The Church Revitalizer Magazine December 2017 / January 2018

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December 2017 January 2018 Vol 4 Issue 1

Revitalizer

“A Revitalization Retreat in Every Issue”

“The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.” ~ Tom Cheyney

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Revitalizer FEATURES

Dec/Jan | Vol 4, No 1

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Do You See What I See?

24

By Chris Irving

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Finding Your Most Important Ministry Partner

By Steve Smith

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Church Revitalization Takes T.I.M.E.

By Joel R. Breidenbaugh

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Mentoring 32 Strategic Relationships

By Lee Kricher,

Revitalization: Investing in the Right Kind of Relationships

By Chad McCarthy

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

10

Overcoming the Sting of Rejection

By Glenn C. Steward

Before You Start Something New

16

Setting the Stage in Children’s Ministry

By Bill Hegedus

By Bill Tenny-Brittian

12 28

Harvest Time!

By Ron Smith

THE LEADERSHIP LINK… Relationships within Leadership

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35

The Three Pastoral Types that Help or Hinder a Revitalizer

By Tracy W. Jaggers

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44

Turning Around a Generic Church 7Marks© of a Growing Church – Building Revitalization Upon a Church’s Gifts

By Bob Whitesel

By Michael Atherton

The Imploding Church: What to Do When It’s All Falling Apart

By Terry Rials

HELP! How Do I Get the “Big Mo” Mentum Back in My Church?

By Darwin Meighan

Peak Performance Principles for Church Revitalizers: Enjoying the Ride Principle

By Tom Cheyney

18 Understanding Youth Ministry with Your Spouse!

By Drew Cheyney

48 72

“The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.”

50 5 Steps to Keeping Your Sunday School Growing

By Fred Boone 52

Sustaining Revitalization: Developing a Gospel Saturation Strategy for Your City

By Mark Weible

54

Early and Latter Rains

By Jim Grant

58

Relationships in Revitalization

By Kenneth Priest

60

Senior Adults Are Your Friends!

70

The Church Revitalizer’s Prayer Partner

By Steve Sells

By Pete Tackett

revitalizer

LIBRARY BOOK REVIEWS

The Church Revitalizer Book Reviewer: Rob Hurtgen 57 Robby Gallaty, along with Randal Collins, Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes a Disciples (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2013)

Rob Hurtgen is the Pastor of First Baptist Church Chillicothe, Missouri. He holds an M.Div from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree in Church Revitalization from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to Shawn since 1995, and they have five children.

57 Aubrey Malphurs, Before You Lead; How to Discern & Shape

Your Church Culture (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 2013).

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Your One Stop Shop for Church Revitalization and Renewal Resources!

RENOVATE Publishing Group

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www.RenovateConference.org/bookstore

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Revitalizer Volume 3, No. 5

The Church Revitalizer Is published bi-monthly by Renovate Publishing Group 1906 West Lee Road Orlando, FL 32810 Email: ChurchRevitalizer.guru

PUBLISHER Executive Editor Dr. Tom Cheyney Associate Publisher Mark Weible Associate Publisher Circulation & Marketing Tom King Executive Editor & Brand Manager Tom Cheyney Magazine Designer & Format Editor Gerald Brown Director of Advertising Renovate Staff Web Ad Traffic Director Mark Weible Digital Media Associate Ashleigh Cheyney For subscription information contact this office at: www.churchrevitalizer.guru/subscriptions.

Subscriptions donations are $30.00 per year for six issues, $52.00 for two years (12 issues).

Outside the U.S. add $10.00 per year prepaid.

Stock images from ISTOCK Photo or where otherwise noted. Š Copyright 2017 Renovate Publishing Group

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ChurchRevitalizer.Guru

By Tom Cheyney

Welcome to the Church Revitalizer Magazine: A Church Revitalization Retreat in Every Issue!

This edition is last one of 2017 and we have had another great year helping churches facing serious challenges in church revitalization and renewal. Throughout the year we have had many new writers join us in our commitment of providing churches and church revitalizers with cutting edge resources for their church.

Here is a list of the Church Revitalizer Magazine subjects and their issues for 2018.

Feburary/March The Best Practices for Church Revitalization and Renewal April/May Character Qualities of a Church Revitalizer June/July Lessons Learned from Church Revitalization and Renewal August/September Personal Disciplines of a Church Revitalizer October/November Developing Significant Benchmarks for Church Revitalization December/January The Best Church Revitalization Articles of 2018!

It is a great set of topics for next years editions!

This edition of The Church Revitalizer focuses on The Best of 2017 from all of our writers.

Stay connected, more is coming.

Dr. Tom Cheyney is the Founder and Directional Leader of Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference and Executive Editor of the Church Revitalizer.

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Overcoming the Sting of Rejection Glenn C. Stewart is a forty-year pastor, an author, and a leadership development speaker; he is also the founder of LifeEquip, Inc., a pastoral support ministry (http://lifeequip.com).

You can reach him at glenn@ lifeequip.com.

I was 26 years old and the first full-time pastor of a young church with a senior adult congregation. Three men served as the primary leadership team and they scheduled a meeting for Tuesday of my first week. When I walked into the room one of the men asked, “What are you doing here?”

Stumbling for a response, I finally managed to weakly say, “I’m here to get to know you men and see what we can do to reach this community.”

“We don’t need you here,” he replied. “You do the preaching and we’ll handle the rest.”

Welcome to the ministry! Rejection hurts! But what does it hurt?

“It hurts my feelings,” you say. “It causes emotional and psychic pain.”

Yes, but there’s more.

An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science reported that social rejection activates the same part of the brain that registers physical pain.1 Spilling hot coffee on yourself and experiencing a person’s rejection can elicit the same type 10

of “hurt” response in the brain.

So that brings new meaning to rejection hurts.

Perhaps nothing is as difficult to deal with as the sting of rejection.

Feeling that we don’t measure up, that we are unqualified, or worse that we are unwanted, may result in agony of the soul from which we can hardly recover.

Rejection colors our approach to people, tasks, and opportunities. It leaves us hesitant to step forward and give ourselves to a person or a cause. We risked once and had it thrown back in our faces. We are not sure we want to risk again.

In Exodus chapters three and four we meet Moses, a man marked by the sting of rejection. It left him hesitant, sensitive, and beset by deep feelings of inadequacy.

We tend to approach this passage with our eyes firmly fixed on Moses. But, if we do, we miss the main purpose of these verses.

The narrative is not designed to teach us something about Moses the man; rather to teach us something about God. Through Moses we get a clear picture of our human inadequacy. But, we must not stop there. We are to go further and see that God reveals Himself as the one who is totally adequate for all He asks and all He assigns. He is sufficient for any contingency of life.

We know that Moses’ people turned against him because he came to the rescue of a fellow Hebrew and in the process killed

By Glenn C. Stewart an Egyptian. He later attempted to intervene in a dispute between two Hebrews but, instead of being accepted, he was rejected with this question, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?”

The biblical commentary on this event is found in Acts 7, where we learn that, “He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.”

Moses ran to the wilderness of Midian where he spent 40 years in the desert taking care of sheep.

He lost his leadership edge. He no longer saw himself as capable. He lived with pain of being rejected.

When God confronted him at the burning bush (Exodus 3-4) Moses gave four reasons for his disqualification.

4 Reasons Moses Felt Underqualified: 1. Personal inadequacy Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11).

“Who am I?” Moses objected.

God’s answer was not to pump up Moses’ self-esteem. He didn’t assure Moses that he could do whatever he set his mind to do.

Continued on page 64

RENOVATE RESOURCES ALL YEAR LONG

If your church has plateaued, is in decline, or is not moving forward as quickly as you wish, the RENOVATE Church Revitalization Coaching Network is just what you are looking for. This Revitalization Coaching Network is designed to help you and your revitalization team develop a successful 18 month plan to increase church attendance, develop new people for ministry, impact community, solidify finances, become more missional, develop new ministries and deepen the making of disciples within your church renewal effort.

RenovateConference.org/coaching-network

Each and every week, the RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Podcast publishes a free audio training covering various aspects of church revitalization and renewal. Hosted by Tom Cheyney, each podcast features content for this week’s edition of his Church Revitalization and Renewal training.

Included in this series of equipping tools are interviews with key Church Revitalizers and in-depth commentary and analysis from pastors, revitalization coaches, laity, and practitioners in the field of church revitalization and renewal.

RenovateConference.org/podcast

Church Revitalization / Church Planting RenovateConference.org/bookstore

“A Revitalization Retreat in Every Issue” RenovateConference.org/magazine 11

Before You Start Something New It’s time to gear up for back from summer vacation, back to school, and back to church Sundays. If your church is like most, you’re already looking at how you can leverage the annual return of the migrating church members and perhaps even pick up a few extra first-time visitors who are new to the community. Every television and radio station, every newspaper and direct mail piece will be reminding families in your community that now! is the time to get back into the swing of things.

And it’s a time when many churches put together new programs, ministries, and events in an effort to attract the elusive unchurched Mike and Mary. But before you start anything new, consider this: most churches in decline are doing too much and they’re doing most of it badly.

Most churches have a handful of good, faithful people who have been on the frontlines of ministry serving in a half-dozen positions and they’re tired. Worse, they’re mostly serving outside of their personal passion. Though they’re filling a slot, they’re not able to give any ministry their full energy or attention, and so mediocrity is what you get.

So, before you start anything new, right now is the perfect time to stop and take an inventory of all the ministries, programs, missions, and events the church is engaged in. And once you do, it’s exactly the right time to lay to rest as many of them as you possibly can.

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I hear your trepidation, that sharp intake of breath, and the not-soslow rise in your blood pressure.

You wonder what I’m talking about. Surely, I don’t mean that you should pull the plug on the annual Christmas Bazaar, the Thanksgiving Quilt-a-thon, or the Men’s iHop Breakfast Bash?

I’m not sure … every church is different. But if you’re a church on a plateau or in decline, I can almost guarantee there are some things the church needs to stop doing before it takes on one more thing. I’m talking about putting an end to those ministries that probably got started years and years ago but have failed to bear sufficient fruit (but that keep on going and going and going anyway). I call these ministries, programs, and events the church’s Zombie Ministries.

They’re already dead, but they just keep on walking and as they do, they suck the life out of nearly everyone who participates.

The Zombie Ministries in your church could be: • The children’s moment that’s still in the bulletin even though there hasn’t been a kid in church in four years.

• The Saturday evening worship service that has an average worship attendance of six people.

• The Vacation Bible School that hasn’t brought a single new family through the doors of the church in a decade.

By Bill Tenny-Brittian

• The Pennies from Heaven program that raised 47¢ last month.

• The all-church small group ministry that has an average attendance of three: the pastor, the pastor’s spouse, and Widow Baumgartner.

Many churches are so “busy” with Zombie Ministries that their leaders are in danger of becoming zombies themselves. And once your leaders move past being tired, past being burned out, they are in danger of sliding into cynicism: “Yeah, we tried that once, but it didn’t work.”

Now, there are a ton of reasons why churches continue to support Zombie Ministries, even though it’s killing them. But here are five of the most common: • The church has decreased in size over the years, but never stopped any of the ministries it did when it was large.

• The church’s leadership has a hard time saying “No” to people who want to get their personal pet ministries started.

• The church’s leadership doesn’t have the chutzpah to pull the plug on a fruitless ministry because it’s somebody’s pet project and they won’t risk conflict.

• The church’s leadership believes it has to be engaged in all these ministries in order to be a faithful church.

• The church’s leadership has set no benchmarks for what is or isn’t success, and thus has no criteria for bringing a ministry to a close.

Make no mistake: Zombie Ministries plague most churches, and they suck down church resources faster than (WARNING: Metaphor Switch) a vampire under a full moon. But not only do Zombie Ministries suck resources from a church, by their very existence they keep other vital and life-giving ministries from starting. And if by chance a new ministry starts anyway, it has almost no chance of succeeding because the leaders heading up the new effort are already busy with a dozen other ministries> The new ministry may get a little extra energy to get it launched, but that energy will quickly wane and shortly thereafter, the new ministry will become just another less-than-successful ministry that no one has the

heart to kill. Another Zombie Ministry that someone, someday, will have to pull the plug on … unless, of course, the church dies first.

It’s never easy killing off an existing ministry, but it’s absolutely necessary to prune off branches that aren’t bearing adequate fruit (the story of Jesus and the fig tree in Matthew 21 comes to mind). Here are five ways to help you put an end to some of your Zombie Ministries: 1. Measure everything you’re doing against your congregation’s mission and vision. Any ministry that isn’t fully supporting them must come to an end.

2. Set measurable benchmarks for success and then measure each ministry against those benchmarks. Stop the ones that don’t measure up.

3. Practice Sakichi Toyoda’s “Five Whys.” For every ministry, ask “Why are we doing this?” and then question each answer with “Why?” until you have a clear understanding about why the church is engaging the ministry.

Often you’ll discover the reason a zombie ministry still exists is because “We’ve always done it.”

And doing something just because you’ve always done it isn’t a success-based benchmark.

4. Be sure every outreach ministry does three things: blesses those who serve, blesses those being served, and creates visibility for the church. It’s the last one that should be the criterion for killing many outreach ministries (See Matthew 5:16 for Jesus’ visibility mandate). If a ministry Continued on Page 22

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Setting the Stage in Children’s Ministry

By Bill Hegedus Creating a great experience for children is one the best ways to communicate the value you place on families as a church. I think we can all agree that children are important to God. As such, they should be equally important to us. After all, they are the future of the church.

stand out for the kids and the parents. The anticipation of what was to come began as soon as they walked through the doors. The goal was to create a lasting impression and build excitement for the weeks to come. So many parents ex-pressed their gratitude that we would go to lengths to engage their kids.

The kids of today are different than any other generation before. They have access to enter-tainment and information at the touch of a screen. The attention span of a 7-year-old is growing shorter. It takes more effort and imagination to “wow” them than ever before. That’s why I believe “setting the stage” is more important in today’s church than in any other time in history.

You see, “setting the stage” is just another way to show parents and kids they matter to the church, and they matter to God. Now, I have had some church leaders tell me that this is all about entertaining the kids and feeding the consumer mindset the world is already putting out there for kids. I completely agree with them. Only, with a few exceptions. I think it is about enter-tainment. What is entertainment? It’s a creative way to engage kids. If it is not entertaining, it is dubbed as boring. The last thing I would want to do is bore kids. The bible is entertaining and ex-citing, filled with stories that would make some current hit shows appear as though their story-lines are boring! I believe the bible should be taught with the same excitement; especially when it comes to kids.

“Setting the stage” is a term we use referring to the aesthetics in our space. When done right, and with intentionality, it pays huge dividends. It helps to communicate value and thoughtfulness. Think of it this way, if a special guest were coming to visit you at your home, you would make sure your house was clean and tidy. You would do this to make a good first impression. The same should be said for your church.

Especially when it comes to your children’s area. It should be clean and organized, but also fun and engaging. It should be very welcoming to first time and returning guests.

Setting the stage also includes being intentional about theming your environments. One great way to do this is to have decorations on stage, or even before kids get in the room, that goes along with your theme.

If you were going to have a birthday party for your own child, and it was a superhero themed party, wouldn’t you decorate it to go along with that theme? Of course, you would! Think along those lines when it comes to your children’s area. For example, we did a 5-week series on the Voyages of the Apostle Paul. We called it ‘Pirates of the Mediterranean’. We decorated the stage like a pirate ship and had some of our leaders even dress up as pirates.

We had pirate music playing in our check in area.

There was a life-sized pirate hanging from a rope in our lobby area. We did all these things just to set the stage before they stepped foot into their class room.

It made the theme and the whole Sunday experience

All of this only helps if there are some tangible ways of putting this into practice. Here are a few important steps and keys to help you “set the stage” at your church.

First, plan ahead. Planning ahead will allow you to be more intentional with what you use to deco-rate, and gives you time to get others involved. A great way to do this is to theme your teaching area to go along with the lessons for the month. Maybe you have a curriculum that changes weekly. If this the case, I would recommend coming up with a theme you could use for a 4 to 5-week series.

Changing out your set every week would be extremely costly and very time con-suming. A monthly theme approach is best for budgets. At the very least, you could change it out quarterly. By planning ahead, it will make these decisions easier!

Second, build a team of volunteers to come in and change out the set monthly. We have a team of volunteers that come every Tuesday for about 3 hours and work on the thematic elements for the stage and hall areas.

Even though the stage only changes monthly, they use the other weeks to build, paint and create elements for the next month’s design. They love being with each other, and have a real sense of ownership in this area. They are extremely resourceful and de-tailed! Our sets always look professional and attention-grabbing.

Continued on Page 26 16

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Understanding Youth Ministry with Your Spouse!

July is almost over which means our summers are almost gone! For most Youth Pastors that means planning for the school year is in full bloom.

Conferences, vacations, events, and upcoming series have hopefully been planned. You have probably met with potential leaders you are hoping will be a part of your team this year. If you are bold enough, you might have even had a budget conversation asking for a few more resources than last year. And seeing as how you have been working on ALL OF THAT STUFF FOR MINISTRY, you probably even have a plan in place to make sure your wife & family are not put on the backburner right? WRONG! If we were all to be honest, chances are only a portion of us have any kind of plan in place for making sure our families do not feel neglected.

WARNING: for those of you who are reading this and are saying, “well I’m not married yet,” this may not be something you are dealing with right now, but if you can apply wisdom now, you will save yourself PAIN in the future.

Here is why all this matters for married or single Youth Pastors; check these stats out in Youth Ministry: - 90% of married couples are in crisis.

- 5% are in the process of getting married.

- 5% have healthy marriages.

These are alarming realities about where most of us find ourselves in ministry. You and I have been commanded to love our wives as Christ loved the church. Last time I checked Jesus died for the church, and yet if you were to check our priorities in life, would that reality be reflective? To take this a step further, what happens out of your relationships with your spouse reflects in every area of your ministry. Matter of fact, if your are barren and distant from your spouse, chances are there

is going to be some parallels in your ministry. And the painful truth is that your goal in life is not to build a big church or big youth ministry, your calling is about building a big you and the biggest legacy you leave is not in a building, it’s in your own home, but is that really what is happening in your leadership? Here is a harder question; if your lead pastor or supervisor was to ask your wife / husband if you are cheating on your family or him/ her with ministry what would their response be?

