Church Revitalation

Introduction

Chances are that fewer people will pass through the doors of most churches in your community than last year. Far too many churches, locally and nationally, are declining and closing when their communities still need the hope of the gospel. An analysis of Annual Church Profile (ACP) data from over 1,300 churches in South Carolina indicates that more than two out of every three churches have plateaued or declined in their reported worship attendance over three years. In 2019, 320 churches reported zero baptisms as a congregation, with even more churches not reporting any number, leaving the question on their ACP report blank. And then, our nation encountered a pandemic that crippled the landscape of worship attendance in most of our communities. Our churches need revitalization, and our communities need revival!

Let’s be clear about what church revitalization is and is not before we go any further. Revitalization is when an existing congregation experiences new life through a change in strategy and/or leadership but does not require a change in identity. Through a renewed mission and prayerful dependence, a congregation begins to advance the gospel in their community after years of retreat or waiting for the community to come to them. Some churches will need to reSTART, changing their mission and identity to begin a new work in an existing location. In contrast, others may choose to reinvest whatever remains by closing with dignity and reinvesting resources for future Kingdom advancement.

There is no better way to display the hope of the gospel than to lead a church to find new life through the power of God and the faithfulness of His people. As a ministry leader, you can lead your church to renew its mission or help an at-risk church find new life through a meaningful partnership with your church.

Let’s review the partnership options first.

How can a strong church partner with an at-risk church?

Become a Co-laborer (Level 1)

As an entry-level option, co-laborers find ways to meaningfully come alongside a church that needs additional resources and encouragement to benefit both churches.

Imagine your church wants to host VBS, but you don’t have many young families to do the work, and your budget is limited to $500. A co-laboring church partner could assist significantly in multiple ways and find great benefit to mobilizing their members to serve a sister church in their community or state. Below are some tangible ways to partner as a co-laborer:

• Pray for an at-risk church and their community

Every at-risk church needs a host of prayer warriors interceding for them as they seek to shepherd a dying church to new life faithfully. Consider joining their prayer team, praying for them by name during worship, praying with their leadership, prayer walking their community, etc.

• Support an at-risk church

Most at-risk churches face tremendous resource limitations that can benefit from a partnership. With limited offering receipts and an aging membership, at-risk churches cannot offer multi-generational ministry, care for their facilities, or even staff the needed leadership roles for vital ministry. Partner churches can seek to meet real needs for ministry that include:

• Additional funding for ministry and outreach
• Assistance with resources and supplies for worship, discipleship, and other ministries
• Anything to reduce their overhead costs and put more money toward the ministry

• Serve alongside an at-risk church

Every at-risk church needs an infusion of a wide range of spiritual gifts and talents for ministry for differing seasons. Often church partners can form agreements with churches that have committed to revitalization or reSTART by:

• Send members to utilize their gifts as members of the partner congregation.
• Serve during a short-term mission trip to help launch an at-risk church, host a community block party, make facility improvements, etc.
• Serve for 6-12 months in the nursery, children, worship, and small group areas for a season while the church leadership recruits and develops new leadership.
• Provide interim ministerial leadership while new leadership is developed or hired.

• Prepare future leadership for an at-risk church

What if your church could prepare a future pastor that would lead an at-risk church back to life and strength again? Through an intentional 12-18 month investment, a pastoral resident can gain the valuable experience needed to shepherd a future flock while serving in the life and ministry of his sending church. Creating a pipeline for several future pastors would be a valuable investment in your church and future at-risk churches.

Prepare to Foster (Level 2) – “For a season” partnership

Your commitment is considerably more significant as a foster church than as a co-laborer, but the rewards are often worth investing time and resources. A fostering partner church extends care to a church in need of leadership, wisdom, resources, and vision for a determined season until they are strong enough to be self-sufficient.

Think of a struggling church in your community, and let’s assume they don’t have a pastor. Senior adults are the primary body of the membership, with a few grandchildren in the preschool department. They are struggling to host services, much less provide quality worship that a visiting young family may return for after their initial visit. Through a series of intentional conversations, often facilitated by your Associational Missions Strategist (AMS) or state convention leadership, this church would benefit from a foster partnership until it regains its strength. Below are some of the parameters of a foster church partnership:

• Longer commitment is often 2-3 years in length.
• Fostering church supplements existing needs while preserving the at-risk church’s autonomy.
• Assessment of need and available resources will determine the conditions of the partnership.
• Train, guide, and prepare existing leaders (deacons, ministry leaders, etc.) for self-sufficiency.
• Often new pastoral leadership is recommended and supported by the fostering church. Placing a pastor with a vision for church revitalization and humility to work with the fostering church leadership for a season could yield lasting results.
• Leaders work together to form a covenant that both churches affirm.

Consider Adoption (Level 3) – “Expanding the family” partnership
Adopting an at-risk church adds a new family unit, the existing at-risk congregation, and remaining resources to a strong church family for a more significant gospel impact in the community. The partner church launches a new expression of ministry by uniting resources and membership under the leadership and vision of a parental church to create a new campus or network church.

Don’t think of this as a “take-over,” but more as an opportunity to provide care and renewed mission for the sake of existing and future members worshipping in an established location. Often weary members of an at-risk church find joy and hope by becoming new family members of a healthy, thriving congregation while retaining their current worship location. Senior adults can continue to gather for Sunday school in their existing classroom and have new opportunities to mentor and disciple young moms that start worshipping at the new campus. A fostering partner can restore life and purpose to a congregation struggling for hope by:

• The at-risk church fully integrates into the family of the adopting church.
• The adopting church leads, serves, and equips existing members of the at-risk church as new members.
• Assess the existing leadership for opportunities to serve the larger church family.
• Utilize combined assets to increase ministry on the new campus location.

Now, let’s review a few steps to partner before you run down the road to a neighboring church with only ten cars in the parking lot on Sunday morning.

When should a strong church partner with an at-risk church?

• Prayerfully take time to answer three questions before pursuing any partnership:
  1. What is your vision for the partnership?
  2. What resources are available for the partnership?
  3. What are the essential terms and conditions for the partnership?

• Let associational and denominational leadership know of your desire to be a partner. Often it is wise to let these leaders do the heavy lifting, reducing the possibility of a misunderstanding of your intentions by the at-risk church seeking to protect what remains
• Scale your partnership with the readiness of the at-risk church.
  1. Build relationships and trust with leaders in proximity to you.
  2. Start with level 1 without any commitment to ongoing support.

• Move to level 2 or 3 after the church is assessed and affirms its need for a revitalization process. Do not partner with a church without an assessment and an affirmation of a need for partnership.

One of our greatest strengths as Southern Baptist is our cooperative partnerships among churches. Could God be positioning us to display greater unity and love in the future through churches partnering together for a renewed mission? I think so. Just imagine the testimony we can make when we find meaningful ways for all congregations to strengthen as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission together!