[English Disciple 1 - Monday] Book Reports on "Autopsy of a Deceased Church" and "Anatomy of a Revived Church" (1) > 제자학교

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Joontae Park

A Call to Prayer and Transformation

Book 1: Autopsy of a Dying Church

Many churches decline because they turn inward, focusing on their own comfort and

preferences instead of reaching their community. When serving becomes more about

keeping familiar routines than helping others, the church begins to follow the unhealthy

pattern Rainer describes. Holding on to the “glory days” or refusing to change, even

when long-time members have worked hard, can keep a church from growing. In this

way, churches can act like businesses in a downturn, circling the wagons by protecting

what feels safe, clinging to old structures, and missing the chance to adapt, learn and

grow. This survival mindset can trap a church, causing it to overlook the needs of the

community and its larger mission.

Rainer also warns that a dying church lacks a strong prayer life. Without intentional,

united prayer, a church loses the clarity and dependence on God it needs for renewal.

For NCBC, we are currently in a season of prayer, and if our leaders are not willing to

join in, it signals a deeper problem that could block the transformation we need.

Book 2: Anatomy of a Revived Church

A revived church is one that recognizes it is declining and intentionally chooses

renewal. At the center of this renewal is steady, heartfelt prayer. Revived churches know

that revitalization is not just strategic; it is spiritual. Leaders and members seek God’sguidance, confess past complacency, and ask for renewed vision and unity. Prayer

softens hearts, clarifies priorities, and opens people to God-led change.

Revived churches also show a willingness to change and grow. They release traditions,

preferences, or structures that no longer help them fulfill their mission. This kind of

adaptability takes humility, honesty about what is not working, and a commitment to

evaluate ministry through an outward-looking lens.

Summary

A well-known, though debated, story illustrates this heart for prayer. While visiting John

Wesley’s house, a group of Bible college students noticed the worn knee marks where

Wesley had prayed. After the tour, one student was missing. The leader found the

student, Billy Graham, kneeling in those same impressions, quietly praying, “Lord, do it

again.”

A revived church is marked by people who earnestly seek God and choose obedience

over comfort, strengthened and guided by prayer.

Daniel Kim

Book Report – Daniel Kim

Autopsy of a Deceased Church

Anatomy of a Revived Church

The urgency of the contents of these books is exemplified in this quote: “as many as 100,000 churches in

America are showing signs of decline toward death.” The church is the body of Christ, and as such, we

must pray for the revitalization of the church. We must see the church as God sees the church and pray

that we would be the instruments of change, “whatever the cost.”

A principle cause of decline is rooted in the decline in the prayer lives of church members. Secondly,

churches must pray with purpose and for the sake of the Great Commission to be the “centerpiece” of

our vision. Many church goers seem to expect things to happen without prayer, sacrifice, and hard work.

Do church attendees also care about the greater good of the congregation or just what they are getting

out of church?

“Prayer and the health of the church” go “hand in hand,” highlighting the critical importance of prayer. The

Acts 2 church devoted themselves to prayer, but do we? Are we “fervent, intense, and passionate about

prayer” like the early church? Most church members do not seem to grasp the importance of persistent

prayer as the “lifeblood” of the church.

We must ask the Lord to teach us to pray and to be a leader in prayer. We must ask the Lord to remind us

that proclaiming the gospel is an essential purpose of the church. We must have “true disciple-making”

in our church and through our church. We must pray for the strength to do what is necessary to revive the

church. We must stop blaming others and look at ourselves. We must fervently pray for God’s power to

change.

Although attendance numbers are not important for the sake of numbers, they can be symptomatic of

the health of the church, especially trends in attendance over time. More the just attendance numbers,

however, how many people have become followers of Christ and made professions of faith over time?

How many church members are involved in any kind of ministry in the church versus just attending on

Sundays? How many members attend prayer meetings in the church? Do we understand the importance

and power of prayer and has that been taught or clearly articulated to the congregation?

Do we have prayer warriors in the church? Do these prayer warriors “mobilize others to fight the battle of

spiritual warfare” together?

What are our corporate times of worship like? Is the “spirit in worship services” dead? Is there

desperation for the presence of God? Do we have reverence for the house of God and prioritize it over our

own day to day lives?

We must make it clear that “being part of the church carries both opportunities and responsibilities” to

our members. Have we made those expectations clear or do members just assume they have no

responsibilities as part of the body of Christ?

We must take ownership and pray for our church to be the prayer-fueled, gospel-centric, Great

Commission-focused, Holy Spirit-filled body of Christ.

Pastor David Kim

Book Report on the Autopsy of a Deceased church by Thom Rainer

David Kim

Two points stood out to me from the book. First, the inward indicator of a church in

decline is the slow and unnoticed erosion. To say it another way, the focus becomes about not

having big crises. It becomes about putting out fires, making sure no big drama happens- but

we are not concerned with the slow decline of passion and prayer and vision in the church. The

focus becomes about not failing, rather than running to win the prize.

This caused me to reflect on my own ministry. Do I want to see people grow in Christ,

enough that I will risk them being hurt or scared or uncomfortable in the present just so they can

have a chance to grow in the future? Many times I choose comfort. I choose to not have people

angry or sad, even if it will not lead them to growth. Many times I choose the slow erosion, that

cannot be blamed on me, over the risk of saying let us wake up and run towards the Cross.

I have also realized that one of the reason for this is fear. A slow erosion cannot be my

fault. A big crisis or something can be declared my fault, some black mark pinned to me. So I

am afraid. But what I should fear is that my church, without big crisis or noise, quietly, with no

one blaming the pastor, slowly loses their passion and love for Jesus and the gospel.

