On unconverted ministries: When a person is truly saved, there is at least some sign of desire to love studying God's word. It is not a once upon a time kind of thing, not "I used to love it" kind of thing. One would feel guilty about the above. This proves many members in churches today are not saved. Their worship is a committive one, not a faithful one; their fellowship is a social one, not a family one; their proclamation of faith is an insurance one, not a rejoicing one. And their leaders/pastors are blind.
There is a notion that long distance relationship won't last. Because we do not see each other for an extended time, we do not know how each have changed so that we could acclimate in relationship accordingly. But God is not so, for He does not change. So relationship with God, even though God is invisible, and God is not tangible, and we cannot speak to God as we speak to man, we build our relationship with God through the Son, who is unchanging because He is God, who took human nature to be with us.
On this, Stephen Tong in his 2002 NYC series on serving the Church, 教会事奉典范, file 07x03, mentioned it this way:
为什么中国的教会上帝这么赐福？因为中国的教会真正有了教会一个很重要的经历，就是经历十字架跟复活的大能。为什么美国的教会现在这么凄凉？因为这个教会呢，他们已经放弃了这些原则。
所以他们的基督是 committive Christ, 不是Christ in their faith,
他们的基督是 academical study Christ, 不是他们的 experience, 他们的 confession。
他们的基督是书本上、理论上、历史上的耶稣，而不是今天活着，曾经为我死而复活的基督。
他们的教会是没有经历基督的死、经历受逼迫、十字架的痛苦跟大能。
所以你研究church growth多少都没有用，除非你发现这一点。教会经历十字架，教会就经历基督的大能。教会经历死，教会就得着复活的大能。