Mike Puddicombe God’s people desperately need a biblical foundation for church revitalization. Across the world, too many churches are diminishing, declining, or dying. Even healthy congregations are only a few steps away from spiritual dryness if they lose their focus on God’s mission.
The truth is sobering—but it’s also filled with hope.
A Church of Bones
In Sedlec, Czech Republic, there’s a chapel known as the Church of Bones. It houses the skeletal remains of more than 40,000 people who perished centuries ago. It’s a chilling image—but one that mirrors what happens spiritually when the life of God’s Spirit departs from His people.
Your church doesn’t need a graveyard to be full of dry bones.
When evangelism fades, prayer declines, and worship loses its fire, the pews may still be full—but the hearts can be empty.
Ezekiel knew what that looked like:
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.”
— Ezekiel 37:1 (NIV)
Those bones once belonged to people who were busy—people who had other things to do besides walking closely with God. Their dryness was a sign of distance, discouragement, and disobedience.
When the Church Feels Dry
Just like Israel in exile, today’s churches can grow weary and dry.
Busyness replaces devotion. Activity replaces intimacy. Structure replaces Spirit.
When discouragement takes hold, people quit praying, giving, attending, and worshipping. What remains is a room full of busy people and broken bones.
Dry bones are as dead as you can get—but God asks the same question of us that He asked Ezekiel:
“Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3)
Ezekiel’s humble answer should be ours:
“O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
What We Need for Revitalization
1. Get a Fresh Word from the Lord
“Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!’”
— Ezekiel 37:4
Ezekiel was told to preach to the bones. What a strange command—but also a powerful one!
Revitalization begins not with human strategy but with divine truth.
The church doesn’t need another self-help plan or leadership seminar—it needs the Word of the Lord. Only God’s Word can speak life into lifeless places.
Whatever you’re facing, God still has something to say. If we listen again to His voice, we’ll find renewal.
2. Get Together
“As I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.”
— Ezekiel 37:7
Revival begins when God’s people start coming together again—when disunity gives way to harmony, and when every believer takes their place in the body.
The church needs its backbones (supporters), leg bones (workers), hands (servants), jawbones (witnesses), and knee bones (prayers).
But God has no room for wishbones—those who wish things were different but won’t help change them—or knucklebones, who just want to fight.
Each of us is a vital part of the body. Alone, we’re just pieces—but together, we can build something beautiful for the Kingdom.
3. Get God’s Spirit
“Prophesy to the breath… and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”
— Ezekiel 37:9
“I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live.”
— Ezekiel 37:14
Only God’s Spirit can bring life.
No program, no policy, no pastor can do what the Spirit of God can.
When Israel thought their hope was gone, God said, “You will live.”
When Jesus was crucified, the Father said, “You will live.”
And when the church seems beyond saving, the Holy Spirit still whispers, “You will live.”
God is not in the business of dead things—He brings life to everything He touches.
Final Word: Hear, Gather, and Live
Church revitalization isn’t about preserving an institution—it’s about restoring life.
If you feel spiritually dry, hear the Word of the Lord again.
If your church feels disconnected, come together in unity.
And if all seems lifeless, invite the Spirit of God to breathe anew.
“You will never know that God is all you need until God is all you’ve got.” — Rick Warren
The God who raised dry bones to life can revive your church, your ministry, and your soul.
Let’s believe again that He can—and will—make these bones live.