Growing church, encouraging revitalisation

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labour. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Church Growth Trust has always understood the benefit of working with other Christian organisations. From the moment of its foundation, it has been building up strong relationships to help with its vision of serving churches and helping Christ’s Kingdom grow. One such partnership is the Church Revitalisation Project in conjunction with Counties, Partnership and GLO. Set up six years ago, its goal is to put key workers and local churches together to support any congregations who are struggling to develop or move forward.

A brand new “Growing church – church revitalisation project” e-booklet is out now. Giles Arnold, Chief Executive at CGT and Chairman of the Revitalisation Operations Team, explains why it has been updated.

“Since we brought out the original booklet and launched the project, we have been privileged to work with a number of churches and to watch them grow and develop. Some people only think about “revitalisation” when it’s too late and they have already become too small and weak to be revitalised. They require resuscitation or resurrection! We have improved the booklet because we think it’s better to encourage churches to engage with the project at an earlier stage. We want to speak to them when they have problems but can still see a way through them. These issues are often elderly leaders, a dwindling and ageing congregation and a lack of younger members and leaders. If left unchecked, this will lead to the church having to close. When addressed through our Church Health Checks and mentoring inputs, that church can be taken on a whole new journey of revitalisation.”

Giles emphasises that the church has to be prepared to go through challenges and changes if they truly want their future to be bright and start growing again.

“I was speaking to an elder of a church in North Wales recently. They have a reasonable sized congregation, but he recognises that the elders are reaching retirement age and

the congregation is also mostly elderly. Unless they do something now, they will get to the point of no return. I gave him a booklet and had a chat and watched as his eyes lit up. ‘This is exactly what we need!’ he exclaimed. It is a response like that which gladdens our hearts and encourages us to carry on with this project.”

Mark Davies is an Elder at one of CGT’s properties, Highgate International Church (HIC), and the Regional Training Director for GLO, one of CGT’s partners on this project. He has first-hand experience of how the project works at HIC and is currently engaged on a Church Health Check (CHC) with another church outside of London.

“In a sense, our church had lost its core, a very London phenomenon. Young families worship with us, but then need to buy a bigger house and move further out into the suburbs. An entire generation of our church elders retired and many moved further out of London. Highgate is quite central and we do see a lot of people passing through. We have been focusing on arresting the decline, stabilising the church, looking for some key giftings and regrowing a central core of committed workers. In September, we welcomed a new pastor team leader as an addition to a community evangelist who joined us six months ago, and we have been blessed with new key volunteers to the team.

“HIC has always been about building relationships and seeing people come to faith in Christ. Two of the long-term community activities, the twice-weekly toddler group and the Thursday afternoon community café, have been revitalised and in the last five years we have seen a number of people come to know Jesus as their saviour. For us, it is not so much about starting new things, as building a team for the future, futureproofing our church against what was a dwindling and ageing congregation. Without the clarity that a health check brings, the mentoring and, in HIC’s case, the hands-on support from the project, our future would not be looking so positive.”

Andrew Conlan, the South-west Regional Coordinator for Partnership, has been working

closely with churches on their CHCs for over four years and, like Mark, is seeing God at work.

“As with any project, the last four years have been a bit of a mixed bag. However, I have seen two of the congregations with whom I have worked joining forces with other local churches and going forward in a whole new way, which is wonderful.” Andrew adds, “If a church is concerned about its growth or future, getting in touch is simple. The church needs to email us on revitalisation@partnershipuk.org or calling one of the organisations behind the project. We then contact them and send over some written information. The next step is for the church to complete a profile which gives our adviser the basic background and an idea of the present situation. Once that is done, I arrange a Zoom call or meeting with the elders and we chat about the process and how it might work for them. We are flexible and tailor everything we do to individual needs. Crucially, the entire congregation is invited to complete a questionnaire, asking about various aspects of church life. We find that this is a fruitful process, as everyone feels that they are part of the revitalisation journey. Once the leaders have completed a more detailed questionnaire, I can ask more in-depth questions and form a clearer picture. This is the time when the church makes decisions about where it is going and how it is getting there, and it can be incredibly encouraging to watch as progress is made.” Giles, Mark, Andrew and everyone involved with the project across CGT, Counties, Partnership and GLO are in agreement that the process is a journey. Churches who complete a health check are usually looking for some clear and positive recommendations on how they move forward with their findings. Often, the existing relationship between the project and the church moves into a different stage where an adviser continues an ongoing dialogue with the church and supports them through changes and challenges. Whatever happens, a useful list of suggestions is offered to the leadership and whatever help is needed is on hand.

As CGT continues to work with GLO, Counties and Partnership, churches are helped to start growing again and continue proclaiming the Gospel in their communities. With clear guidance, prayer and support, many churches are finding that the revitalisation project is having a miraculous effect as God works through it to breathe new life into their congregation and building. Two are indeed better than one, and four are better yet, as independent churches throughout the UK are revitalised and the Kingdom of God continues to grow.

The new e-booklet “Growing church – church revitalisation project” can be found at www.partnershipuk.org/ church-support/church-revitalisation

Thanks to Ruth Leigh for writing this article. Ruth is a freelance writer who works with a number of Christian charities