To that end, many times in the book it repeats that a church without a focus on the great

commission or vision towards the outside is doomed to die. It made me reflect on my own

pastorship. I tend to focus on who I can see. I focus on who is coming in, and I think that is not a

bad thing. But it is true that I have not focused much on reaching the city and the schools

around me. It challenged me to think about how to serve not only those who are in the room but

those that are not. In fact, that was the book’s challenge. To love those in the room, I must love

those outside. If the church does not love those outside, they will be unable to love those inside,

and eventually they will not be able to love at all. It is not a decision to love those in the inside

versus those on the outside. To love the outside is to love the inside.

Johanna Kim

Disciple Class 

Book Report:

Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Anatomy of a Revived Church by Thom Rainer

As I read these two books, I reflected on one overarching question: Are we doing the right

things in our church? Rainer outlines several characteristics that distinguish a healthy, thriving

church from a declining one. Among these, prayer stood out to me as areas where our church is

by God’s grace doing well today.

In Autopsy of a Deceased Church, one clear sign of a dying church is that it rarely prays

together. In contrast, Anatomy of a Revived Church shows that God brings renewal through

prayer and a deepening dependence on Him. I see God shaping us into a praying church.

Prayer warriors are rising up throughout the congregation in both KM and EM congregations.

Our special prayer meetings this past summer and ongoing relay prayer meetings have sparked

a hunger for prayer and desire to gather more and more in prayer. Through what started out as

the Vision Center prayer meetings, it has become clear that God is calling our church to seek

Him earnestly for a greater purpose. This fills me with hope and expectation for what He desires

to do in and through us.

Kara Clapper

When I initially read the title Autopsy of a Deceased Church , I remember thinking that the word

“deceased” felt a little extreme to describe a church that had shut down. However, when considering Paul’s

description of the church as the body of Christ, it makes sense to use words like “dead” or “dying” for a

congregation that is no longer living out its purpose as Christ’s body. While Thom S. Rainer lists several

differences between a dying church and a revived one, two stood out to me the most - the shift from an

inward-focused to an outward-focused mindset and the transformative power of prayer.

Rainer repeatedly emphasizes the importance of genuine community outreach, whether through

directing resources toward ministries that serve those outside the church, focusing on making disciples rather

than debating worship styles, or actively engaging with the community instead of expecting newcomers to

come to a church they don’t yet feel welcome. Many churches fall into the trap of believing that revival simply

means growing in number, when in reality, true revival is about growing God’s kingdom both within and

beyond the church walls. And as Rainer highlights, this transformation is only possible when it is grounded in

prayer.

In Anatomy of a Revived Church , Rainer shares his finding that at the core of every revitalized church

was prayer - persistent and passionate prayer. No matter how small the prayer group started, no matter how

few “prayer warriors” there were, persistent prayer led to an eventual revival of the church. Conversely, when

the church stops praying, that is when it starts dying. I also appreciated Rainer’s reminder that while prayer is

transformative, it does not guarantee revitalization. God alone brings revival, which is why it is essential for

congregations to continually turn to Him in prayer.

Through Rainer’s findings in both Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Anatomy of a Revived Church ,

it is clear that the road to either decline or revival for a church is shaped by where it directs its focus and whom

it depends on. An inward-focused church will eventually lead to its demise while an outward-focused church

acting upon the Great Commission leads to revival. Even then, revival is not something we can create on our

own - only God can do that. Our job is to simply stay faithful, keep praying, and trust Him to bring the growth.

Reflection On Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Anatomy of a Revived Church
By Rebecca Park

Thom S. Rainer’s books Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Anatomy of a Revived Church analyze why churches die and how a dying church can be revived by prioritizing the components that make up a healthy church. 

A church dies slowly and often goes unnoticed, despite people’s best efforts to “do church”. Some of the main issues are that a dying church is inward-focused and overly nastalgic, becoming stuck in the old “glory days,” rather than vision-driven.  The focus becomes “keeping the peace” of the members based on personal preferences and convenience. Evangelism becomes nonexistent, and most importantly, perhaps at the core of it all, lacking in prayer. 

In contrast, Anatomy of a Revived Church offers hope for revival through examples of churches that were once on the brink of death but chose revitalization instead. The primary difference is that they were able to acknowledge their decline and admit to their need for revitalization. They let go of traditions and were willing to make necessary changes, even at the cost of their comfort. Most importantly, they recognized that true revival is beyond their ability and surrendered to prayer. They reoriented outward, re-engaging their communities through service and evangelism. 

Both of these books led me to conclude one clear theme: it’s not about us. I believe most of the problems arise from self-centeredness and arrogance. It is impossible to be a living and thriving church when we are at the throne. Our focus needs to shift from ourselves to God and those around us. We must first recognize that this is God’s church. We begin by seeking His will, His vision, and His heart through prayer. As we do so, each person’s preference, control, and way becomes surrendered to His, leading to a body of Christ with Jesus as the head. While it is important to remember and honor God for His faithfulness over the years, we also need to be willing to change in whatever way necessary to align with God. Rather than insisting on our ways, we need to humble ourselves and be quick to admit, repent, and redirect if we have been off course. Lastly, when we truly seek God’s, it becomes ineveitable that we will respond to His great call to make disciples of all nations, whether in our local community or to the ends of the earth. Our standard is God’s Word, and we are to live as true disciples of Christ according to His Word.

 I am thankful to see much of this happening in our church. Over the 20+ years I have been at NCBC, I can confidently say that God has always been faithful. Even through seasons that may have appeared discouraging, God kept me on my knees, assuring me that He is doing great and new things. He invited me to join Him in crossing over to the other side of the Jordan River. This kept me looking forward with hope for what God would do. I see some of these things come to fruition and look forward to what God will do in the years to come. I pray that we will remain humble and pure as we continue to seek and follow God’s heart and vision.