OUCH! I once heard a saying that Marriage & Ministry can either work hand in hand or they can mix like oil and water.

This article hopefully starts conversations that not only will save your ministry, but hopefully save your family now or in the future. Here are 4 healthy spiritual habits that will help you understand Youth Ministry with your spouse: 1. Practice, Not Just Remember Your Commitement Whether you are married currently or not, we will all remember the day we said “I DO.” When that day comes, the very last thing anyone will be thinking about is a task list of work they need to do. No one will be thinking about the leaders they need to recruit. But on that day you will commit something extremely intimate to your spouse. Over the years, something I have noticed is that the longer we are in ministry and married, the further away we get away from our commitement and instead focus on the commitement we made to the area of ministry we are serving instead. If you want tension in your life, turn your promise to your wife to a daily compromise at home. Most likely, this is an area of compromise for many of us so take this tip to heart: Tip: Refuse to live intimidated, you can always find a new job, but you can’t always work past years

By Drew Cheyney

of bitterness and resentment in the home.

2. Have Open Communication About Boundaries It is amazing how so few couples in ministry talk about what boundaries look like in the areas of calendar, opposite gender relationships, phone interactions, and so much more.

Instead what most of us do is in the middle of our frustrations and anger that is when we take jabs and start to poke at what is not being done.

Now imagine what it would look like if before getting to bitterness, anger, and frustration we discussed and had conversations when the temperature of the dispute was at a 3 or 4. For example, my wife and I just had a baby and I knew that my schedule was going to need to change a little in this season so we could care for our daughter as a team. So I asked a question a lot of us tend to avoid and it was this: “what would be ideal right now in life as a couple in this season.” My wife responded by letting me know that me being home by 5:15pm to care for our daughter would help her greatly. She let me know that it would be ideal if I could not have meetings in the evenings for a couple months. These are just a few examples in our season, but if there is no communication between us, this could have become an explosion of bitterness when levels hit a 10 instead of what we did which was communicate about them at a 3.

Tip: Do not take on anything else on in your schedule without getting rid of something else or getting your wife’s okay.

3. Love God Above Everything Else This for most people in ministry is such a cliché, but the longer we are married and the more children we have, the more we make up excuses in this area. We forget that Jesus

Continued on page 36 18

Does God really set people free?

Or are we just talking?

Transformational Discipleship was developed to train leaders how to guide both brand-new and longtime believers towards deep spiritual change.

This training is foundational for every believer. It guides people who are stuck on their faith journey due to unresolved, often hidden issues in their lives towards true spiritual, emotional and mental freedom through intimacy with God.

“It’s not like anything I have been through before.”

Pastor John Wright, Titusville, FL “This is life transforming. I’m going to teach the socks off this thing.”

Dr. Phil Phillips, Ft. Myers, FL

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Do You See What I See?

By Chris Irving

If you have spent any time reading any book on leadership, you have read the following parable.

Let me turn your attention to the perspective Paul writes about in Romans 12:1-2:

Once upon a time, five blind men came upon an elephant.

“What is this?” asked the first one, who had run head first into its side. “It’s an elephant.” said the elephant’s keeper, who was sitting on a stool, cleaning the elephant’s harness.

“Wow, so this is an Elephant! I’ve always wondered what Elephants are like.” said the man, running his hands as far as he could reach up and down the elephant’s side. “Why, it’s just like a wall, a large, warm wall!” “What do you mean, a wall?” said the second man, wrapping his arms around the elephant’s leg. “This is nothing like a wall. You can’t reach around a wall! This is more like a pillar. Yeah, that’s it, an elephant is exactly like a pillar!” “A pillar? Strange kind of pillar!” said the third man, stroking the elephant’s trunk.

“It’s too thin, for one thing, and it’s too flexible for another.

If you think this is a pillar, I don’t want to go to your house!

This is more like a snake. See, it’s wrapping around my arm. An elephant is just like a snake!” “Snakes don’t have hair!” said the fourth man in disgust, pulling the elephant’s tail. “You are closer than the others, but I’m surprised that you missed the hair. This isn’t a snake, it’s a rope. Elephants are exactly like ropes.” “I don’t know what you guys are on!” the fifth man cried, waving the elephant’s ear back and forth. “It’s as large as a wall, all right, but thin as a leaf, and no more flexible than any piece of cloth this size should be. I don’t know what’s wrong with all of you, but no one except a complete idiot could mistake an elephant for anything except a sail!” And as the elephant moved on, they stumbled along down the road, arguing more vehemently as they went, each sure that he, and he alone, was right and all the others were wrong. Whereas the truth is that an elephant is… an elephant.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” 1

In the work of revitalization, you need to be able to bring the church in decline to a proper perspective of their situation. Pastors are shepherds who lead, and great leadership brings people with different perspectives together to achieve a set of goals. Within the church, that primary goal is to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Momentum wains in the long work of revitalization, especially at the end of the summer time. These guys went on their way convinced they were right and arguing all the way home but neither of them had the correct perspective. There are some churches who are so busy, like these guys arguing over an elephant, they don’t have perspective, and won’t gain perspective until they slow and see the truth. The summer months can be one of the seasons when the church is busy with camps, VBS, mission trips, or other special events which leads to a drain on momentum as the summer draws to a close. Then and there you need to check your perspective.

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Gaining Perspective of God’s Mercy Paul has just finished what is perhaps the greatest theological work of the entire Bible. The pattern of Romans begins with eleven chapters of theology, then turns to four verses of doxology, and then four chapters of practice. Before we can practice, Paul points us to perspective.

The first word, “Therefore”…what is it there for? It opens our eyes to the first eleven chapters Paul just finished.

All of the theology and doctrine is needed for gaining a proper perspective on ministry and maintaining momentum. The greater our comprehension of what God has done for us, the greater our commitment should be.

A big vision of God’s plan births a big commitment to the plan and the ability to keep moving forward.

What is the reason for obedience? Because we are justified by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. Next Paul urges, or appeals to the church in view of the mercies of God. The mercies of God brought in to Christ by His grace. For Paul, the only sufficient motivation for obedience is based on the mercies of God. Momentum is certainly slowed because of disobedience.

One reason we are disobedient is due to an improper perspective. So what are you doing to maintain perspective? Stand at the top of the mountain of Romans 12:1, and look back over the valley of theology Paul laid out in Romans 1-11, and gain perspective. That perspective will help you maintain momentum when drained from summer activity.

Perspective Births the Offering of Your Life When you gain perspective through viewing God’s mercies, the next logical step is the offering of your life to God as a living sacrifice. This is Paul’s first appeal. We are embodied people. If you lose your body, you cannot

1 Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), Ro 12:1–2.

talk, eat, see, touch, or walk. Our bodies, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not called to offer just a lame segment of our life to Him, but our whole being.

Practice does not happen without proper perspective.

Offering your life to God as a living sacrifice does not happen without proper perspective. This offering is an offering of consecration. There was a time in Israel’s history when they were not offering the purest of animals.

Malachi 1:6-14 tells the story. They were offering sick and lame animals. They had improper perspective of God’s mercies, and they had certainly lost momentum. Don’t be that pastor! Keep your eye on the mercies of God. Offering Your Life is Pleasing to God Paul says that we are to make this offering pleasing to God. It is only rational this offering is made in view of God’s mercy. Friend, the proper perspective of the Gospel is one which radically reorients your aim in life. We no longer live for ourselves, but rather to please God. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 says, “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.” The Gospel also motivates and frees us to live lives that please God. We aim to please God because He has saved, by grace through faith, those who are in Christ. We please God as an act of worship, which is rational.

If you’ve lost momentum, and you are not offering all of yourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice, that is irrational and you need to regain perspective. The daily offering of oneself as a living sacrifice is a guard against loss of momentum. Take up your cross daily and follow Jesus!

no more.” Now, read that again in your best Scottish accent and have fun with it.

Paul is calling all men and women who’ve been saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, those who stand justified by His grace, Give Him All You’ve Got!

Chris Irving is the Lead Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gonzales, TX. Chris has served in ministry for 15 years in Texas. He led a small rural church to revitalization and is currently involved in the revitalization process of First Baptist Gonzales. Dr. Irving aims to help pastors equip the lay leadership of the church to serve in ministry. He and his wife, Amber have been married for 14 years and have six children.

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Overcome the Loss of Momentum How do you or your church overcome the loss of momentum? First, view or review the mercies of God. Friend… take a moment and look at the cross. This is our why. This is our what. This is our how. This is our when. There is absolutely no way to sustain momentum in church revitalization without stoking the fire of our hearts by deep meditation and focus on God’s mercy and grace. When I say motivation, I mean PRAY! Look at the cross and seek the One who gave His life for you on the cross.

Second, remind yourself the only rational response to the cross of Christ is the giving of yourself to Him. In the famous Star Trek series, one of my favorite characters is Montgomery Scott, aka, Scottie. There often comes a time in the movie series where Scottie is asked to provide more power, or to make a hasty repair to the Enterprise as the crew is in grave danger. He usually says something like, “I’ve given her all she’s got captain, an I canna give’er

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Before You Start Something New Continued....

doesn’t create visibility for the church, it must come to an end.

5. Finally, don’t start any new ministries without pre-determining the expected results. Set a go/ no go date so the ministry team is fully aware that if the results fall short by that date, there will be no surprises when the plug gets pulled and the ministry is ended.

It can be painful putting an end to a beloved tradition, but any Zombie Ministry that’s allowed to continue will continue to be a distraction and a drain on the church’s resources. Better to risk the ire of one of the saints than to feed a zombie and kill your church’s future.

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Bill Tenny-Brittian is the managing partner of The Effective Church Group. For over thirty years, The Effective Church Group has been equipping churches and church leaders so they can be successful in reaching their mission. We provide consulting and coaching using the time-tested Complete Ministry Audit to help churches reach maximum effectiveness. Learn more at EffectiveChurch.com.

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23

Church Revitalization Takes T.I.M.E.

By Joel R. Breidenbaugh, PhD Once upon a time a young man went to school to prepare for his career. While going to school, he met a beautiful young lady and the two were married in sweet bliss. They began to have children as the husband looked for the big job to launch his career. Such a key job would help him provide for his family. It could also help him achieve recognition among his peers, so that he could get a promotion one day. He would have his Camelot and his family would enjoy their lives together…

Every young man called into the pastorate has similar aspirations. He plans to get a good education. He expects to start a nice family. He anticipates working at a church to get some experience so he can go to a bigger church.

But somewhere early into the journey, he wakes up from his dream and realizes the real world is nothing like Camelot at all. Schooling can be difficult. Having a family, while a tremendous blessing, offers a unique set of challenges. Add to these areas a church pastorate and suddenly what seemed to be a fairy tale can quickly become a nightmare, if you serve a tough church and aren’t prepared for it (and which pastor is ever really prepared for a tough church). Maybe that’s why Jesus talked about counting the cost in following Him.

As optimistic as I am in life, I also try to be realistic.

If you are reading this article, you know you don’t live in a fairy tale. You know church work is hard work, not just because of the challenging people you shepherd but also because real-life spiritual warfare is happening. You are in the midst of a church which needs revitalization badly (like a decade or two ago).

So what advice can I give you? I want to give you hope (optimism) and warning (realism) together. Church revitalization is necessary, but it takes T.I.M.E. Let me spell it out for you, one letter at a time.

Temperature 24

One of the necessary ingredients you will need

in church revitalization is to take the temperature of the church and your own life. At best, some churches which need revitalization are lukewarm.

Mostly are spiritually cold. They are not nearly as sensitive to the work of God as they need to be.

They don’t love their neighbors like they should.

They care far more for their own desires than the desires of those who need the Lord. It isn’t hard to find these kinds of churches, for they dot the landscape of America.

But we pastors must be careful not to point all our fingers at the church. If we aren’t cautious, we, too, can lose our zeal for the lost. We can carry out ministry as usual and get in a rut. We must ask the Lord to revive our souls, if we ever expect Him to revive our churches. And if it won’t begin with us, with whom will it begin?

Involvement As you seek to assess the temperature of your church and your own life, you will need to be involved in your church and community. Your involvement in your church takes on showing your face in several places.

First, don’t just think of yourself as the preacher in the pulpit, even though that is your primary task as pastor. You need to be seen in a variety of settings to attain the level of involvement you will need to be effective.

Second, show up to various church ministries.

Pop into the children’s rooms from time to time to say “hello” and express your appreciation to the teachers. Let the kids know how excited you are that they are there. Do the same thing with youth ministry and music ministry. You don’t have to be present every time they meet, but touching base on a monthly basis communicates you care about them and are available when needed.

In addition to your involvement at church, be involved in your community. You may be a volunteer coach or attend the Friday night football games.

You may eat once a week with the town gurus for

breakfast or lunch. To reach your community, you need to be involved in your community. It also sets a good example for your church members to be involved.

Ministry

Beyond mere involvement where you make your presence known, make sure there are times you are offering ministry to your people and your community. Everyone expects the pastor to stop by the hospital and pray for Brother Jones. But what about scheduling a visit with the Smith family just to see how they are doing? You can read Scripture and pray, letting them know you care about their spiritual growth. Such opportunities can open the door for future ministry options with that family or their friends, especially when they spread the word about how you cared for them.

While your ministry will look different in your community, you can still minister. You can stop and ask your waitress how you can pray for her as you are about to pray over your meal. You can pray for the Lord’s protection as a volunteer coach. God has allowed me to offer this general ministry in my own setting, and even unbelievers have told me how much they appreciated my care and concern for their children or their family.

Endurance

The last quality I want to mention in revitalizing a church over a period of time is the need for endurance. Do you believe the Lord has called you to your church? Are you willing to put in the hard work to see if the Lord will turn things around? I believe in divine sovereignty—God can and will do whatever He wants in accordance with His character and will—but I also believe in human responsibility—we must repent, when needed, and depend on the Lord and prepare for Him to work through us or we will keep getting the same results.

But human responsibility takes time. We must endure through the tough times of ministry.

You cannot run at the first sign of trouble. For that matter, if God has called you there, you cannot run at the fifth or sixth sign of trouble either. You must endure. Think of the prophets and apostles and what they endured for our Lord. Think of the Church Fathers and Reformers and how they persevered in the faith. Remember our Lord Jesus Christ who endured the cross. By the grace of God, you can endure.

Conclusion

You will not experience Camelot this side of heaven.

You may think you are there for a brief season of ministry, but reality will set in. You and your church need the Lord in a desperate kind of way. But for the Lord to have a lasting effect on you and your church and bring the revitalization your church needs, it’s going to take some T.I.M.E. But with the Lord on your side, He can help you assess the temperature, be involved, offer ministry and endure to the end.

May the Lord do so for His glory and the good of His people.

But we pastors must be careful not to point all our fingers at the church. If we aren’t cautious, we, too, can lose our zeal for the lost.

We can carry out ministry as usual and get in a rut. We must ask the Lord to revive our souls, if we ever expect Him to revive our churches. And if it won’t begin with us, with whom will it begin?

Joel Breidenbaugh is the Pastor of Preaching and Vision, at the Gospel Centered Church, in Apopka, FL. He is a contributing author to a new Christian Theology book due out early next year.

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Setting the Stage in Children’s Ministry Continued...

By Bill Hegedus Third, when “setting the stage”, go the extra mile.

Make it stand out to the kids and the families. Don’t just throw some hand-written signs, or poor looking decorations on a wall and call it a day. Go that extra mile to make it memorable. Poor decorations will have the opposite effect you want. Use your creativity and resourcefulness! Remember this is to get them engaged and excited to see what is in store for them.

Make every Sunday special. Make it the highlight of their week. A place they can’t wait to come back to.

You never know how “setting the stage” can change a kid’s life and help them discover the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. For many kids, Sunday is all they have to look forward to. The only time they feel special or that they mat-ter. That feeling begins when they first walk through your church doors.

What will they experi-ence when they walk through your doors this week?

Lastly, start “setting the stage” even before they enter the class room. Add elements of your theme to your kids check in area. Have volunteers dress up from time to time. Decorate the hallways leading to their class. Be creative in making it really stand out.

Setting the stage builds excitement for kids and parents, but also it builds it for your volunteers. It says that the children’s ministry is a great place to serve.

People want to serve in a ministry that is fun and exciting. This is great, because you always need volunteers in kid’s ministry!

I hope these few suggestions will help you “set the stage” in your children’s area. Just remem-ber, it can look different for each church or situation. For example, you may be a church plant that sets up and tears down each week. “Setting the stage” can be done even in a portable envi-ronment. I would even argue that it is even more important in a temporary space.

My very first position as a children’s pastor was for a church plant. Every week we had to set up and tear down. Everything was loaded and stored in trailers every Sunday. It was often tempting for me to take the easy way and just set up the basics each week, but that wouldn’t be communicating the value we as a church had for kids and families. We had decorations and sets that changed out regularly. Sure, it took extra time, but kids are worth it.

Every Sunday matters! Each week you make an impression with your kid’s environment. Why not do everything you can to make it a great and lasting impression. One that says that the church cares and is relevant to every age. One that captures and engages the heart and mind of future generations.

One that lets them know they not only matter to the church, but more im-portantly they matter to God.

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Bill Hegedus is the Family Pastor at Bethlehem Church in Atlanta. Bill has over 15 years experience ministering to kids and families and currently serves as the Family Pastor of Bethlehem Church. His heart and passion is to help kids understand and live out a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Often described as a big kid himself, Bill uses laughter and innovation to do ministry in an exciting and memorable way kids enjoy.

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Harvest Time!

There is something refreshing about the fall.

There is also something universally true during the fall and that is the idea of the harvest. Fall harvest is a huge part of the season. Almost every region in the United States welcomes a harvest.

Many families decorate their houses and yards in anticipation for the fall season. For the church, this is a great time to get on board with a natural season.

Of course many churches offer fall themed events but I am adding to this. Don’t make the mistake of only hosting a Fall Festival, Trunk or Treat or Judgment House. Include this event but think deeper, bigger and longer.

Just as the fall season brings its own culture, you as a church leader can also think culture. Think beyond an event and think about preparing your church for a season of harvest.

