Where does church revitalization start?

Bud Brown July 23, 2020

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Church revitalization, church planting, church restart, church growth, and church health are all related. They use similar vocabularies and principles, and pursue the same purpose. But there are crucial differences.

Church planting produces new disciples who gather to form a new congregation from scratch. Church restart gives birth to a new church when another congregation gifts its resources to the new one. Church growth implements principles proven to increase the number and the rate of new conversions through evangelism.[1]

Church revitalization restores life to a plateaued or declining church. Unlike church plants (or restarts), revitalization leads monumental change in troubled churches. This is an onerous task because these churches are often fearful and paralyzed. The stultifying church culture inhibits conversion growth. Revitalization has a different purpose and requires different skills and mindset than the other disciplines.

Church revitalization leadership is a lengthy process of skillfully implementing change in a declining or plateaued church that results in conversion growth of the church and spiritual growth of the members.

Revitalization leaders must be adept at leading change, creating momentum, managing difficult relationships, minimizing resistance, exercising church discipline, recruiting new leadership, differentiating one's emotions, and persevering—perhaps for years—when signs of progress are few and far between.

But more important than these skills, you must acquire a different mindset. Revitalization pastors see things differently than other pastors. They have a different view of the church, the members, and themselves. Church revitalization begins in the pastor's heart and mind.

Different mindset

Revitalization pastors suffer a holy discontent over the status quo. They say, "Enough! I'm through pretending that things will be okay if the church just keeps on being faithful. This church hasn't been faithful to Jesus in a long time. We all know this church will fold without some radical changes. I won't preside over this church's demise."

A productivity mindset, a holy dissatisfaction, and compelling hunger to see the church flourish are essential distinctions between church revitalizers and maintenance pastors.

This motivates the revitalizer to study—with fresh eyes—what the Bible says about the pastoral office. Careful analysis of the biblical texts, studied in light of their historical and cultural contexts, leads to a radical insight: pastors are, by biblical definition, change leaders.

The fact that Jesus places pastors (Ephesians 4:11) to furnish what church members need (4:12) to carry on fruitful ministry (4:13–16) means that pastors are deliberate agents of change! The pastor's ministry should result in continuous, incremental change in the congregation and in the individual members. If you don't see yourself as a change agent or if you question your ability to lead change, then study, training and a mentor should be high on your "must do" list.

Revitalization pastors are also realists. They know that people balk at change. As in Jesus's day, disciples today are self-selecting; they may stop following Jesus at any time (John 6:66–67) and may not tell you why. Rather than taking it personally (easier said than done!) release them graciously. Recognizing the self-selecting nature of the Christian walk, revitalization pastors recruit the early adopters and influencers rather than trying to hang on to those who are reluctant to follow. They know that if they win over 15–20% of the congregation, chances are excellent that they will prevail. As a mentor taught me, "Don't bother trying to win everybody to the cause. Work with those who'll work with Jesus and preach the gospel to the rest of the crowd."

Most pastors find this counterintuitive. "If the church is in jeopardy, why would you risk upsetting people?" they may ask. "Keep everyone on board and follow the path of least resistance. We can't afford to lose anyone."

That is the formula for failure. Pastor, you're not there to keep everyone happy.

The only person you need to please isn't on your membership list. He doesn't sit in the auditorium on Sunday. He's looking down from heaven. This is why revitalization pastors hold people loosely and don't panic when they drop out.

When it becomes clear that a member is resisting the revitalization strategy, the wise pastor will say, "Brother, I'm sorry this church is no longer comfortable for you. It is a painful loss; I know that. But please understand we're doing our best to follow where Jesus is leading. If you don't care for where we're headed, please let me help you find another church. May I refer you to some friends of mine who pastor other churches in our area?"

Accountability also distinguishes church revitalizer's mindset. They care about the Lord's assessment of their ministry, which governs the way they go about their ministry. They are aware of how the church evaluates them in order to navigate potentially perilous situations with great wisdom and confidence.

But when the chips are down, the Lord's judgment is far more important than the church's. The church pays the pastor's salary, which is their duty to the Lord (1 Timothy 5:18). But the church is not their employer. They don't suffer the indignity of rude members, the intimidating bullies, or the heavy burden of the church's welfare for the sake of a relatively meager pay stub.

They endure because they answer to a higher call.

The scriptures impose clear accountability on pastors. "They (spiritual leaders) keep watch over you as those who must give an account…" (Hebrews 13:17). "To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder… shepherds of God's flock that is under your care…. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory (1 Peter 5:1–4)."

A sober fear of the Bema Seat judgment motivates the revitalization pastor. They willingly suffer the consequences if the church rejects their leadership. What's the worst a church can do? Whatever it is, it pales in comparison to the joy that awaits the faithful pastor at the Bema Seat.

Conclusion

Church revitalization starts with the pastor!

Pastor, do you have what it takes to lead church revitalization? Has the Lord led you through suffering that produces perseverance? Do you know yourself well enough to be able to put "beneficial distance" between yourself and the church's emotional system? Can you recite the best ministry practices that lead to church growth by conversion? Who is helping you master the skills you need to implement those practices?

If not, there are plenty of contributors to this website. Each of them would love to help you develop the skills you'll need to lead the revitalization process in your church. I know that my ministry colleagues at Turnaround Pastors certainly would!

Now that you know where to start, it's time to get into the blocks and wait for the starter's gun!

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Bud Brown is an experienced ministry leader, writer and educator. He is co-founder of Turnaround Pastors and co-author of the ground-breaking Pastor Unique: Becoming A Turnaround Leader. He brings special expertise to change leadership in the local church, mentoring pastors to become revitalization leaders, training churches how to find and recruit the best talent, and training leadership teams how to achieve their shared goals. Learn More »

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