6 Areas Where the Enemy Attacks Your Church

Some years ago, I wrote a book entitled, Discipled Warriors. My goal in that book was to help churches produce disciples whose godly lives threaten the enemy. I also addressed the six purposes of the church – worship, evangelism, discipleship, ministry, prayer, and fellowship – while describing how the enemy attacks the church in each of these areas.

Use this checklist to evaluate where the enemy may be winning in your church today:

1. Worship. The enemy wants your church to turn worship inwardly – to focus more on the worshipers than the One being worshiped.

• Is your church battling over worship styles?
• Is your service more focused on people gathering away from the world or on people going to the world as a result of worshiping God?

2. Evangelism. The enemy wants your folks to avoid evangelism completely.

• What percentage of your members really believe that all non-believers are lost?
• What percentage of your members know the gospel and are sharing it?

3. Discipleship. The enemy doesn’t want anyone to be discipled through your church. He particularly doesn’t want anyone putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:11).

• Do your members live more like Jesus or more like the devil? 
• Does your church have a clear, intentional process for growing believers into Christian maturity? If not, you’re sending them into the war unarmed – and they will lose.

4. Ministry. The enemy wants your members to be “lone ranger” Christians – those who battle alone, do not minister to others, and would not seek help from others.

• What percentage of your members are doing ministry through the church?
• Do members “fall through the cracks” because the church has no strategy to connect them to the local body and serve them?

5. Prayer. The enemy wants your church (1) not praying at all or (2) praying selfishly.

• Does your church pray more proactively to strengthen your members in the spiritual battle, or only reactively after the enemy has already won in somebody’s life? 
• What percentage of your church family really have prayer in their DNA?

6. Fellowship. The enemy wants your church to be a place to retreat from the world rather than a place to get re-armed for the war. 

• Does “fellowship” in your church compel members to live godly lives (Heb. 10:24-25)?
• Do your members know what Christian fellowship is really intended to be? 

Ask your church members to give you their own analysis of your church. If you use this post to evaluate your church, let us know how we can pray for you and your congregation.