No matter what region of the US you live in your area stores will be full of fall decorations; straw bales, scarecrows, pumpkin, apples, and sunflowers. It’s an anticipated time of change. This is huge for the church. Let me explain how to think harvest.

Just months removed from the fall are three big holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And just months away from Christmas is Easter.

How we plan now in the summer for the fall willcarry us to Easter. This is when we can expect a harvest.

Don’t miss that. Of course you can expect and plan for a literal harvest in the fall, and you should think this way. But it is the fall season that carries us to Easter. It takes months for people to hear our message, establish a rapport, and feel directed to “attend” or even join our community of faith.

It also takes months, if not years, for some churches to prepare for a harvest.

So how do you plan for the harvest? Think church wide campaign – think both in-reach and outreach. Use the fall harvest season to usher in a 28

By Ron Smith new season of thinking, connecting, worshipping, serving and being.

Here is what I mean; plan a themed approach for the months of September and October that has events built into it for church members and for the community that you are trying to reach.

Let me give you some examples that will help you see the plan.

1) SMILE Smile was an 8-week campaign where I taught through the book of Philippians. The goal was to put a smile on someone’s face. It’s that simple. We partnered with the Florida Baptist Children’s Home sponsoring kids and going on missions. We held large-scale events for the community but we also held little events within our church for the church.

The design behind this was to teach the joy of Christ, the beauty of belonging to a church and the importance of being authentic and real.

For our church it was a reminder of how simple and powerful a smile is. A smile opens many doors.

2) Us Together Us Together is a campaign designed to “celebrate community.” Again this is both in-reach and outreach. The in-reach side of things is built upon events with the church like Children’s, Students and Life Groups. The outreach component is then capitalizing on these internal events asking our people to invite friends. For example, our Children’s ministry is collecting boxes large enough for a small child to sit in. These kids take a box, decorate it, and bring it back for family movie night. The kids are encouraged to take extra boxes, invite friends, have their friends decorate and join them for movie night at the church. On the first Sunday of the campaign, we hand out large puzzle pieces and encourage each family to decorate their piece. And then on the last Sunday of the campaign we place our numbered pieces on a wall. This wall gives us a look at Us Together but it also has missing pieces along the edges, symbolizing we still need others to join Us.

The whole point of a fall campaign is to introduce a movement of mission, change and trajectory. Take advantage of the built fall season by utilizing the natural season as a catalyst for growth and needed change.

Theming your fall does not have to be costly.

Through creativity you can simply place emphasis where needed for your church to be on mission.

Theming a season for your church is also a great time to develop needed areas of ministry.

In the above scenarios we used the theme to emphasize missions. Smile was a fun way to get people engaged while at the same time teaching on a great book of the Bible. In both fall themes we as a staff and church leaders were able to address areas of development within our body. We needed leaders in key areas of our ministry and we needed them trained before Easter. Overall, in both campaigns it was a very soft way to keep them on mission and keep them engaged in ministry.

The more we can keep our church engaged in ministry the more often they will see the need and recall the churches mission.

Like every church we also needed to keep a constant presence in the community. Finding ways to hand out Smile cards and hold Smile events really kept us in the community where the community existed; malls, parks, schools, and ball fields. Us Together also called on the diversity of the body to reach the diversity of the community. It challenged us to make sure we were a church for the community.

Within the campaigns we as church leaders had to think through mindsets and ministries that either helped the cause of hurt the cause. We re-evaluated our church membership process, our marketing process, our social media presence and our own language we used with our church leaders.

One of the hazards in serving as a volunteer in the church is we forget what it felt like to be unchurched. Seasonal campaigns remind us that not

everyone speaks church language and not everyone makes Sunday a priority.

This type of thinking kept us planning for those we were not reaching instead of planning to keep who have.

Let’s recap. Capitalize on the natural harvest season of the fall by…

1. Theming this season with an in-reach and outreach campaign 2. Use this season to look at weak areas of your churches mission and structure.

3. Design the campaign to address these issues but in a fun, friendly way not in a lecture style, “we need to change” statement.

4. Take the strengths you have, put creativity to it, call out the areas you need help, list out the possibilities, recruit/equip/send and have fun living life on mission.

The goal for this theme is to reap a harvest. Your harvest may be the church getting off the sidelines and serving. Your harvest may be physical growth or it could be a presence in the community that leads to open doors and harvest 6 months later come Easter.

Either outcome is a harvest. Try it this fall. See what change comes with this season.

Ron Smith is the lead pastor of Waterstone a church working towards revitalization and renewal. He leads the National Coaching Network for the Renovate Group as its lead coach. Ron is a husband to Rana, father to three girls. Ron is the author of Churches Gone Wild. You can follow Ron and receive free resources at RonBSmithJr.com. Ron serves as CO-Leader of Renovate Pod-casts as well as serving on staff of the Renovate Coaching Network.

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Gaining Momentum in Revitalization Leading revitalization efforts will require you to use a plethora of tools in the revitalization toolbox; Biblical preaching, communication, sound cultural exegesis, faith, and ability to lead change to name a few. But, there may be few disciplines as important as your ability to be a visionary. Can you receive God’s vision? Can you cast/communicate God’s vision? Can you organize to accomplish God’s vision? Can you celebrate God’s vision when it is accomplished? Vision likely becomes one of the most important weapons at fighting mediocrity and laziness in the church. Gaining momentum in your revitalization efforts will certainly not be limited to your ability to be a visionary, but it will include your ability to be a visionary leader.

A simple Internet search of the phrase “vision statement” will point you to over fifteen million websites dealing with vision. Admittedly, not every one of those sites is going to prove beneficial for the church. Nevertheless, this exercise validates how important vision is in our world. Most every church, school, and business functions with some type of vision in place. Yet, the discussion of vision is not new to this generation, but rather was introduced by Solomon many years ago.

Proverbs 29:18 reads, “Where there is no revelation (or vision), the people cast off restraint.” Solomon understood that vision is a critical point, as it give focus, purpose, direction and clarity to people.

Beyond that, why else is vision so important?

Vision is inspiring Here is a very clear distinction that is important for you to understand: your vision is not inspiring!

Lest you think that I am just rude, I will say the same about myself. My vision is not inspiring! Yet, so many churches and church programs are being fueled by man-made dreams and visions. Are there some great ideas out there? No doubt! Are there creative people out there? Absolutely! The problem lies in the reality that we, as compared to God, have such a limited view and scope of the future. What can be more exciting and inspiring

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By Michael Atherton

than carrying out the vision that God has for your church?

You see, it is very possible that God has a vision for your church that is not going to be found in a book or on the Internet. In fact, He is only going to reveal it when you are ready to stop and listen to Him. But I can assure you that when you hear from a bush that does not burn up, you will be inspired. When you sit in the belly of a fish for three days, you will be inspired. When the chains loosen and the walls shake at the sounds of praising God, you will be inspired. The only fuel that will sustain the ministry of your church over the long haul is a dedication to receive and follow a God-given vision!

Vision develops your faith Once you receive a vision from God, the next logical step is where faith comes into the equation. Lord, how are we going to do this? It is at this point that you run down the mental inventory of resources that you have available. You begin to take into account the people (their gifts, talents, and abilities), timetables, finances, and materials to see if the task ahead is humanly possible. Then you remember that God never said His vision was humanly possible. In fact, that is often not the case. God wants to do something in you and through you that can glorify His name.

Vision motivates sacrifice When the people of the church begin to give out of their desire to see God’s purposes accomplished, great things happen. When vision takes root in the life of a church, people will begin to give sacrificially and joyfully. People will give their time. People will give of their finances. People will give up their classrooms. People will give up their pride. People will give up their positions.

People will give up their building. People will give up their preferences. People will sacrifice

whatever stands between them and the vision that God has laid upon their hearts. As a result, you will be left with a church that is not afraid of sacrifice because they have seen what God can do through those who are willing to make difficult sacrifices.

Vision sustains ministry One of my most frustrating experiences, while I was attending seminary, was going to class every Monday and listening to one of my counterparts complain about the ministry situation that God had placed them in. There is no sense in denying that ministry has its ups and downs. Ministry is tough. Ministry can hurt. Ministry challenges you in ways in which we do not often want to be challenged. However, vision is what helps you wake up on Monday ready to keep at it. Vision sustains ministry.

but it is not always an easy trek. It will cost you physically, mentally, socially, financially, and spiritually. A number of years ago, I heard a sermon by Adrian Rogers, wherein he made the comment: “The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price has been forgotten.” He was making the point, if you pay a price for something, it is something that you will value and you will soon forget the price because it was well worth it. Such is the case for following God’s vision in the life of the church. It is going to cost you something, but it will be well worth the cost!

Vision produces loyalty A shared vision has the ability to unite people in a way that very few other things can. Far too many churches today are being held together by personalities, programs, or buildings. But, when a church has the opportunity to share a vision, the glue that keeps the church strong will come as a result of God’s hand at work.

Vision requires change Vision eventually becomes the antithesis of the status quo, and change is the conduit that brings a vision into existence. Even though the outcome is often celebrated, the means by which a church experiences the blessings of God’s handiwork is often accompanied with a great deal of fear and anxiety. Recognizing the difficulties of change and walking delicately through the waves of change will help a church gain the necessary confidence to press on despite the cloudy view ahead.

A concluding thought…

Following God’s vision is always the right choice,

Dr. Michael Atherton, Senior Pastor First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, O’Fallon, Missouri. Mike has served as a Senior Pastor for 15 years.

Leading a church in a church merger, he has learned firsthand the challenges of a revitalizer. Mike is the author of The Revitalized Church. Mike leads a Mentored Master of Divinity program at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and is past President of the Colorado Baptist Convention.

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As we think about sustaining church revitalization in the local church, consider that in these declining churches most members have not been members there fr fifteen years. A pastor of a dying church recently said, “If you can keep them for 15 years, you must be doing something right.” Did you know that the average membership length of time for an evangelical church is only nine years and charismatic churches burn people out in a little less than six years. To revitalize a church one must be focused on doing real disciple-making. So if we drop a person’s tenure to something like ten years, then we would need to incorporate 30 new people each year. A church with an average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 100 would need to incorporate 20 people. Sustainability can be achieved but it does not happen without a plan to connect and reach with ones community.

- Tom Cheyney

Strategic Mentoring Relationships

By Lee Kritcher Amplify Church, located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, embarked on a revitalization journey in late 2003. After years of declining attendance, the church was on the verge of closing its doors.

Over the coming months and years, we prayerfully put into place a number of change strategies with the hope of turning things around. Thankfully, the church became healthy again. Not only has attendance increased from under 200 people to over 2000 people, the average age of those attending Amplify Church has decreased from 50 to 35 years old. Every generation is well represented for the first time in many years.

If you had a vision statement for your life, what would it look like? God has a specific purpose and plan for your life and for how you will make a difference in this world. I recently wrote down what I believe is God’s vision for my life.

To spend eternity in heaven after building…

- a lifelong, successful marriage - close, loving relationships with my children and grandchildren - a thriving church that has a high impact for

generations to come - the effectiveness of countless leaders Paul was encouraging the Colossians to live fo32

cused lives when he wrote, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2) Unfocused people seldom live up to their potential.

A personal vision statement helps to focus time, energy and resources in a specific direction. The same is true for an organizational vision statement. Read the vision statement below and see if you can tell which organization it is from: To be the earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.

It is the vision of Amazon. It is clear and concise and progress toward this vision can be observed every day.

If a vision statement is meant to channel time, energy and resources in a specific direction, it is obviously wise for each local church to have a vision statement around which people can rally. It provides a much-needed anchor – especially during times of revitalization and change.

After researching organizations that had a long and steady track record of success, Jim Collins documents his conclusions in the book Built to Last. He writes, “Contrary to popular wisdom, the proper first response to a changing world is not to ask, ‘How should we change?’ but rather to ask, ‘What do we

stand for and why do we exist?’ This should never change. And then feel free to change everything else.”

When I became the Senior Pastor of Amplify Church in 2003, it was clear that we had somehow lost sight of why we existed as a church. We had become a church that was primarily about trying to keep the dwindling number of people who were still attending rather than trying to reach people in our community who were not attending our church or any other church - including the next generation.

Things had to change dramatically if the church was to become the church that God created us to be.

I felt that a clear and compelling vision statement could be a powerful tool for directing and redirecting the way we were spending our time, energy, and resources at Amplify Church. I knew that an effective vision statement typically has four characteristics.

1. It is Clear. No one wonders what it means.

2. It is Concise. It is short enough to fit on a T-shirt.

3. It is Inspiring. It resonates deeply with people in the organization.

4. It is Useful. It is worded in a way that helps to provide direction and shape decision-making.

Our church’s vision was not clear. It was not concise. It was so long that it would not have fit on a size XXL T-shirt. Since almost no one in the church knew what it was, it could not be inspiring or useful. So in 2003, we adopted a new vision statement at Amplify Church: To lead as many people as possible into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

We felt a need to include the words “as many people as possible” because somehow a number of people in our church had embraced a statement that is popular with declining churches: “God is more concerned with quality than quantity.” This led to complacency despite our rapidly declining attendance. The thinking was that even though we were losing people, at least those who remained

were “high-quality” people. Of course this attitude automatically categorized those who had left the church as low-quality people. It also categorized those who had never attended the church as low-quality people.

One of the people who took exception to the new vision statement said, “Those of us who are still left need to focus on our own spiritual growth and depth before we try to reach others.” While I understood this person’s point of view, I knew this way of thinking would mean that the church would never reach out because we would never become “deep” enough. Contrast this way of thinking with the apostle Paul who was sharing his faith within days of his conversion. Personal growth and reaching out to others must both be priorities for every Christian. They are parallel priorities that are not in competition with one another.

Our new vision statement was quoted at every weekend service. Actually, we still quote it at every service. I spoke often in weekend messages during the first two years after assuming the role of senior pastor about our new vision statement and its implications. It was discussed in every staff and leadership meeting. It also appeared on every key church communication. Before long, anyone who attended the church for any period of time had it memorized.

Soon people started to let go of their excuses for not sharing their faith or inviting others to church.

No longer did I hear, “I don’t know enough Bible verses to share my faith” or “I need to have my act better together before inviting someone else to church.” Instead, each person began to believe that he or she was perfectly positioned in someone’s life to impact that person for Jesus Christ.

We began the much-needed change from being internally focused to externally focused. Our church once again became a place where people far from God could find the hope and purpose that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Instead of just hoping that our church would survive, we began to take on an increasing urgency to be used by God to change the world.

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The wording of our vision statement was not what helped to spark our church transformation. It was what the words represented. Our clear vision allowed us to make the difficult decisions about which programs, ministries, and practices were absolutely essential to start reaching people again – and which could and should be let go. By leveraging our vision statement, we achieved the focus and direction we needed to begin to become the church God created us to be.

How can you leverage your church’s vision statement to better focus people on reaching those who are far from God – including the next generation?

When I became the Senior Pastor of Amplify Church in 2003, it was clear that we had somehow lost sight of why we existed as a church. We had become a church that was primarily about trying to keep the dwindling number of people who were still attending rather than trying to reach people in our community who were not attending our church or any other church.

Lee Kricher, Senior Pastor of Amplify Church Author of For a New Generation: A Practical Guide for Revitalizing Your Church foranewgeneration.com

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The Three Pastoral Types that Help or Hinder a Revitalizer Years ago, my mother-in-law gave me a poster. It was a poem entitled, “Don’t You Quit.” It has become a favorite mantra of mine. It keeps my feet to the fire and my nose to the grindstone. She knew I was overworked and my focus had grown dim. I knew she was right, but I surely didn’t want to admit that to my mother-in-law! I had become a discouraged “sitter” and because of a family crisis, I was contemplating the role of the “quitter.” But, God reminded me of this poem. I reached into a file drawer, pulled out the poster, unrolled it and found renewal through its invitation. I offer it here as a motivation to you when you feel like throwing in the towel: Don’t you Quit When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bitRest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a fellow turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than It seems to a faint and faltering man; Often the struggler has given up When he might have captured the victor’s cup; And he learned too late when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out The silver tint in the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It might be near when it seems afar; So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Since helping facilitate the revitalization process with several churches and walking alongside of

By Tracy W. Jaggers

pastors who were dejected, discouraged and defeated, I am aware that there are leaders who can help the revitalizer, while others hinder him from being effective, blocking the church from being renewed and stifle the entire process. I pray that this treatise will be received a positive lift and not a negative thrashing.

Here are three Leadership Attitudes/Actions for our consideration: 1) The “Reluctant Admitter” (previously called by the negative title of “The Quitter”) – This leader allows the revitalizer to move forward and the church to move on without him. He has come to grips with the fact that he is the barricade. He has either accomplished the thing for which God called him to that church, or it is just time for new vision and new leadership. There is a big difference between giving up and knowing when you’ve had enough!

The reluctant admitter may not always be that “reluctant” either! There are times and settings where dissatisfaction and distraction keep us from moving forward and upward. It could be a physical health issue or the distance from ailing parents or precious children and grandchildren that bring us to a driving desire for relocation or reuniting. I do not believe the Lord is resistant to healthy, happy, loving families! Yes, I am fully aware of Luke 14:25-26 (NKJV) - Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Just remember, this is a Semitic hyperbole. He wants our love for others to be exceeded only by our love for the Father.

If you KNOW you are not the one to lead the revitalization process, then be gutsy enough to admit it and allow someone else to step in and lead the flock to new vistas and new aspirations.

2) The “Satisfied Sitter” – this “leader” holds back the process and the church. He pulls everyone into --Continued on page 62

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Understanding Youth Ministry with Your Spouse!

Continued’

By Drew Cheyney

being the center of everything impacts every single thing that we do. When my wife and I cheat on our quiet time it shows in our marriage. When our prayer lives are hollow we are less patient. When I am barren in my worship it shows in my leadership in every category, both home and ministry. This has to be a priority because everything that happens in your relationship with God flows into everything else you do and even more so, loving God in your life individually impacts your married life.

Tip: If fun for you is coming home after a day of work and working more, that is a sure fire way to lead your marriage straight to the courthouse of separation and divorce.

Tip: Everything you do flows out of this… EVERYTHING!

