When you lose intimacy with God, you lose boldness and the Spirit’s fire. Return to Him, and He will return to you (Zechariah 1:3). The strength of your church is in its purity and spiritual power, not in its numbers. God doesn’t need a majority—He is the Majority. We are not CEOs running a business, we are watchmen warning a nation.

It’s clear that many churches closed or have considerably shrunk in size since COVID-19. Reasons range from “church-goers are still scared to return,” to “they prefer watching live feeds.” But why have bold churches experienced tremendous growth? This issue is much deeper—it’s crystal clear that people are hungry for the truth.

As a church in California located in Los Angeles County, I understand the enormous challenges of pastoring in these dire times. But, if the truth be told, the COVID crisis simply revealed the foundation of many churches, as well as the heart of many pastors. But thank God, there is hope!

Pastors, I’m writing this to you to encourage you to be bold as you lead your congregation through these difficult and challenging times. But this boldness won’t come naturally, it will come supernaturally. It will have a cost: “Life-giving preaching costs the preacher much—death to self, crucifixion to the world, and the travail of his own soul. Crucified preaching only can give life. Crucified preaching can come only from a crucified man” (E.M. Bounds).

As I was working on my article, A Measure of Revival in Our Bondage, the thought came to me to tailor it to pastors and Christian leaders and to re-release it with that theme in mind. Here are some of the points:

The Fire of the Spirit is Contagious

Speaking boldly is no longer optional, it’s essential. That’s the missing ingredient today. God is no respecter of persons, status, or achievement, but He is a respecter of principles (Acts 10:34). If you seek Him with all your heart you will find Him. Then you will be better equipped to lead your congregation to the Fountain of Living Water once you yourself have drunk deeply. The fire of the Spirit is contagious.

This doesn’t mean that your church will grow; it could shrink, but it does mean that you’ll now have the power of the Spirit resting upon your life. Churches filled with the Spirit do the works of the Spirit. Jesus said that “whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12 NIV). If your church doesn’t look like the New Testament church, are you sure that you’re truly “having church”?

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