Hope

I don’t have much hope in the church as it exists in New Zealand at the current time. I observe an unwillingness to change and do things differently that has become entrenched over many years. God will not force the church to change. He has been urging change for many years, but no one is listening.

The reality is that a church that is unwilling to change cannot be revived. It actually needs a radical reformation, but there are no leaders working towards that. I have described a few of the changes that need to take place in Twelve Big Ones.

The truth is that if a real revival came to New Zealand right now, the church would not be capable of discipling thousands of the new believers so many would eventually be lost. If 100,000 people chose to follow Jesus in Christchurch this year, the church would know what to do with them. God will not send revival now while it is too risky.

When people pray for revival, they don’t think about what they will need to differently. They think about what they expect God to do, and perhaps what they expect other people to do. That is an ingredient for nothing happening.

I have heard people prophesying that God will send revival to New Zealand for fifty years, and these prophecies have failed. Prophesies about what God is going to do are pointless because he will not force himself on his church. We actually need more prophecies telling the church how it should change, but unfortunately, those are not so popular.