So here is the final tip of the article:

4. Have Fun It is amazing how many couples are so busy that they do not have time to have fun with their spouse. They have all the time in the day to work, but not enough time to go on a date… Really? You can handle that student’s distress call, but not make a reservation.

Seriously! The problem is that if you do not make this part of your life, you remove the closeness your relationship should have. And when you remove that closeness, what happens is that when bad things happen (which they will), there is nothing to look forward to.

No matter what fancy title you will receive, no matter how big your youth ministry will one day be, no matter how much clout you’re given for your success, who you are has more to do with what is going on at home then it will ever have to do with what is going on in ministry.

You will be a leader and pastor to many, but you will only be husband and dad to a few.

Keep that in mind.

Drew Cheyney is the Associate Youth Pastor at Element Church in Wentzville, MO and is a frequent writer on Revitalization of Churches through student ministry.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst

of wolves; therefore be shrewd

as serpents, and

innocent as doves…Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and

anyone who welcomes me

welcomes the one who sent me” Matthew 10:16 & 40

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How to Become A Church Alliance Partner Please register online to begin your alliance partnership with Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference at RenovateConference.org/church-partners 37

Finding Your Most Important Ministry Partner

You probably have had that look on your face sometime in your ministry life. It appeared after someone—a leader, an attender, or mentor—told you that you need to add one more thing to your growing list of one more things to do if your church is going to flourish. You had that dead-eyed stare, thinking, “How will I ever . . .?”

I learned years ago that I couldn’t do it all—and no pastor I knew could do it all either. As a church systems coach, I watched quality pastors taking copious notes in my training seminars only to find that most of them never built a single system in their church. It was one more thing for them to do that they could not do. This made me realize that I was not training them properly.

Today I help pastors find the most important partners they will ever need in ministry. These people have different skill sets from senior pastors. And they already can be found in most congregations, sitting week after week under the pastor’s preaching. Incredibly, they are rarely prized for the gifts they possess which could help their church grow in making and retaining more disciples.

Instead, they are using their best gifts in the business world or the educational system or the sporting arena. They may be project managers, 38

school administrators or team builders. They’re experienced in developing systems, but not for the church.

Your church may have recruited them as teachers or to help in some ministry. They may even sit on your top leadership team. What you probably aren’t utilizing is their ability to help you build church systems and train the teams to run them. This person is an implementer, and you need one or more of them to be your very best friend if you are going to accomplish the vision God has given you for the church you lead.

An implementer is the practical organizer who understands the inner details of church systems.

They tend to be disciplined, orderly and task-oriented, more concerned with what is workable than what is cool. They depend on the pastor and other leaders to paint the big picture of what the church’s mission is to be. But once they see the big canvas, their minds start seeing what processes need to be developed to make this picture become a working reality. They do not just start the task of development.

Their make-up is to launch fully functional systems.

I found that even describing this leader to a pastor who is considering being coached in church revitalization relieves

By Steve Smith

his mind. And each pastor I have worked with has ended this session with the name of a potential implementer who has been part of their congregation for some time.

One pastor recruited a retired project manager who oversaw NASA shuttle loads. Several enlisted successful business owners who had the skills needed for this ministry. After hearing me speak on the need for an implementer in one church, a business woman who had built a hugely profitable company made an offer to her pastor that day. She cut back on her responsibilities at her business in order to partner with him, giving her church family multiple hours of her time because she was convinced that God wanted their church to reach the community around them in a fresh way.

Recruiting an implementer does not mean that you do not have a role in developing your church’s systems. Your leadership is of the utmost importance. You have to own what is to be built. The systems have to be suitable for the vision God has put inside you. That is the plumb line for the future of your church, so you cannot be ‘hand’s off’ in this process.

Another reason an implementer needs your input is that most

of them never went to Bible college or seminary. They have never thought about how their theology integrates with the practical mission of the church. They will need your theological framework to build the right kind of systems for your congregation. For example, I always jokingly say that an evangelizing system is not the same as building a sales force! But it is not always a joke.

Sometimes you have to help implementers understand that the church is not a business, to help them see that the systems they are building are rooted in biblical truth instead of industrial acumen.

means you will need to give your implementer freedom to make changes in the way you are currently doing things.

While making changes can be uncomfortable at times for the congregation—and for you!— your partnership with a leader like this will move your church forward in revitalization.

So where do you begin to find such a leader in your congregation? Start with prayer.

Ask God to show you who would team well with you. How well you both get along and are able to appreciate the different strengths that each of you possess is a spiritual issue and not just a personality one.

So how do you spot implementers? What are you looking for? A primary trait is that the person will be a selfstarter who does not need to be asked twice and micro-managed to get a project done. This trait distinguishes the implementer from someone who is a good idea person. I work with idea people all the time. They can come up with amazing concepts—creative outreaches, new worship approaches or ways to increase your church’s visibility. But they lack the inner drive to actually develop their ideas into reality.

Secondly, educate yourself about the gifts and characteristics of implementers so you will spot the right person. Otherwise, you might make a common mistake— hiring someone like yourself!

Many pastors find people like themselves to build systems and are deeply disappointed at the results—or lack of them.

Since this outcome will not show up for months and months, it will take you some time to realize you recruited the wrong person, and perhaps miss the opportunity God is giving your church to increase its capacity.

Implementers drive the development. They are at their best when they see the goals of the church’s vision.

What I have experienced with knowledgeable implementers is their ability to assess and realign the church’s resources towards what is needed. This

Finally, keep in mind that you will need to find at least one part-time implementer to bring on staff or a team of five or more lay people who can give the church a collective total of 15-20 hours a week. Building systems and the teams to run them takes more time than

most people have to give. So if you are not in a position to hire a staff person, do not stop recruiting until you have all the implementers you need.

Then put it on your calendar to spend as much time with them as you can. The best working relationship between you as the pastor and those who implement is built over time together, laughing, praying, thinking and discovering how you together are called by God for a common purpose to guide your local church to fulfill its purpose at this time in your community.

Dr. Steve Smith is the Founder of Church Equippers Ministries, serving churches by training them in transformational discipleship and church systems.

For more information about discovering implementers and/ or church systems, go to: www. churchequippers.com.

Steve Smith is the founder of

ChurchEquippers Ministries. He is the author of several books including The Key to Deep Change and the Increasing Capacity Guidebook. He is a strategic thinker, a relational networker, a mentor and coach to pastors and young leaders.

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The Imploding Church: What to Do When It’s All Falling Apart Do you know the name Edward

J. Smith? What about Francesco Schettino? Edward Smith was the Captain of the HMS Titanic when it struck an iceberg in the northern Atlantic and sunk two hours later, killing 1,517 people.

Francesco Schettino was Captain of the Costa Concordia, which struck rock off the coast of Italy, capsizing and killing thirty-two.

These men have more in common than their ignominious ship disasters. Most experts agree that both men could have saved more lives if they had reacted differently during their respective disasters. It is widely known that Captain Smith quit issuing orders and withdrew from people while the Titanic was sinking. Instead of supervising the loading of lifeboats, he “froze up” and went quiet. Captain Schettino was so overwhelmed by the circumstances surrounding him that he abandoned his own ship while passengers were still aboard.

Mental health experts describe these phenomena by several names: Psychological Shock, Mental Shock, and Active Stress Reaction. Whatever one chooses to call it, it is the response to a terrifying or traumatic event. Put simply, if a person is bombarded by crises and the demands placed upon him are excessive, he may simply freeze up and cease to function effectively.

When this happens to a leader the consequences can be disastrous and catastrophic.

Perhaps pastors of churches that are dying experience something similar. Let me propose a scenar40

io. Say a pastor of a struggling church experiences a series of crisis-moments in a brief period of time. Several families in the church are unhappy and begin leaving the fellowship. The church’s finances, already at a low point, take hit-after-hit as these faithful, giving families leave in succession. Conflict arises in the church, including conflict leveled at the pastor. The church begins to polarize and there is talk that the pastor is going to be asked to resign. There is a struggle for control of the church and the next business meeting promises to be a full-blown war. Meanwhile, the Youth Pastor, a tremendous asset to the church, is offered a ministry position at another church and tenders his resignation. The deacons of the church have taken the position that, instead of supporting the pastor, they will just help the church to maintain the peace. Teachers and other church workers begin quitting their positions without helping to secure their replacements (more work for the pastor). The pastor begins to have nightmares, begins to lose his appetite. He fixates on certain hateful individuals and rehashes the critical comments made about him. The pastor is tired, his health is failing, his marriage is suffering, and although he has tried to find another church to serve, no one is calling.

He questions his calling from God and even considers leaving the ministry altogether. The pastor has essentially shut down. Sound familiar?

So much comes at the pastor, and so quickly, that there is little time to address one problem, let alone multiple problems. Before he can even address these problems, even more problems are added to his plate, and then some more.

The pastor becomes despondent and shuts down. He does not want to deal with people or their problems; he has enough problems of his own. He truly loves his church, but is simply overwhelmed by the circumstances. The church expects him to act but he is not able.

The pressure to deal with the church’s problems only compounds his circumstances. This form of ministry shock, if not addressed, leads to the familiar symptoms of PTSD, which can last for months, even years.

The truth is, I have been there and the scenario that I offered is basically the nightmare that I lived through in my church.

But I am not alone in this. I have spoken to multiple pastors who have experienced the very same thing. One told me that I was describing him and his church to a tee. After I shared this material with the Revitalization Team of my Association, I was strongly encouraged to develop this further and make it available to the pastors and the churches. Let me offer some counsel to you and those you know going through similar trauma.

First, ask for some time.

We may feel that the church,

By Terry Rials and our ministry, is in so much trouble that the church will not be able to pay its bills and may have to dismiss staff in order to survive, but that is not really the case. In all my years of working with churches in revitalization, I can tell you this. Churches live longer than people think. They may be hanging on by a thread, but they hang on for a long time.

Ask the church and key leaders for time to address these issues.

Ask people to bear with you six months because in six months, things can be vastly different.

Second, you need to know that good people do not fight. It would be nice if some of your supporters would just stand up to the bullies in the church, but they do not. It does not mean that they do not love and support you; good people just do not fight. You probably have the support of the majority of your members, even if they are silent.

Do this exercise - take a moment and look up at the ceiling tiles.

How many bad ones do you see?

Count them‌Now count the good ones. You are where you are because God put you there.

Stay put and stay faithful.

Third, talk it out. Find someone you trust and talk about these things. Do not keep them bottled up inside you. Remember, Jesus split His own church! In the synagogue in Capernaum many of His disciples decided that following Jesus was just too hard for them.

The Apostle Paul admitted that he had enemies. How many New Testament writers addressed

conflict in the church? You are not the whole problem; you may be part of it, but you are not all of it. You can be the pastor, but you are not the church.

Fourth, take responsibility for your mistakes. You have to own them because they are of your doing. You must ask for forgiveness if you have hurt people and change your attitude and behavior to prove your remorse.

This does not necessarily mean that you will be forgiven. It is my experience that the church is not very good at forgiving, but you will go nowhere without addressing your failures.

If you have yet to experience anything like what I have just described, count your blessings and prepare yourself for what will happen to you one day. It is not if this will happen to you, but when it will happen to you! Airlines know that they must train their pilots to deal with multiple system failures, which come at the pilot all at once. Pilots are trained to manage these crises and are drilled over and over until they get it right in the simulator!

Pastors have to do it in real life in real time. Revitalizers like me are working hard to prepare our pastors for the future eventualities of church conflict and decline. We are here to help. For now, prepare yourself mentally for what you will experience one day. Learn to attack problems by addressing them immediately. Peal the onion – take on one problem at a time.

Train your leadership to handle crises and practice delegating

problems that do not require your attention. We are called to be overseers, as well as shepherds and elders. Never neglect overseeing this part of your ministry.

Find someone you trust and talk about these things.

Do not keep them bottled up inside you. Remember, Jesus split His own church!

In the synagogue in Capernaum many of His disciples decided that following Jesus was just too hard for them. The Apostle Paul admitted that he had enemies.

How many New Testament writers addressed conflict in the church? You are not the whole problem; you may be part of it, but you are not all of it.

Dr. Terry Rials is the founder of ChurchRevitalizer.com, serves as the Senior Pastor of the Crestview Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, and leads the Church Revitalization Team Leader for Capital Baptist Association. He earned his doctorate in Church Revitalization at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a frequent conference speaker. He is co author of The Nuts & Bolts of Church Revitalization!

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Revitalization: Investing in the Right Kind of Relationships The Right Kind of Focus Christian Schwarz provocatively argues the fruit of an apple tree is not an apple, but rather another apple tree. He explains that when he asks, “’What is the fruit of an apple tree?’ Many people look at me as if to say, “What a dumb question- apple trees produce apples.” But this is an incomplete answer. The apple is a package of seeds. Within each apple are seeds designed to produce more apple trees. The body of Christ is like the apple tree- producing individual disciples and more congregations.”

Schwarz’s response makes a lot of sense. A sheep reproduces when a baby sheep is born. An apple tree reproduces when another apple tree begins to grow. In like manner, biblical disciples reproduce more disciples. Healthy church revitalization takes place as revitalizers invest in building relationships within the local church similar to how Jesus relationally invested in his disciples.

The Right Kind of Men and Women When the apostle Paul instructs Timothy to reproduce himself, Paul instructs Timothy to prioritize character. Competence can be gained more easily than character. Notice the order of Paul’s language, “What you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). Notice that Paul does not instruct Timothy to go out and find high capacity leaders, and then teach them to be

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faithful; quite the opposite, Paul instructs Timothy to entrust the gospel to faithful men. Faithful men and women will joyfully pursue the gospel with the same level of determination a good soldier prioritizes war efforts over personal comfort. Fruitful church revitalization must include church revitalizers reproducing themselves in the next generation- faithful men and women of character.

The Right Kind of Example In today’s world of programs and process, Robert Coleman’s iconic The Master Plan of Evangelism reminds Church leaders that people, not programs, share the gospel.

Coleman wrote that the gospel properly proclaimed resulted in disciples of Jesus“ so constrained by the commission of Christ that they not only followed his way, but led others to as well.” He understood the example of Jesus being the example for all Christians.

Every believer has been called to follow Jesus as his disciple, every true believer has been called to make disciples who make disciples. As a church revitalizer, are you investing in faithful men and woman of character, reproducing mature disciples of Jesus who are then carrying on this same task to the third and fourth generation?

The Right Kind of Success How should church revitalizers define success? How did Jesus define success? Despite preaching to thousands (John 6:1-15) and performing miracles (John 2:1-11; John 4:46-54; John 5:1-15; John 6:5-14; John 6:16-24; John 9:1-7;

By Chad McCarthy and John 11:1-45), Jesus spent most of his time investing in the lives of twelve disciples- one of whom turned out to be a dud.

That stagnation or decline of the majority of American churches should remind twenty-first century church revitalizers to set their eyes on the right kind of success.

By modern standards of success, Jesus’ ministry largely failed. Of the thousands that followed Jesus during his earthly ministry, only about one hundred and twenty followed his instructions to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus were ministering today, would his ministry be considered a failure by modern standards of success? Sadly, many church revitalizers’ ministry will die with them because they have focused on building a ministry rather than following Jesus example of investing in disciples who make disciples.

The Right Kind of Paradigm Bill Beckham quotes Bob Roberts as asking church planters, “Do you want to begin a church or a worship service.” He goes on to note, “If we are honest, most leaders have a worship service in mind when they talk about starting a church. Biblical Church revitalization focuses revitalizing the local church by starting with a right paradigms. These paradigms begin with a biblical ecclesiology. Schwarz rightly notes a key nuance to biblical ecclesiology includes an understanding that every object eventually reaches natural limitations in size. Trees don’t just keeping getting bigger ad infinitum. Eventually they reach

their natural size limitations and stop growing. Churches tend to do the same thing. Biblical church revitalization focuses on the right kind of relationships, making disciples who make disciples- a paradigm that ties church health to church multiplication rooted in discipleship. Like Jesus, healthy church revitalization focuses the majority of its time and effort on making disciples. Reproducing disciples naturally results in church multiplication.

The Right Kind of Love Jesus tells his disciples the world will be able to identify his followers by their love for one another (John 13:34-35). Few unbelievers show up en masse Sunday morning. When Jesus tells his disciples the world “will know” Christians by their love for one another, Jesus anticipates friendship between believers will be so authentic and tangible this “authentic bond of friendship” becomes the primary means by which the world identifies Christians. Jesus declares the world will identify Christians not by where their car is parked Sunday morning, but by their intense love for one another. Biblical church revitalization begins with Christians in the local church learning to love one another in intensely practical ways. One might be tempted to consider this observation overly elementary; yet, this author would challenge readers to consider whether most believers

are living out this kind of radical love? How often is church primarily a place Christians visit on Sunday rather than a body of believers radically committed to loving one another? Biblical church revitalization prioritizes people by committing to loving Christian brothers and sisters the way Jesus loves.

The Right Kind of Gospel Church leaders often lament how consumerism has crept into the church. Rather than believers gathering for the purpose of provoking one another unto love, good works, and exhorting one another (Hebrews 10:24-25), far to many attend for what they “get,” rather than “to give.” Is it possible that few give themselves to the work

of the ministry, not despite the gospel preached, but rather BECAUSE of the gospel preached? As church revitalizers, have we preached a deficient gospel that primarily focuses on getting people in the doors of church and heaven? Have we failed to preach the whole counsel of God where following Jesus in the here and now is just as important as “getting there” in the hereafter? Jesus final words in the Great Commission instruct His disciples to “go and make disciples”. As church revitalizers we must commit to preaching the whole gospel, a gospel that multiplies churches through producing disciples of Jesus who make more disciples.

Chad McCarthy is the lead pastor at Faith Baptist in Chetek, Wisconsin. Prior to pastoring in Wisconsin, Chad served in church planting for about fifteen years. He has also spent time on the mission field teaching English as a second language. He earned his Master of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is working on his Ph.D. in Missiology through Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Chad is passionate about how discipleship fuels biblical church revitalization. Chad is married to Heather. They have six children.

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Turning Around a Generic Church 7Marks© of a Growing Church – Building Revitalization Upon a Church’s Gifts

By Bob Whitesel

This article is the 6th of “7Marks© of a Growing Church” uncovering church revitalization secrets from the 2015 American Congregations Study conducted by Hartford Seminary (www.FaithCommunitiesToday.org).

