“Pastor, I invited some people to church and gave them money. But ever since I stopped giving them money, they’ve stopped coming. What do I do?”

There isn’t so much you can do to bring them back, because you’ve already altered their Christian foundation. That’s right! You gave them money, and at that stage of their Christian journey, it would be easier to love money than to love God or even church. If they stop getting the money, their love for God or the church won’t be strong enough to sustain them. They’d keep looking for places where their material needs can be met.

Every new person or new believer you invite to church has a divine opportunity to rebuild their life with God, the bible says “He that builds all things is God”. However, just as every building that will stand the test of time requires a solid foundation, every Christian that wants to enjoy the best of God must take personal responsibility to build their foundation. Let’s see how the scripture puts it:

Psalm 11:
3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Now that I think about it, it isn’t a lamentation by David, it’s a warning to the household of God to ensure that they build a solid foundation in their walk with God. God wants to give you all the beautiful things you can think of in this world, the bible says He’s the one that builds all things. That tells me that He wants to build great systems within your life. He wants to build systems and structures in you that the world will see and glorify His name. God wants you to have every thing you also want to have, but the challenge is, if your Christian foundation is faulty, God cannot build on it.

If you want to have a car, God also wants you to have it. If you want to own a house and get married, God also wants you to have them. If you want buy houses for your parents, God also wants you to buy them. God is interested in partnering with you in doing anything that will glorify His name in this world, but if your Christian foundation is faulty, everything God tries to build will not stand the test of time. No building can survive on a faulty foundation.

Some Christians need to start their Christian life afresh. They didn’t learn some of the things they should have learnt and practiced at the early stage of their Christianity. And it’s probably the reason for the diverse vicissitudes in their lives.

If you keep spoiling a child with money, then that child won’t understand the need to work and earn money as he grows. And that’s because you’ve made the child believe that money is easy to get. For heaven’s sake, you can’t use material things to keep people in church. Material things may bring them the first day, and you may even have a crowd in your church, but that may be the last time you’d see them. Material things don’t build a church, it is only the ministry of the Spirit of God that does.

It’s okay to pay their transport fare to and from church, but don’t put money in their hand at that early stage. It’s actually not advisable to be meeting financial needs at the early stage of evangelism or reaching out to a lost soul. Make them see God, and teach them how to have faith in Him. Your priority should be how to help them start a relationship with God.

Teach them the principles of the kingdom, the basic principles at least. Ofcourse you can also teach them the principles of financial prosperity. But ensure that a relationship with God is priority in your communications with them.

Lastly, continually pray for a revival in their lives. Actually, this is the surest way to establish any lost soul in church. I’ve consciously done this for some time now, and it works like a miracle.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

If you’d like to receive my daily articles directly on your Whatsapp, join my group through the link below. Please note that this is strictly for articles.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/GTW1lIe8LN8J2xnhRuvUXS

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

#EmekaAnslem