you.
“Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as to a father, to younger men as brothers, to older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” – 1 Timothy 5:1-2