This sixth mark is that growing churches usually have at least one “specialized program.”

This is a ministry it does well and church leaders put funding/person-power behind it to expand it. Almost 52% of the growing churches could cite at least one specialized program. But less than 42% of the churches who claimed “no specialty” were growing.

Church revitalization takes place in even a small and dying churches if they uncover the specialized program that God has given them.

The Bible describes how God gives spiritual gifts that allow individuals to uniquely contribute to a fellowship of believers and to reach out to meet the needs of people in the community (1 Cor. 12:7, Eph. 4:7, 1 Peter 4:10). Gifts are listed in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 along with secondary gift lists in 1 Corinthians 7, 13-14; Ephesians 3 and 1 Peter 4. And, most Christians are a mixture.

I’ve seen that the same type of God-empowered giftings in communities of faith. Churches often have specialized programs that

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are making significant kingdom impact because God has anointed these programs.

the type of specialized ministries upon which churches have focused to reach their community.

But too often church leaders are not aware of how much an effective, specialized program can be the foundation upon which to build a revitalized church.

Turning around a church means recognizing which programs are having a kingdom impact in the community and channeling more funding and volunteers to those ministries.

When revitalizing a church, and that church is small and weak, it is helpful to find a specialized, anointed program upon which the church revitalization can be built. This does not mean that everything a church specializes in, or even that it does well, is what God intends. Thus, 5-steps can help you ascertain if God has gifted a congregation with a specialized program which can become a foundation for revitalization.

God-empowered Specialized Ministries I’ve asked my students to list specialized programs they have uncovered in their own churches via a 5-step process (below). Their replies include: worship-oriented churches, preaching-gifted churches, churches that reach out to the poor, churches that have a strong Sunday school program, churches that offer tutoring for schoolchildren in the community, churches that support foreign missions, churches that support local missions, churches that plant churches, churches that launch multiple venues, churches that have large/multifaceted facilities, churches that have small but intimate facilities, churches that have strong prayer ministries, and the list goes on.

It is important to recognize that churches should be competent in multiple of the above specialties. And, this not to say all of the specialized programs listed are good for everyone. But, these are

An example of a church revitalization based upon a specialized, anointed program (This example is gleaned from several case studies in order to preserve anonymity.)

A small and dying church, had been trying to attract younger generations by offering contemporary music. Unfortunately, this aging congregation had never been skilled (nor seemingly anointed) in contemporary music. Therefore, these efforts failed.

But, though small and dying the church had a long tradition of members weekly tutoring 5th grade students over lunch in a nearby school. When polling the community (below) it became clear that this program was much appreciated. The church began to invite younger generations to join their lunch mentoring program. Younger generations,

appreciating such service to the community, soon began attending the church.

Conduct a Saturday morning community survey to find your specialized, anointed program A simple survey is conducted by a handful of church leaders who go out into the community on a Saturday morning from 10 until noon. Conducted in a public location such as the park or Civic Plaza, the leaders explain they are from a local church (identifying that church) and ask those they interview how they would describe their church. Leaders write down the replies and spend the afternoon looking for recurring programs about which people in the community know and appreciate. Be forewarned, the community will know some negative things too. Yet, it’s important to be aware of these as well.

The leaders ferret out the one or two ministries for which the church is known and begin to build part of their revitalization strategy on this. This is conducted in 5-steps.

Evaluate the specialized program though 5-steps 1) Describe the specialized program in two ways: A. In a first sentence, describe your

church’s specialized program.

B. In a second sentence, explain what “need” it meets in the community.

2) Evaluate it for Biblical fidelity and longevity. Carefully narrow your focus to one or two ministries that can be sustained over a long period of time and which appeal to younger generations as well.

A. Evaluate this specialized ministry through a biblical lens. A ministry must line up with God’s Word and His intention to reconcile the world to himself. There are many specialized programs that may not be your most appropriate avenue for spreading the Good News.

B. Ask yourself if this program can be maintained over the long term. If the church is known for “a good choir,” but choirs are less appealing to the younger generations, this is probably not the specialized program upon which you can build your future.

3) Expand the program. This may require taking the focus away from other things you’re doing and refocus time and treasure on a specialized program that is having an impact. Though not easy, it is wiser to spend time and treasure on programs that God has anointed, rather than trying to simply copy what other

churches are doing.

4) Tell people you are expanding this ministry. Feature it prominently on the main page of your website and in your communication.

5) Evaluate your specialized program through the 5-steps every year. Ask people (in a community survey) about specialized programs for which your church is known. Look for an increasing awareness in the community of the specialized, anointed ministry.

A specialized and impactful ministry is a characteristic of growing churches according to The American Congregations Study. These 5-steps will help you discover an anointed and specialized ministry upon which God may intend to build a revitalization.

Bob Whitesel is the founding professor of Wesley Seminary at IWU, he holds his “Annual 1-Day Church Consultant Training” as a Pre-Conference to Renovate in Orlando including: • Credit available for Society of Church Consulting Training Levels 1&2 • Credit available for continuing education or 3-graduate credits through Wesley Seminary.

Bob Whitesel (D.Min. and Ph.D., Fuller Seminary) is a sought-after speaker and award-winning writer on organic outreach, church leadership and church health; who has been called by a national magazine, “the key spokesperson on change theory in the church today.” Author of 11 books in 12 years, he serves as the founding professor of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and holds two doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary. The recipient of two national McGavran awards, he is a nationally respected consultant helping churches grow and regain health.

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FEELING STUC

K?

54 % O F P A S TORS

find their rol e f r e q u e nt ly

overwhelming

(L if eWa y R e se a r c h S tu d y, 9 /1 /1 5 )

Quick Self-Assessment: Are you part of the 54%?

Are you able to move forward and execute your vision for the church?

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YOUR PASTORAL SUPPORT TEAM Utilize Our Organizational Tools & Services to See How Much Less Stressful Ministry Can Be Thanks to the giving of our foundation partner, we are here to serve you.

www.lifeequip.com | info@lifeequip.com | 386-866-0622 46

SOUTHERN

BAPTISTS

February 8

Criswell College, Dallas The focus for 2018 is reaching the generations in revitalization. Our focal theme is on assisting the local church address specific generational needs in its context without neglecting those who are still present. Speakers will address engaging the various generations in a reaching and discipling ministry.

COST

$15

OF

TEXAS

David Fedele

Reaching Gen Z

Johnny Derouen

Reaching Youth

Pastor of Adult Mobilization, FBC Colleyville

Senior Pastor, FBC Mustang, OK

Mitch Tidwell

Collegiate Evangelism Associate, SBTC

Grant Skeldon

Initiative Network Founder

Kenneth Priest

Convention Strategies Director, SBTC

8:30am - 4:30pm Keynote Speaker

Jonathan Falwell

Senior Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, VA

Speaking on

Ministry in a MultiGenerational Church

REGISTER AT

CONVENTION

Reaching Collegians Reaching Millennials Reaching Gen X

Chris Shirley

Reaching Boomers/Builders

Chris Enright

Technology for the Generations

Professor of Discipleship Dallas Baptist University

Information Technology Associate, SBTC

Lance Crowell Church Ministries Associate, SBTC

Disciplemaking Among the Generations

sbtexas.com/revitalization 47

HELP! How Do I Get the “Big Mo” Mentum Back in My Church?

Oh what an exhilarating ride the experience of positive momentum can be! Just like the adrenaline of an amusement park ride, the ebb and flow of a giant roller coaster – when you are riding momentum it seems as if anything is possible. We all know what these exciting momentous times are like in our lives personally and in the ministry of our churches.

On the other hand, the flip side of this is negative momentum or the loss of momentum. Sometimes you will hear people say things like: I can’t get into a rhythm. I don’t have it today. My shot is off today. I’m having an off day. I just can’t get anything going.

We are very familiar with momentum in the world of sports.

Athletic teams know what it is like to experience the thrill of regaining momentum, but there’s also the sinking feeling which accompanies the loss of momentum. We see this all the time in sports.

Most churches, following the summer months, find themselves needing to regain momentum for getting back to God’s game plan (his mission and vision) for the church. Unfortunately, most churches are losing ground in the communities they are called to serve.

What can you as a pastor or church leader do to regain momentum?

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Take Responsibility First of all, as a pastor or church leader, take responsibility for, take ownership of the brutal reality of your church’s situation. Tell the truth. If you are in a decline, you are in a decline. Everyone knows it, so just say it. Don’t panic, focus on solutions. The people will appreciate your honesty and courage. If you are plateaued, the same idea holds true. Don’t get stuck on the things you can’t control, instead take action on those things God is calling and leading you and your church to do.

Momentum is your church’s forward movement toward fulfilling its God-given mission. Take a moment to rate your current momentum in the ministry or church you lead: Momentum Scale 1. Stuck—No momentum 2. Losing Speed 3. Maintaining 4. Gaining Speed 5. Advancing (Unstoppable) If you are 3 or below, your church or ministry needs a boost of momentum. If you ranked yourself a 4 or 5, momentum is present but you need to be sure you know how to sustain momentum. Creating and sustaining momentum requires that you understand what gets people moving. Take a look at this definition: Momentum is sustained motivation over time to fulfill God’s mission.

By Darwin Meighan There is a very real relationship between organizational momentum and personal motivation. As personal motivation goes up so does momentum. As motivation diminishes in your team, among your attenders or even within yourself, momentum loss is inevitable. Our motivation flows out of a growing, personal relationship with Christ Jesus. His love, sacrifice and presence are what get you moving and momentum is realized.

Refuel Yourself Allow God to rekindle the “mo” in you first. It’s what God is doing inside of you, what you believe, the size of your faith and the size of your God, and the hope of Christ in you that matters. Not the mistakes in the past or the mountains in front of you. If you lose hope, you can’t inspire a congregation. If you don’t believe, the people can’t believe. Your faith, knowing that God is with you matters. Through the daily practice of spiritual disciplines allow God to continue cultivating this hope and faith within you. When you do face times of discouragement, find a strong leader who is a friend and set aside some time to talk. Gain wisdom, experience, and fresh perspective. Don’t give up.

Recast Vision Nothing regains momentum like communicating and inspiring the church with a winning

The Imploding Church: What to Do When It’s All Falling Apart First, ask for some time. We may feel that the church,

and our ministry, is in so much trouble that the church will not be able to pay its bills and may have to dismiss staff in order to survive, but that is not really the case. In all my years of working with churches in revitalization, I can tell you this. Churches live longer than people think. They may be hanging on by a thread, but they hang on for a long time. Ask the church and key leaders for time to address these issues. Ask people to bear with you six months because in six months, things can be vastly different.

Second, you need to know that good people do not fight. It would be nice if some of your supporters

would just stand up to the bullies in the church, but they do not. It does not mean that they do not love and support you; good people just do not fight. You probably have the support of the majority of your members, even if they are silent. Do this exercise - take a moment and look up at the ceiling tiles. How many bad ones do you see? Count them…Now count the good ones. You are where you are because God put you there. Stay put and stay faithful.

message. Momentum is fueled by vision and activated by faith.

Vision is the source and fuel of momentum, and it is faith which activates God’s hand toward momentum.

Without a clear and compelling vision, there is no direction to follow. Without faith, there is no invitation for God to provide a power larger than what human leadership can muster. It takes both large vision and great faith to see momentum catch traction.

Clear mission and vision create real motivation. If there is confusion among your team they will be less motivated to get moving.

When the vision is fuzzy few people follow. If momentum seems low, ask yourself these questions: • Have I been crystal clear about

Third, talk it out. Find someone you trust and talk about these

things. Do not keep them bottled up inside you. Remember, Jesus split His own church! In the synagogue in Capernaum many of His disciples decided that following Jesus was just too hard for them. The Apostle Paul admitted that he had enemies. How many New Testament writers addressed conflict in the church?

You are not the whole problem; you may be part of it, but you are not all of it. You can be the pastor, but you are not the church.

Fourth, take responsibility for your mistakes. You have

to own them because they are of your doing. You must ask for forgiveness if you have hurt people and change your attitude and behavior to prove your remorse. This does not necessarily mean that you will be forgiven. It is my experience that the church is not very good at forgiving, but you will go nowhere without addressing your failures.

Dr. Terry Rials is the founder of ChurchRevitalizer.com, serves

as the Senior Pastor of the Crestview Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, and leads the Church Revitalization Team Leader for Capital Baptist Association. He earned his doctorate in Church Revitalization at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a frequent conference speaker.

my expectations?

• Have I given those I am leading really clear short term and longterm goals?

• Are my values clear enough to define the behaviors of my team/ church?

• Can my team/church imagine and articulate your church’s preferred future?

• Have I clearly defined our strategy and trained the best practices for ministry?

Refuel and Reenergize the Team Other key ingredients for motivation and momentum are passion and energy. Ask yourself, what fuels your team members and what drains your team members? Here is a quick list of potential energy boosters for you to consider:

• Trust: People are energized when they follow a leader who is trustworthy, consistent, caring and competent.

• Fun: Laughter lifts the spirit.

Intentionally schedule fun times together.

• Rest: How much time is your team/church getting to refresh?

Challenge them to get real rest.

Model it yourself.

• Exercise: There is a clear link between physical exertion and motivation. The more motivated they are to be physically healthy the more likely they are to be motivated in other areas of life.

• Relationships: Meaningful relationships in our life fill the tank.

Create ways to build relationships Continued on Page 56 49

By Fred Boone 5 Steps to Keeping Your Sunday School Growing During the Summer

You must know the purpose of Sunday School. When I ask Teachers what is the purpose of Sunday School they give me one of the following purposes: Bible study, Fellowship, Ministry. All of them are great answers, but they miss the key purpose. The purpose of Sunday School is to help the church carry out its mission of making disciples.

The Sunday School facilitates the church in carrying out the Great Commission. Consider what Moses told the Israelites just before they entered the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 31:12, “Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law.” This passage is many times referred to as the Great Commission in the Old Testament. I share with my Sunday School leaders that these are the core value of our Sunday School as it outlines 4 key practices of our purpose: Reach – people, Teach – people, Win – people, and Develop - people.

Bob Mayfield, the Sunday School/ Small Group specialist at the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma said: “In fact, if you want to put the purpose of Sunday School in modern terms, read Colossians 1:13.

Did you see that ‘rescue’ word? Your Sunday School class, whether it is a senior adult class or a newborn class, is part of the greatest rescue mission in world history. We are part of our Leader’s rescue mission to save lost and perishing souls from a Christ-less eternity and bring them into a personal relationship with Jesus.”

The key to an effective summer Sun50 day School emphasis is clarity about

our purpose and how it impacts all we do during the summer months.

With our purpose in mind, then we must put an emphasis on key strategies that help us fulfill our purpose.

Second, Set enrollment goals for the summer months. The definition of enrollment: “To register a prospect as a member of a Sunday School class. Sunday School Enrollment is the Welcome Mat for an outsider to become an insider in a class.” We need to develop an atmosphere where everyone knows we can enroll anyone, anytime, and anyplace. When we promote this open door for our Sunday School we are emphasizing a high priority on Bible study for everyone. This open attitude will promote new excitement in the Sunday School as we infuse new members during the summer months. A focus on new members can bring a new excitement in the purpose and place of the Sunday School in the life of the church.

WHY IS ENROLLMENT IMPORTANT? Andy Anderson did Sunday School research and conferencing for the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay) in the 1970s. He made an important discovery in his research among all sizes of churches around the country–who were in a mix of rural, suburban, and city settings. He discovered that when 3 lost people were enrolled and active in Sunday School for a year, one out of the three would be saved.

This shocking revelation shows that the Sunday School can be the most powerful evangelistic tool the church has.

In the churches that I have led I have found that open enrollment is a powerful method of reaching people for Christ. After years of

setting and reaching enrollment goals I wondered why it had such an impact, then one day the Lord revealed to me the truth about this principle. I was reading Psalm 126:56, “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” The seed is the Word of God and we sow in the souls of man. Then comes the harvest. Enrollment increases the field; therefore the harvest is increased. This is a great promise from God’s Word.

Third, Start new units or classes.

Forming a new class is recognizing that there are people who can be reached if a new group is formed with the purpose of reaching this unreached group. There are several target groups: church members who are not enrolled in any group, age groups that have a missing segment or start a group with a special purpose. We started a “Parenting Class” for the parents of children who where enrolled in our Vacation Bible School.

Here are some key principles about starting new classes: 1. The law of 10. For every new class that you start, attendance will increase by 10. This should be the number one reason for starting a new class.

2. Prayerfully recruit a teacher and core leadership team.

3. Train teacher and core leaders (SundaySchoolLeader.com provides some great resources).

4. Select curriculum – for summer months a short subject driven cur-

riculum is the best choice.

5. Set place and time for the group.

Remember, if you select a time other than Sunday morning you will have to make provisions for childcare.

6. Set a start date. Remember we are talking about a summer emphasis so a late May or early June start date is best.

7. Promotion – the pastor should speak about the opportunity. The target group should be visited, called and sent a letter with details. Also, use social media in creative ways.

8. Just Do It! Fourth, set contact goals for the summer. Definition of Contacts: “Love, concern, compassion and care is expressed by phone, email, or letter, and visits to members with the goal of involving the member in life changing Bible study.” There is great value in making weekly contacts to members and prospects of the Sunday School. Contacts should be seen as ministry touches and they are never more important than during the summer months as people travel and generally get out of pocket. It only takes someone missing Sunday School three times in a row to get out of the habit of attending.

Again, the senior pastor must take a leading roll in promoting a special summer focus. In fact, the entire staff and key leaders must be on board for you to have any significant success. There are two key ways to building and highlighting the summer months. The contest would be between classes in the Sunday School. Adult classes would compete against other adult classes, youth against youth and children against children. The contest can be developed around themes, like baseball. Points would be based on one new member = 10 runs, a visitor = 5 runs and contacts = 1 run. Develop a team to brain storm possible themes for your church and your setting. Challenge goals are the church-wide goals that are promoted from the pulpit week by week. The pastor can encourage the church by preaching a series of sermons on the theme to build continuity in the effort. The potential is limitless.

Seek the Lord and set your sites on goals that only the Lord could accomplish and you could have the greatest summer in your church’s history.

Here is a formula for increasing attendance: 1 / 7 / 10 the meaning is simple. There will be an increase in attendance of 1 when 10 contacts are made within 7 days. In other words, for every ten people we contact each week attendance will increase by one Fred Boone is the Executive Pastor, First person.

Baptist Church of Mount Dora in Mount Dora, FL. Fifth, Contest and Challenge Goals.

The icing on the cake is the fun you can incorporate to accomplish these goals. You must build excitement and anticipation for your summer emphasis to have the expected impact.

Are You Abusing Your Pastor?

We are living in a day where satanic forces are everywhere. Even the local church can become a place where evil individuals are allowed to run rampant. This chapter deals with the hardest issue pastors face when trying to begin the work of revitalization. It is when abusive lay people seek to hurt their under-shepherd. There is within some churches an air of toxic DNA that surfaces when those who have been part of killing the church are not happy with the pastor who the Lord is using to revitalize the church. Pastor abusers seldom repent of their sins and seek to remain in power until someone with a stronger backbone removes them. As shepherds continue to be battered, they ask themselves, “When will the silent majority of godly church members join together and excommunicate these bullies?” Satan loves that the membership within the local church have not risen to expose and remove such individuals from destroying the church.

God’s shepherds are being destroyed by these abuses while the rest of the membership avoids dealing with these unhealthy situations in the church.

-Tom Cheyney

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Sustaining Revitalization: Developing a Gospel Saturation Strategy for Your City Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15).

A church in need of revitalization is one that has not been growing or has been experiencing negative growth for some time. Church growth can occur when new people start coming to the church from several sources such as new move-ins, transfers from other churches, biological (new babies) or conversion growth. The best way to breathe new life into a dying church is to focus on reaching new people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Really, we can’t get around our central task of evangelizing and discipling new people. Therefore, an effective gospel-sharing strategy should be central to any church revitalization effort. Why would we even bother to try to revitalize churches without insisting on obeying the commands of the Great Commission mandate of Jesus himself? Donald McGavran defined the mission of the local church as, “an enterprise devoted to proclaiming the Good news of Jesus Christ, and to persuading men to become His disciples and dependable members of His Church.”

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching

52

them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).

When we renew our focus on evangelism in the local church, why don’t we go all out and insist that we do what Jesus commanded us to do – that is to take the gospel to every person? Let us stop at nothing short of making sure that no one in our communities misses out on the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. Do you want to stand for social justice?

What could be more unjust than denying someone the opportunity to make an up or down decision to be rescued from the bondage of sin and death? Do you want to provide relief for suffering people? There is no greater cause than relieving the suffering of spiritual isolation and hopelessness. Do you want to be a visionary? Why not be the one who casts vision for taking the gospel to every person in your city?

Where to Begin But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:8-9)

By Mark Weible Starting in our own homes, let’s make sure that every family member has had an opportunity to hear and respond to the good news message of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for sin on the cross and the promise of eternal life for everyone who believes in and confesses faith in Jesus?

W. Oscar Thompson in his classic book on evangelism, Concentric Circles of Concern, encourages Christians to evangelize people who you already know before trying to save the world. It makes sense, that we share the gospel first with people we already know and with whom we have established personal relationships. It is somewhat hypocritical to pretend to care for people whom we’ve never met while ignoring those closest to us.

Therefore, the gospel begins at home and extends from there.

Do What Jesus Did When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest (Matthew 9:36-38).

Jesus laid the groundwork for an effective evangelism

strategy. We can’t miss this essential ingredient – prayer.

Praying for a harvest of souls is so obvious and so elementary that this step can easily be missed. Before Jesus sent out his first disciples, He told them to pray. He started by demonstrating a heart of compassion for lost people and then he told them to pray. Jesus overwhelmed his disciples with the evangelistic need in front of them and then he told them to pray that God would send out more workers. They must have really prayed, because Jesus used the disciples to answer their own prayer.

He sent them out! This is an important lesson for us today.

Jesus does not send people who don’t pray. If we don’t have enough people willing to go out and bring in a gospel harvest, it is because we don’t have enough people praying that God would send out people to bring in a gospel harvest.

Just like Jesus, we need to motivate the people of our churches to pray that God would send someone to take the gospel to all of those harassed and helpless people out there. We motivate them to pray by showing them the great need and by demonstrating a heart of compassion for people who are directionlessly meandering through life without a spiritual leader. When they pray, we

need to remind our people to pray like Isaiah who said, Here am I, send me (Isaiah 6:8).

Praying for Neighbors by Name Chris Cooper at Mapping Center for Evangelism has developed a free tool that can help motivate church members to pray for their neighbors. By simply logging in at www.BlessEveryHome.com, a person can sign up to receive daily email reminders to pray for their neighbors by name.

They can track their progress on a map that identifies each neighbor’s home and tracks the ones being prayed for.

Participants are encouraged to ask God for divine encounters that lead to caring relationships and gospel-sharing conversations. By asking people to pray for their neighbors by name, we are asking them to make a small investment that can lead to greater rewards. By praying, a person can become more interested in having caring conversations and activities with their neighbors that can lead to intentional gospel sharing. The Bless Every Home tool can be used to track the progress of reaching every neighbor home and even every neighborhood in an entire city.

Chris is working with church and community leaders across the United States to develop local initiatives

where churches work together to cover every home in their cities with prayer. The idea is that praying for our neighbors will lead to caring relationships and gospel sharing conversations. The Pray, Care, Share strategy is a part of the Mission America Coalition’s Love2020 Initiative and has been adopted by several churches and organizations across the United States.

Churches in need of revitalization can indeed start seeing new conversion growth and the joy of their neighborhoods being transformed by the power of the gospel when their people begin praying for their neighbors. With efforts like this, we can see entire cities immersed in the gospel of Jesus with global impact.

Mark Weible serves as the

Church Planting Director of the Greater Orlando Baptist Association and the strategic Director of the Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference. Mark has a wealth of experience as a church planter and local church coach.

Mark is passionate about church multiplication, renewal, planting, and coaching.

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Early and Latter Rains As I sit writing this article, I look out across the corn and bean fields of Illinois. It is obvious that they are in need of a refreshing rain before the scorching heat of the summer withers them to just dry foliage.

It is essential that the plans that were put into action during the spring have the continued nourishing rains during the summer. The scripture talks of early and latter rains [Joel 2:23-25]. The growing seasons in Israel were dependent on both rains. The early rain came in the winter and gave hope of a spring harvest. The latter rain came in the spring and would be necessary for the crops to mature and produce during the arid Israeli summer months. The absence of either would spell doom for any hope of sustained crop production.

While our growing seasons are somewhat different in America, the crops planted in the spring are dependent on the snowfall and winters rains. Likewise, the crops need the sustained rains for a bountiful fall harvest. As a child we had a large vegetable garden. We had the early crops like snap peas and green onions that would come on pretty quickly. The rest of the produce, such as tomatoes, corn on the cob, green beans and sweet potatoes, would be the fall crops 54

used for canning and seeing our large family through the winter months. Now I like the early crops of peas, cucumbers and the like, but they won’t be around in the fall. So while it is enjoyable to eat of our labors quickly; they would all but be gone by fall. Amos 8:1 uses the image “basket of summer fruit.”

The point is that summer fruit just doesn’t sustain; in fact it spoils very quickly.

The focus too often of the ministry and missions of the Church in the summer months is “Let’s get through these activities for another year!” Instead of trying to create or use them as launching greater sustainable “crops” for future sustenance, the objective was do the ministry and be done with it for another year.

In the April/May Renovate magazine, I titled my article “The Law of Inertia.” In that article I

By Jim Grant

addressed such things as strategic plans and long range planning; correlating it to the plans that had to be formulated in the winter month, and put into action during spring. You might at this point wonder ok, where is he going with this? The focus of this edition of Renovate is “how to sustain momentum coming out of summer.” I want to use the aforementioned discussion on crops and rain to draw a parallel to what must happen in the life of the church.

For many [if not most] churches the summer months are the busiest time of the year. Most of the ministry done will be done during the summer months.

Plans are made for mission trips, camps, VBS and backyard sports camps and such. The struggle with the “early rains” of ministry is that they are not enough to sustain a church through the dry fall and winters months.

While there is a lot of excitement during the summer activity, and please I do not want to minimize the good works that are accomplished by these activities; but they are like the basket of summer fruit, Amos talks about. The ministry has its quick rewards, but it doesn’t last. The focus too often of the ministry and missions of the church in the summer months is “Let’s get through these activi-

ties for another year!” Instead of trying to create or use them as launching greater sustainable “crops” for future sustenance.

The objective was do the ministry and be done with it for another year. If there isn’t a goal of using these traditional events for longer, deeper ministry, then all we get to enjoy is the immediate rewards for our efforts.

There is nothing wrong with the summer fruit, except that it is consumed during the summer months, for it will spoil before winter, and must be eaten quickly.

Now I know that with our modern day ability to irrigate crops, we can determine that there will be a fall crop. But if we are people of faith, we must trust the Lord for the latter rains; this blessing from God will produce the staple crops for canning and the rest of the year sustenance. The planning, planting, weed pulling and plowing has to continue throughout the hot summer months. I can remember complaining about the heat

of the day and wishing to just bask in the food we already had. There are similarities about tending a garden and church ministry – if we are not mindful and attentive to the crop in the field, the weeds/tares will take over and choke out the good harvest. The work of a church is not done when they have finished planting and harvesting the early crops; the work continues into the fall. I am reminded at this point of the words of Jesus. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send labors for the harvest, for the fields are already white unto harvest.

As a child we would spend hours shucking corn, snipping beans and peeling tomatoes.

There were long nights of pressure cookers and jar washing.

What seemed to be an arduous task during the summer was a welcomed sight when retuning to the cellar for jars of our labors.

ministry and missions work must be more that a completed task on the calendar! Every “crop/ministry” must answer the question – why did we do this? If churches have not thoroughly thought through why they do what they do during the missions months then they will enter into a fall/winter season of dried up fruit, which will not sustain any momentum achieved by their hard work previously in the sun.

I was so thankful for those canned jars of latter rain crops; for they assured that we would get through the cold months of inactivity to greet another spring filled with hope and new life.

If a church is going to have more than Summer Fruit, the

Jim Grant is the Lead Pastor of Heartland Baptist Church in Alton, Illinois. He is a veteran with 25 years of service in the Air Force. His extensive travels, while in the military, allowed him the unique ability to have served in the full spectrum of churches, styles, and health. Jim is the Gateway Baptist Association Revitalization Team Leader 55

HELP! How Do I Get the “Big Mo” Mentum Back in My Church? - Continued

By Darwin Meighan among the staff or volunteers.

• Faith: Provide opportunities for your team to grow spiritually.

Coach them on how to cultivate a personal devotional life with Jesus. Again, model it.

Ask yourself this question: What can I do now and into the fall months that will help focus and fuel my team/church? Motivation is not created overnight, but with intentionality it will grow and so will the momentum of your church.

Rate the motivation level of your team/church. People will rarely be more motivated than their pastor or church leaders. How do you rank? Which of these words best represents your motivation level right now?

Motivation Scale 1. Discouraged 2.

Losing motivation 3. Maintaining 4.

Gaining Motivation 5. Driven Release for Empowered Ministry Momentum is about forward movement. A good, biblical word for forward movement in

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the church is discipleship. Making disciples is about providing on-ramps and predetermined measurable steps for the Christ follower’s journey. It’s not just a matter of getting people into the Kingdom. They also have to be helped, encouraged, and empowered to move from one level of maturity to the next.

This process of movement will differ from church to church, but every church must have a process and the process must be measurable to ensure people are moving in maturity and becoming more like Jesus - empowered to make disciples who make disciples.

True momentum and forward movement in the Kingdom of God will always lead to multiplication. Conversely, what doesn’t reproduce will eventually die out or become extinct. Those churches who keep momentum rolling, forwardly advancing the Kingdom, are churches who demonstrate incredible force – impacting their community and world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As Holy Spirit-led momentum gets rolling, remember to celebrate those wins of life change and transformation that God will surely bring your way.

Momentum is about forward movement. A good, biblical word for forward movement in the church is discipleship.

Darwin Meighan after 31 years, Darwin served the Lord as a local church pastor. The past two years, he has serving in the role of revitalization specialist and speaker at the local, state and national level. As a coach and practitioner, he encourages pastors and churches toward the process of renewal and hope – guiding them in the journey of rediscovering their God-given purpose and mission of making disciples which embraces an outward focus of engaging their community, culture and world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You may reach Darwin at darwinmeighan@gmail.com

revitalizer

LIBRARY

Robby Gallaty is on a mission to make disciples who make disciples. Gallaty, along with Randal Collins, in Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes a Disciples (Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2013) retraces his story of salvation, the men who discipled him, and how the reader can disciple others.

Growing Up is the first of three books in a series on discipleship that serve as a blueprint for revitalizers who make it their aim to build disciples.

Three emphases emerge from Growing Up. First, Gallaty issues a call to rediscover discipleship. He presents a biblical case for disciple making drawing attention to the high priority that Jesus held in making disciples. Of the thousands who were referred to as disciples, Jesus invested himself in the twelve. Of the twelve Jesus was especially close to three; Peter, James, and John. The relationship structure that Jesus modeled is more than trivia.

One of the early challenges a pastor and revitalizer undertakes is to know and navigate the unique culture of the congregation they have just adopted. Two churches with the same name, the same programming, and similar demographics located in separate communities are going to possess very distinct cultures. In Look Before You Lead; How to Discern & Shape Your Church Culture (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 2013) Aubrey Malphurs offer pastors and revitalizers both principles and resources to not only know the church culture they have inherited but to shape the culture of the future. He writes, “The primary purpose of this book is to help current and emerging leaders explore how to form spiritually

It is a model for making disciples and multiplying the kingdom of God. Gallaty’s second emphasis is on a process of making disciples. Using what he identifies “D-Groups” as the method.

A “D-Group” is an assembly of two to three, men to men, women to women, who regularly meet for bible study, prayer and mutual accountability. The appendixes house forms and outlines to be used in beginning the disciplemaking journey. Gallaty’s work provides resources that are lacking from many works on discipleship.

The third focus is an introduction to hermeneutics. The church appears to be excelling in biblical illiteracy with many not knowing how to open let alone study the Bible. Outside the church, the Bible is at best a reference on the placard at a ball game and at worse, misquoted and twisted. The church is sick and some of the cause is ignorance.

An emphasis on training individual believers to be healthy must be ignited once more.

Gallaty’s work is incredibly helpful for those who have not been discipled. This reviewer has been to many workshops for Pastors who when asked, “How many of you can identify one person who invested their life in you, who discipled you?” only to see a few hands raised. The absence of current evangelical leaders who have been intentionally discipled healthy organizational culture in the context of church planting, church revitalization, and church adoptions” (8). Malphurs work is specifically helpful to revitalizers in many ways.

First, understanding the unique culture is paramount to the effectiveness of every revitalizer. Malphurs defines culture as, “… [a] unique expression of its [the church’s] shared values and beliefs” (20). In other words, culture is not what a congregation says they value but by their demonstrated by actions expressing their values. For example, a church who say’s they value missions but does not regularly pray for missionaries, does not sponsor missions trips nor do they collect a missions offering is a church that does not really value missions. Actions relay what is culturally important regardless of what is articulated.

Second, revitalizers need to understand that to see lasting renewal in

is shameful. It is, however, the reality. It does not have to be the future. Works like Gallaty’s serve as a tremendous resource for the pastor/revitalizer to become a disciple maker.

The audience for Growing Up appears to shift from addressing church leaders and a call to prioritize disciple-making to address those who have little knowledge of the basics of hermeneutics. The audience shift does not, however, confuse the work.

Perhaps the shift in audience reveals an unspoken conviction that a new frontier of disciple making will come from the men and women who occupy the pews rather than the pulpit.

Of the materials written on discipleship Gallaty’s work is not the best. His work is however very effective. In matters of disciple making it is better to be effective than eloquent. The manner in which Gallaty writes lifts some fog of confusion around the issue of discipleship.

One critical key for revitalization work to stick beyond the current revitalizer is to intentionally make disciples who will make disciples. It will do little good to revitalize a church on the personality, charisma, and skill of a revitalizer. A personality driven strategy for revitalization will only last as long at that personality can be sustained.

Growing Up: How to be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples is a good addition to the Revitalizer’s Library.

a church the congregational culture must be changed. Updating the programs, implementing casual attire and using a pallet background in the sanctuary is a change of style not of culture. Culture will overpower any strategy put into place. From decades of studying churches, Malphurs writes, “…we’ve discovered it’s a waste of time and money to attempt to lead a culturally toxic church that clings to the traditions of men rather than the clear teaching of Scriptures through the strategic-envisioning process” (17). A revitalizer’s idealism and hope are appetizers for a toxic church. If he sticks around long enough he will be the entrée. A culturally toxic church will not renew less God revitalizes the church thereby birthing a new culture.

Pastors and revitalizers need to know the culture they are inheriting so they can strategically pray, plan and act in

Continued on Page 58 Book Reviews by Rob Hurtgen

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BOOK REVIEWS CONTINUED... congruence with God the Holy Spirit to bring about renewal.

Third, just as every church has a cultural worldview; so does every pastor. A pastor/ revitalizer who knows his cultural bents is at a great advantage when a cultural collision occurs. This reviewer disagrees with the implied notion from Malphurs that for a prospective minister to be effective he must have complete cultural alignment with a church prior to becoming its pastor.

Just as no marriage is 100% compatible 100% of the time, so too no pastor or congregation will see eye to eye on every matter. Waiting for the perfectly matched church will leave many revitalizers doing just that; waiting.

However, the reader is in agreement with the principle that possessing some insight in how both your personal culture and the congregational culture align and collide is helpful to know what biblically driven hills to die on and

Relationships in Revitalization When a pastor begins a revitalization process, this can be a lonely time in his ministry. Many aspects might be contributing to this.

First, the church could be in conflict.

During times of conflict often times the pastor feels isolated and attacked. Even with supporters, many pastors struggle naturally with the constant negativity of those against him. Face it, no one enjoys having persons oppose and criticize, especially when you believe you are following God’s Will for your life.

Second, because the church is in decline, some pastors retreat inward, not wanting to meet with other pastors as they are embarrassed by the decline, and the conversation will ultimately come up at lunch with the question of “how many were there on Sunday?”.

Third is the tendency to overwork.

Some pastors find themselves working extra hours to make up for the leadership vacuum that exists due to leaders not being present. A pastor has to spend time developing leaders, handle pastoral care, prepare for preaching, etc. and spend time with his family. Having time for relationships with others is far down on the agenda…and yet one of the greatest needs.

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There are a litany of other reasons which might cause a pastor to disconnect from building and establishing healthy relationships during a revitalization time, however these are what I have seen as the most prevalent. What’s a pastor to do?

Here is an interesting passage to consider in this, “And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.’”

(Mark 3.34-35, ESV).

The thought I have with this, pastors need to engage with other pastors as we are doing the “will of God” and therefore are family. Remember the context of the passage, Jesus’ family was outside a home waiting for him, and others informed Him that His family was there. He looked at His disciples and made that statement.

He looked at those who were co-laboring with him to accomplish His earthly ministry. Other pastors in the community are these co-laborers.

We need to engage with others who are doing the work of the ministry.

This engagement in relationship will provide a pastor with needed encouragement, needed relationship, and accountability for the work to be done.

Let’s explore the three reasons I have outlined as the primary considerations, and how being in relation-

what to chalk up to culture. Malphurs work delivers principles and tools for a pastoral candidate to not only come to understand their worldview but also the culture of the church they are considering serving.

In typical Malphurs style, the work is extremely analytical. Those who relish in his thorough nature will not be disappointed. There is some information in the work that may not yield immediate benefits but should be viewed as an investment for future withdrawal.

By Kenneth Priest ship helps.

During Times of Conflict If your church is going through conflict, having an outsider to discuss some of the issues with is strategic.

He can assist you with what you are not seeing, and affirm what you are doing. My reminder for this is, do not simply look for someone who will agree with you no matter what.

You need someone who can critically discuss this with you. Who is willing to push back and hold you accountable if you make a misstep.

Developing a relationship with a pastor in your area also assists as he knows your community, therefore he understands your context. Sometimes we put great weight on an outside consultant with these issues, however, when I am working with a church in conflict, even as an outsider, I contact others in the region who understand the community context to assist me with providing the best advice I can. Pastors are supposed to be the cultural exegetical experts for their community. As such, trusting other pastors to help you see what is happening can be of great benefit. It might also be, if you are new to the community, you will gain insight on how persons in this new community you are engaged think.

Retreating Inward This move by some to not engage

with others due to embarrassment, or some other emotion, is outlined in Ken Blanchard’s writings on “Lead Like Jesus”. I highly recommend reading this book. Blanchard addresses the issue of the ego, and he defines it as “edging God out.” This can occur in several ways. First, the normal area we think about ego, that being of pride. The other, which I believe connects to the issue for those who retreat inward, is that of fear. The fear that comes with others learning of your church being in decline and the outcome of that.

The encouragement is for you to do two things; first be transparent.

Be open and honest. Let the area pastors know what is happening in your church and let them know you would like to discuss the ministry you are engaging in with them and are seeking and valuing their input.

The second thing (which if you are not in decline, you can do this now to develop these types of relationships), shift the conversations in your pastoral network from worrying with numbers in attendance, to community impact. In revitalization the conversation should not be about getting more people in the door. It should be about what the church is doing to impact the community for the cause of Christ. Ultimately, this can lead to more people in the church, but first you have to impact the community. Discuss with your area pastors how you all can work together to accomplish the Great Commission in your unique community context.

Overworking In a revitalization setting, this can be the greatest cause to not engage

in relationships with those who are on the journey of ministry with you.

One must prioritize how to do this best. This article is too short to go into great detail, so let me start with the biblical standard. Remember the teachings of Paul in 1 Cor. 7; it is best to remain single if you fully want to focus on ministry. If you marry, you must first focus on your wife. Then you can focus on ministry. So here is my personal time chart for a pastor.

I am not putting how much time, as that is up to you and your spiritual practices.

1. Personal growth plan. To include Bible study and pray (which is not sermon prep time) 2. Relationship with your wife.

3. Relationship with your children if God has chosen to bless you with them.

These three items are of utmost importance and should receive priority in your life.

4. Ministry of the pastor. a. Sermon prep b. Disicpling leaders c.Pastoral care This one category consumes much of a pastors week; or it should. The preaching of God’s Word is the most important thing you do in the ministry. In Acts 6 the disciples chastised the church for thinking the disciples were the ones who should be handling the pastoral care; they outline their role, and thereby the role of the spiritual undershepherd, 6.2. In order to handle the pastoral care, a pastor must develop leaders to do this, that is the point of discipling leaders. Therefore, set up your calendar to spend time with God, spend time with family, prepare your sermons, disciple others, and then pastor care.

Formula for Developing Critical Mass

By Tom Cheyney Everyone wants to see some sort of growth come back to their dying church. Many a church revitalization effort has been hurt due to the leadership within the church, both lay and clergy, waiting too long before they addressed the issue of critical mass. Critical Mass is that size of any church where it has enough members actively working and participating in the weekly work of ministry growth. When a church has waited too long to address the issue of critical mass, it is almost sure the church will die even if for a moment it keeps it head above the water of closure. Here is a quick formula for developing and keeping critical mass in ones church: 1 % of the church membership is in pastoral leadership Plus 6% of the church membership is passionate about the future of the church Plus 14% of the churches leaders are in positions willingly and are advocating for the future renewal of the church Plus 42% of the church are actively participating and willingly following future directions of the church This simple formula equals a growing critical mass for growth and the eventual revitalization of the congregation.

Kenneth Priest serves as the Director of Convention Strategies for the Southern Baptists of

Texas Convention in Grapevine, TX. Kenneth has been leading revitalization endeavors since 2008 with the SBTC. He holds a Doctor of Educational Ministry degree with an emphasis in Church Revitalization from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO. Please contact Kenneth at kpriest@sbtexas.com.

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Senior Adults Are Your Friends!

It is almost axiomatic that older members are your latest adopters and sometimes non-adopters, resisting change to the end. It is the senior adults who remember the glory days and feel like if we just did it now like we did then, we would be growing. They have greater representation on key decision-making groups and are the hardest working group in most congregations. However, it is also the senior adults who the revitalizer often casts as his enemy when they can be his friend and ally for change.

Senior adults are late adopters for a number of reasons but typically, it is not out of selfishness but fear; not out of anger but misunderstanding. While this is not always true, they often just feel left out.

I have laughingly said, even in their presence, that the average age of my church when I arrived was comatose. The year after I arrived, I preached the funeral of 18 of the regular attenders who were part of that group of 100 the Sunday I first preached to them. We were a senior adult church, out of touch with our community, out of touch with the digital age, and out of touch with the next generation.

As pastor of a predominately senior adult church, had I attempted to discard the seniors and their opinions, I would have 60

not only had no foundation, but also no building blocks. If change were going to happen, I had to understand how these senior adults thought and what would move them to make changes.

Perhaps a real-life case study will draw a picture of why older members think and act as they do. Fred and Jewell are among mine and Lori’s dearest friend, but it was not always that way.

During those early transition team discussions, members would often sheepishly ask me if I had talked to Fred and Jewell about something we were discussing. Jewell was the unofficial keeper of the church tradition. I doubt it is a role she aspired to hold, and probably did not think of herself that way.

Fred and Jewell have been married for 63 years by now and have no children. Having no children and no grandchildren, they have no motivation to keep up with the changes going on around them. They have survived without ever owning a computer or smart phone.

Honestly, I am envious.

Fred worked all his life for a national baker, first driving a route truck, and then in sales and management, setting up stores over several states and even managing the bakery itself. Jewell worked for many

By Pete Tackett

years as well and they made a great life for themselves, serving at church and having a large group of friends. Jewell has for years taught Bible at several levels to ladies. For the most part, Antioch Church has been their family.

Fred probably could not even turn on the lights at the bakery now, since it is most likely computerized. If Jewell goes to the grocery store, not only does no one sack her groceries and offer to take them to the car as before, but they want you to scan and bag your own and pay electronically. In their early years, if their phone quit working, the phone company sent someone to your house to fix it.

Now, even the phone company doesn’t want to talk to you on the phone, but want you to go online and chat. How ironic is that?

Your senior adults will never again have their work like it used to be, the phone company like it used to be, or their grocery store like it used to be.

Now, the church is changing and they can never have the church like it used to be. What they can have though is a pastor that loves and cares for them and stays close to them.

You are going to need your senior adults to be on your side at a crucial moment. For me, it came when I was leading us to

do away with a traditional Sunday night worship event and go all in on the AWANA ministry.

Five of my older friends and members pushed back.

After much discussion, a senior adult man from one of the two patriarchal families stood, with tears, turned to the congregation and said “In ten years, we will be either dead or in a nursing home. We need to let this generation do what it takes to reach this community.” It was a turning point and would not have been possible had I considered our older members my enemy.

Let me say it again. Your senior adults are not the enemy and they deserve to have a pastor that loves them and cares for them and stays close to them.

They have given a lifetime of service to your church and you have been there a few years at best. Don’t dismiss them so easily.

How that will look in your setting may be different, but here are a few things I have done to stay close to my seniors, who call themselves the Young at Heart group.

I visit them in the hospital more than I do any other age group.

As our staff and deacon group has grown, I do less and less of the hospital ministry, majoring on the seriously ill and the lost,

but I rarely miss an opportunity to visit a senior when they are hospitalized. I don’t do it to schmooze, but because they lived in a generation where that was the norm and it doesn’t cost much to do that.

I go to most of their luncheons and functions. It is the one time each month I can give them my undivided attention. I rarely have a place on the program but if they have questions about what is happening at the church, they can ask them face to face and not feel disenfranchised. By doing it on their turf, it doesn’t feel adversarial like it might in a leadership or congregational meeting.

Because I am an old youth pastor, I am good at planning events and trips. It is almost second nature to me. When I was co-pastor of a church twenty years ago, I sat down at a senior lunch with a group of widows and one of them said to me, “Brother Pete, why don’t you take us on one of those fun trips like you do the kids?”

After a laugh about sleeping on the floor, she got more serious and said that she had not been on a vacation since her husband died. All the other ladies were nodding their heads. That was the beginning of an annual 4-5 day trip I plan and lead for our senior adults.

Those are days when Lori and

I dote on them and have fun with them. That laughter has proven to make the bitter pill of change go down easier.

Whatever you do to stay close to them, ask God to give you a love for them and a willingness to care for them. Senior adults can not only be your freinds, but a few of them can be great companions on the revitalization journey. It only takes one to turn the tide.

Pete Tackett is the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, in Johnson, Tennessee. He is the author of the book re.VITAL.ize: Lessons Learned in a Recovering Church. Pete Tackett studied communications at East Tennessee State University and Bible at Holston Baptist Bible Institute and has spent the rest of his life leading churches and parachurch organizations through change. He and his wife, Lori, have spent the last 7 years leading Antioch Baptist Church in Johnson City from the brink of closure back to vitality and community involvement.

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The Three Pastoral Types that Help or Hinder a Revitalizer

- Continued his rut of worthless activity. This is the pastor who views the church as his place to preach and be part of a group. The flock allows him the resources and location to practice his “gift.” He’s not leading, he’s just absorbing and diffusing.

The congregation is often the first to recognize the “sitter.” They wonder why the church is not growing and healthy. People are dissatisfied and there are as many, or more, exiting as there are joining. Some refer to this as the “back door” being too broad for the continued success of the church. People are often discouraged from beginning new ministries and programs. The prospects of change and extra effort are squelched, and the desire for maintaining outweighs the possibility of creative, innovative service within the church or outside in the community.

This pastor has become satisfied with his comfort zone and disregarded the commands to go, to disciple and to be witnesses (Matt.

28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

3) The “Gritty Go-Gitter” (yes, I know there is no such spelling, but in the south where I was brought up, we pronounce it “gitter” instead of “getter”). This leader lights the way for the followers and drives the process. This leader lets nothing slow his momentum, lets nothing distract him from the goals he has perceived as from the Lord and perseveres until the mission is accomplished. His focus is on God getting the glory and the church walking in unity.

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By Tracy W. Jaggers He is often viewed as a workaholic! He is never comfortable with where the church is or the speed at which it moves. He is always looking for a new approach, a new idea, or a more productive resource. I love the “go-gitter!” He may seem like he is ADHD, but he is probably so passionate about his love for the Lord and his calling to serve Jesus Christ that he can’t imagine stopping or even slowing down.

take the congregation with you!

Keep your eye and the goal, equip the saints to do the work and “run” alongside of them as all of you seek to glorify of the Father!

This leader may get frustrated by the process of revitalization.

It can be slow and meticulous, but once he receives the strategy, realizes there are clear markers to verify productive movement and comprehends the goals to be achieved, he will get behind it and gladly push toward the finish line.

If you are the “Reluctant Admitter,” ask the Lord whether He expects you to lead the charge to change and revival. If not, get your resume updated and search for the ministry setting where you can have that confidence.

If you are a “Satisfied-Sitter,” rent a moving truck and relocate.

Evaluate God’s calling. If you have no clear response, or you just need some time to find healing and renewal, then take the time in another setting or job that will clarify God’s leading. Ask Him to re-energize you and expand His Kingdom in and through you!

If you are a “Go-Gitter,” put the pedal to the metal and speed on.

Just remember to slow down and

Tracy W. Jaggers

Associational Director of Missions Gateway Baptist Association, Edwardsville, Illinois. Tracy is an adjunct professor with Gateway Seminary in CA. He earned his Doctor of Ministry degree in Church Revitalization from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. He is a frequent blogger and writer for state and national revitalization websites and magazines, and is an active speaker in state and national revitalization conferences and webinars.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

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Continued from page 10 Instead, God directed Moses to move from a personal recognition of his inadequacy to a focus on God’s incredible sufficiency.

The issue is not, “Who is Moses?” but, “Who is God?” When we look at ourselves, we can easily sense our inadequacy for God’s assignments, but our view is on the wrong person.

Our vision must focus on the full adequacy of God to carry out whatever He wills through us.

2. Lack of authority Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13).

Moses was asking, “By whose authority?” He didn’t see himself as having any power to confront Pharaoh and lead the nation out of bondage. God answered with the revelation of Himself as the “I AM” – the eternally existent, self-sufficient, unchangeable God who relates to and redeems his people.

Moses told God, “My authority is inadequate,” God responded, “My authority is enough.”

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But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue,” (Exodus 4:10).

This is an interesting concern when considering Stephen who referenced Moses as a man, “mighty in words and in deeds,” (Acts 7:22).

But 40 years had passed and sheep were not the best audience for keeping up public communication skills. Moses lost confidence in his ability as a communicator. God responded with a strong reminder that He had designed Moses’ abilities. He equipped Moses to do what He assigned him to do.

God determines our abilities and disabilities. They are not accidental or without purpose. God can use us as His instrument just as He made us. The issue is not, “What can we do?” but rather, “What can God do through me?”

4. Personal reluctance But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else,” (Exodus 4:13).

You will get in trouble as a Christian if you think it’s about your power and don’t recognize that God’s authority is the sufficiency you need.

Moses could not get beyond his past failure and rejection to see that God was fully able to do all the He was commissioning Moses to do. God had met every concern with the encouragement of His authority and ability, but still, Moses balked.

3. Lack of ability -

We can see clearly the issue for

By Author Moses was a lack of faith in God’s adequacy. Yes, he had a reason for feeling the way he did. He had experienced personal pain.

The assignment stretched him beyond his comfort zone, but the bottom line was he struggled with God’s sufficiency because he was so focused on his personal inadequacy.

The ultimate issue is not who we are, what we can do, or how much self-confidence we can muster. The real issue is whether we can trust the Lord who is totally adequate for any situation and for any assignment He gives us.

What past rejection makes you hesitant to take the risk and do what you know God wants through your life and ministry?

Who are you focusing on, yourself or Him? Step out, step up, and step forward. God is able and sufficient for what He’s asking you to do.

Notes: 1. Ethan Kross, Marc G. Berman, Walter Mischel, Edward E. Smith, Tor D. Wager. Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1102693108

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Dealing Your With Friends Like These Kind of Friends -Continued Social media is here to stay. Why? People love the way it’s available all the time. A large majority of church members use social media for some type of purpose: entertainment when bored, discovering trending news, following brands and products, and/or interacting with acquaintances.

Everyone is different, and some like all of these!

Every church, especially because the tools don’t cost much, should be on social media to reach an audience that’s scrolling and seeking good content. And it’s all about content!

Good content must start with understanding an audience or group of followers.

Don’t have a lot of followers?

Start there. Think about the kind of followers you actually do have (online and in your congregation) and look at their walls to see the kind of content they regularly share. Resisting political banter of course, try to sense how you can interject into their social world and provide shareable content.

Or at the least, content that they’ll like.

Also consider the types of people you’re trying to provide content for (even outside of your current followers). Or do you mainly want to reach your congregation? Or are you trying to reach a greater church audience? Or people in the community? It’ll all affect the type of content you will create.

These decisions will also help 66

you gain followers (your ultimate goal). If you have very few followers, then there’s probably no sense providing content. And you need to provide the right content to attract the followers. If you do it right, you’ll deliver great content AND gather followers. Constantly ask people to follow your social media for a particular purpose!

Give them a reason when you see them in person or in print — possibly they haven’t discovered your social media feeds! Start with people who already listen to you (your congregation) and allow the social algorithms to share your accounts outside your area.

HUGE TAKEAWAY: stop providing the same kind of content if you’re not building a following.

You’ll need to change something: content or audience. Timing is another potential issue that we’ll deal with later.

Here are 5 tips to owning your church social media and revitalizing your presence so you can build an online church: 1. Discover your Thread. This is an important step that allows you to limit what kind of content you deliver. The church can talk about virtually anything, but I’d encourage you to start thinking about what you SHOULD be known for in your community. Think about solutions to prominent problems or concerns or paths to goals. Become known for something. Then you’ll want to maintain that thread throughout your posts so that people know your posts are consistently needed. Don’t be known

for advertising and promoting your events — rarely is anyone seeking ads on social media.

Think about your social tools as entertainment channels that occasionally deliver promotion. It’ll keep your followers engaged and coming back for more. Important: remember that discovering your thread will mean that your social media won’t tackle various content. It’s essential to set your fences up so you know what should and shouldn’t be offered on your accounts. If you don’t lock these fences down, you will get content drift and never gain a following of people looking for something you can offer.

2. Inventory your accounts. Do you currently have social media channels? List all of them, and make sure you have control (username and passwords) of them.

If someone has started a channel “for” the church, it’s time to take control of it — and maybe use the opportunity to ask the current owner for social media help.

Look at the channel names (ie. @ mainstreetchurch) and make sure they are all similar (the closer the better). Then look at their avatars (icons) and make them the same too (professional and recognizable when seen at a small size).

Your descriptions should also be similar as it says the facts about who you are and why someone should follow you (your thread).

Use the same keywords that people will be searching for in the descriptions. If anything doesn’t align between accounts, consider changing it so you look controlled, professional, and needed.

3. Choose the ones you do best. Can you realistically provide unique content for all the accounts? Consider what each channel is known for (demographic of their followers or content style).

For example, Instagram is known as a visual sharing channel, Youtube is all about video, and LinkedIn is targeting business people.

Search in Google for the tool’s name and ask for demographic or content description; it’ll deliver lots of great research about this.

What kind of content do you do really well? If you don’t have video capabilities, you should drop Youtube or Vimeo. If you’re just starting and want only one channel, I’d recommend Facebook. Almost every adult has a Facebook account, and it allows you to try various content styles to see what works with your followers and what you can do well. It’s not wise to build followers on a channel you can’t maintain easily. Also resist linking channels to share the same content — it rarely works well with one of the linked accounts. Unique posting is best.

4. Create a content calendar.

Now that you have a few channels/tools to work with, turn your attention to a content calendar.

Start with 1 post a day (per channel) and look at your master communication calendar to decide what’s going on in your church.

Only 10-20% of your content should be promotional though, so you’ll need to think about stories, pithy thoughts, sermon quotes, pictures, videos, and biblical memes that will emphasize your thread. Once you get a fol-

lowing, you can expand the frequency of posts. Remember that most channels favor video (especially “live” video feeds), then pictures, then words. Therefore, the channel will “allow” more people to see that kind of content. It’s best to think short (Twitter’s 140 character lengths are good) for words. Be creative and be consistent. Look at the calendar and slowly fill in the posts needed.

You may need help to fulfill the content, so plan well in advance.

You’ll also want to consider time of day to post too. Try posting when most of your followers are bored (lunch, breaks, evenings after kids are in bed).

5. Automate to preserve sanity. If you’re new to social media, I’m sure your head is spinning now. There’s a lot to do, and you won’t be able to post everything when you need it posted.

It will drive you crazy! So look into social media automation (like Hootsuite, Social Oomph, or Buffer). These online tools allow you to load all your channels into one dashboard so you can create a post and send that post out at a specific time. It’s like magic! Most churches need people to create the content, a person to load all the content each week, and someone to monitor your accounts for comments and questions. That rhythm has to be figured out, but once it is, you’ll discover it’s not as hard as it sounds.

A Final Word: If you’re not a particularly social person, running a social media account is not for you. If you struggle keeping a conversation going in person, you’ll struggle keeping it going online. Make sure you have the right person or team in place to ensure a vibrant social media feed. Church is about fellowship, so the online social media church must try and maintain a fellowship feel — where someone can comment, post, and ask questions knowing a real person will engage with them.

Mark MacDonald is a Bible Teacher, speaker, author of Be Known For Something, and communication strategist for BeKnownForSomething.com.

He empowers churches to become known for something relevant (a communication thread) throughout their ministries, websites, and social media. His book is available at BeKnownBook.com and amazon.com.

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Making “IT” worth It! Here is a quick lesson for any Church Revitalizer about making it all worth it for you, your church, and your community as you build value.

Your Vision Must Be Compelling You cannot build value for church members, prospects, volunteers, lay leadership, or the community without a compelling vision and values for your new church.

Become a Significant Leader in Your Community You build value by becoming the leader in your community, the church that everybody wants to attend, work for, grow from, or support. It takes tremendous confidence to stake out the territory and to lead others toward it.

Withstand the Loneliness of Leading Lay People You have to withstand the doubts and loneliness of pastoral leadership. At the same time you have to acknowledge to yourself and others that you don’t always know how you will reach your destination.

Trust Your Laity First, In Time They Will Trust You For others to follow you through times of uncertainty requires mutual trust and faith.

That is what clarity of vision and commitment to values can bring. I once thought that the test of personal leadership was the number of people that follow a leader. But what is more rewarding is to look across a church and see the number of leaders in place, people who share a common aspiration and have the tools and wisdom—the vision and values—to achieve something great. That is any church revitalizer’s greatest legacy, to make “IT” all worth it for everyone. Then you know your vision is on right track.

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The Church Revitalizer’s Prayer Partner The work of church revitalization is difficult and demanding and because it is, I can say, unequivocally, prayer partners are the greatest human asset in the ministry of church revitalization because prayer changes things.

James 5:16b says, “The prayer of a righteous man availeth much…”

Prayer is the only avenue that much needed Holy Spirit power can be attained in order to be successful in the effort. There are many obstacles to face as the process develops. The task is big…too big for human ability. It is tedious work that demands a God given patience that supersedes any human ability. That is the reason prayer support is an absolute must!

The Work of the Revitalizer’s Prayer Partner The prayer partner’s responsibility is to intercede on behalf of the Revitalizer and the church.

The process of revitalization is riddled with need. Prayer is the only source of power that will change the trend of a plateaued or declining church. When prayer partners pray, God intervenes through His Holy Spirit to accomplish the work of revitalization.

Here is a short list of what a revitalizer prayer partner should pray about: Binding Satan and Loosing the Holy Spirit in the Process It is most important for revitaliza-

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tion in the local church to honestly face the reality of Satan’s efforts to silence the church and he must be stopped. There is a war raging between God and His church versus Satan and his demons. The intercessor understands that Satan is the enemy of God and he attacks the work of God by attacking the Lord’s body, the church. It is a war for dominance and it effects the Church and its life, health and growth. Satan must be bound and the Holy Spirit must be given free reign in the revitalization process. The very concept of revitalization calls for divine intervention. Revitalization can be defined as “New Life” and if the church seeks to enter a time of renewing its spiritual life, Satan will surely be awakened and he will work tirelessly to stop the change. He will stop at nothing to cause the church to be ineffective and he must be bound in order for the Holy Spirit to do the work of birthing “New Life” into the church. Satan attacks on many fronts. Sometimes he discourages the congregation causing it to cast doubt on its future. He causes the church to become apathetic toward its real task. At other times Satan fosters a type of pastoral, personal and congregational pride that stops the church from facing the reality that it is declining and on its way to death. Furthermore, Satan can generate a sense of self-reliance that will squelch any hopes for the power of God to be manifested through the Holy Spirit.

By Steve Sells We must always remember that Satan’s greatest desire and constant objective is for the church to fail. As Jesus said to the seven churches in Revelation, “He that hath an ear let him hear.” The consequences of not heeding His warning will be death. As Satan is bound and the Holy Spirit given rule and reign in the revitalization process, the church is set free to accomplish its God-given vision. I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Holy Spirits Anointing on the Revitalizer The prayer partner prays for God to give a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit to the Revitalizer. The work of church revitalization cannot be accomplished by human effort, ability, wisdom or knowledge. He must be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit or there will be no success. Nothing happens in church revitalization without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is source wisdom and understanding that is needed to lead a church thru the difficult process of renewal. If the revitalizer leads from his own wisdom and human knowledge the end results will surely be failure.

It is important that the prayer partner pray for all aspects of the revitalizer’s life. My most important asset is my wife and my relationship with her. The work of a

revitalizer requires absence from home as the ministry is carried out. The prayer partner intercedes for spousal protection and care while the revitalizer is away.

The travel schedule for a revitalizer may sometimes be difficult and physically taxing and should also be a part of the intercession.

Much prayer is needed in the area of finances. This is almost always a challenge in the ministry of a church revitalizer. My prayer partners pray for our ministry as well as personal financial obligations to be met.

Holy Spirits Anointing on the Pastor/Shepherd The Prayer Partner Prays for the pastor (shepherd) to become a transformational leader that he might lead his congregation to “new life.” The prayer partner should intercede on behalf of the pastor that he would receive a sense of passionate boldness to lead the church thru what may be some perilous and difficult times.

The pastor must understand that he is the key to the success of any revitalization process. This cannot be understated. The pastor is absolutely vital to revitalization.

He must be willing to face “present reality” about his ministry and the church. The stronghold of pride in the pastor’s life will always hold back the process.

Intercession is made for him that he will begin to preach toward revitalization in his church and that he become a resolute change agent and a determined visionary

for the church. He must know where God wants the church to go and be willing to lead it there. Pastoral timidity toward Church Revitalization will never accomplish the renewal of the local church! Without the full support and involvement of the pastor in the process of revitalization the church cannot possibly succeed. The pastor needs the prayers of the intercessor.

Holy Spirits Anointing on the Congregation Prayer for the congregation to awaken to their need and accept “present reality” about their future is essential. The average congregation does not fully understand the overall spiritual condition of the church body. At other times congregations know the need but will not accept the responsibility to make the changes necessary to receive the “new life.” The church must break the cycle of passivity. They must begin to care about the future and stop living in the past. The church must regain a sense of God’s will and plan for the church and its future. It must seek to glorify God in all that it does as it seeks excellence for Kingdom work.

Conclusion These are but a few of the prayer objectives I ask my prayer partners to pray about. Nothing can take the place of prayer and nothing is more important,

from a human standpoint, to the Church Revitalizer, than a committed prayer partner who loves the church and desires its success as much as he does. It is a great comfort to know that, as the tedious work of revitalization is being done, someone is lifting you up daily through prayer. This is the work of a Revitalizer’s prayer partner and it is indispensable for the work. Any church revitalizer will be wise to enlist as many committed prayer partners as he possibly can. Remember, “The prayer of a righteous man availeth much…”

Steve Sells is the president and CEO of Operation Transformation church revitalization ministry in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Steve has served in ministry for 43 years in North Carolina and Georgia. He has led numerous revitalization conferences and projects. Dr. Sells is the co-author of the book With Greater Power. He seeks to help churches of all sizes experience new health and growth.

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Peak Performance Principles for Church Revitalizers Enjoying the Ride Principle The engine fired loud and continuous into my hands as I clutched the tiny roadster for the very first time. Power was at my fingertips that spoke of the unnatural performance that was lying just a few feet away under the cherry redscooped hood. Was this going to be short-lived excitement of passing days of youthful exuberance? I hoped not. Moments earlier I had just finished paying for the tiny car and now while darkness surrounded me, I had the enjoyment of driving it home, where a garage was waiting for its new resident.

There was a small crowd gathered as I fumbled around trying to figure out what each button and switch accomplished. Gone are the days, except in vintage cars, where you must flip switches, pull levers, and push buttons to get an automobile to move. Those around me were asking if I was fearful of driving the “thing” as they called it, home without having had the chance to give it a complete checkout? Within me was a sense of contentment in anticipation of the ride. My mind flashed at the other machines I had considered: Spyder, Cobra 427, Snake, and Invader all with their ominous monikers spoke of prowess and power.

Strangely within me was a peace, a sense of guidance, or perhaps contentment that reminded me of days gone by when I had driven a similar machine.

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I encouraged those around after fumbling to find reverse; and backed it out of the space where it had been displayed. Once it was moving forward and I was applying that which I had learned some

twenty-five years earlier, thoughts of uncertainty ceased. Humorous print ads and commercial slogans bounced back across my mind.

One ad was true, which spoke of “Your Mother Wouldn’t Like It!” and I could see my wife as I pulled off a little bit fearful that her usually levelheaded husband, had just taken off in a car that would fit inside her family car.

Sounds bristled as I shook the machine down. “Silky smooth and smokin!” By the time I reached the fourth speed it was hauling and I was holding on. It was hard not to smile, since the wind pushed through the cockpit. My clothes were flapping me to death as laughter reminded me just how fun it was and still is to enjoy such a ride. Steal string guitars and acoustical instruments played in my head since I could not figure out in the dark how to turn on the radio. Lyrics rocked my cranial cavity like, “Do You Want to Drive My Car”, “409”, “Fun Fun Fun”, and “Surfin Safari” all flashed around my mind and caused me laughter.

By the time I reached home my face honestly hurt from the smile of experiencing such a spirited drive. My hair was whipped and what little I have was all tangled.

Like sailors drawn mysteriously to the sea, enthusiastically I drove her (all sports cars have female names, go figure) into her new berth, having sampled the sweet flavor of a ride that was so complete.

The Enjoying the Ride principle is simply the principle of joyful contentment right in the midst of all that you are doing. Enjoying the ministry for me is like that drive.

By Tom Cheyney It is contentedly enjoying the ride of ministry right where God has planted me. For the called of God, it is the God given strength to be satisfied with the loving supplying of God in any and every situation.

Though the road of ministry is often difficult because of its rocks and boulders, the strains and struggles, or even the twists and turns, if you keep on keeping on, you can make it. Yes there are times when potholes are all around us. There are surprises, accidents, and detours that wait for us along the road. We might sweat a little and sway a little, but remember; every road has an end. If we hold on in the midst of the strain, God will bring us to the end. To really grasp the principle, we must be aware of the warning signs.

Failure to listen will cause us to fall or perhaps even fall!

One last bit of information about my ride. Listening to the engine is crucial, just a few miles from my house; I stalled the British roadster out and had a rough spot in my enjoying the ride practice. The engine had started to run a little rough and I had a wonderful man stop by and give me a roadside lift in the form of resetting my carburetor. Undaunted and appreciative, I thanked the man for his help and the good advice he gave me about the machine and off I went again with joy, only one last leg until home!

Enjoying the Ride Principle “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

One of the reappearing themes of the book of Philippians is that

of Joy! It is mentioned in various forms over nineteen times in four brief chapters. To put it simply, Paul admonishes us that a Christ-like mind can bring us Christian joy and contentment. Even in the midst of prison Paul was still joyful. In perhaps the most uncomfortable of circumstances, he was still found full of joy.

There are times granted in our lives when we enjoy the ride more than other times. If we are not careful we will allow things to come into our lives that cause us to loose our joy. Worry has been for many one of those things that rob us of the joy.

Which is probably why the original Old English word for worry was to strangle. Again contentment and joy will keep us humble in lives lot and will free us from strangulation.

When you enjoy the work of the ministry there is that mark of joy for all to see. It has that quality of inner gladness and deep-seated pleasure with what one is doing. Ministry and service should be exactly that.

Fun, full of pleasure, and gladness all rolled up into “you”! It is that deeper sense of assurance and confidence that ignites a cheerful and rejoicing heart. That heart that cheers then leads to continual rejoicing behavior. I have said it this way for years: “I choose joy!” In ministry, we can either enjoy the ride or we can gripe and complain at every junction. That might be alright for some, but for me I choose God’s joy!” A friend of mine often tells me that even when I am down, who would know?

Have you ever stopped to notice that the world’s joy is plagued by incompleteness? There is always something that is lacking, unfulfilled, or

missing. The world’s joy brings no sense of complete assurance, confidence, or satisfaction. But it is God’s joy that is complete.

Take a quick look at qualities of joy found in the Enjoy the Ride Principle for Pastor’s, Preachers, and Church Revitalizers:

to the Lord and to one another in the spirit of Christ.

1. God divinely gives Joy and Contentment alone.

We must see the greatness and majesty of God! Bowing before Him as He searches our hearts and minds.

It is the joy that our roots are based in the Lord. We should learn to rejoice always!

2. God gives us His very own joy and that joy overrides all else.

Circumstances can destroy earthly joy, but when God implants joy into a believer’s heart it dwells deep. He says, “rejoice always” that is, continually; and then we are to rejoice again, that is repeatedly. Joy is the joy in the Lord.

3. Joy and Contentment springs forth from faith.

One who is enjoying the ride and has contentment is Balanced (Phil. 2:25). We must be balanced as pastors. I had a man in California the other day say after talking with me for awhile how nice it was to see a fellow brother in the Lord who had a fun balanced life. Additionally, when enjoying the ride there must be a Burdened for others (Phil. 2:26-27). Lastly, like Epaphroditus a life that is contented is blessed (Phil. 2:28-30). What a great brother he must have been!

Epaphroditus proves for us today that the joyful life is the life of sacrifice as we submit ourselves

Along life’s journey here are some things that will help us become more secure in enjoying the ride: Right Praying (Phil. 4:6-7).

Right Thinking (Phil 4:8).

Joy and contentment involve the mind learning to think rightly.

Wrong thinking leads to wrong feelings while right thinking leads to right feelings.

Right Living (Phil 4:9).

Right living is a yielded heart and mind to the Spirit of God. Such will always bring peace.

The great thing about rejoicing is that it places and keeps a person in the presence of Jesus Christ!

No matter what may confront us and no matter how terrible the trial, we know that Christ Jesus our Lord is looking us after. So we know that what ever we face it will never conquer or overcome us. Jesus Christ will give us the supernatural power and strength to over come it. So walk rejoicing in the Lord no matter what confronts us and remember to Enjoy the Ride (Romans 8:35-39)!

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What Does Church Revitalization Mean?

Every place I go people ask me for a definition of church revitalization. Church Revitalization is a movement within protestant evangelicalism, which emphasizes the missional work of turning a plateau or rapidly declining church around and moving it back towards growth. It is lead through a Church Revitalization Initiative, which is when a local church begins to work on the renewal of the church with a concerted effort to see the ministry revitalized and the church become healthy. Church Revitalization means that the local church knew how, at one time previously, to renew, revitalize, and re- establish the health and vitality of the ministry. One of the challenges for the laity in the day in which we live is that they have lost the knowledge of church renewal and no longer want to cultivate the skill sets necessary to see their church experience revitalization. Even sadder is when a congregation does not have the corporate memory that there was a day when the local church was reaching people for Christ Jesus and active as evangelistic witnesses into their community.

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