Are You Tired of Talking About Church Revitalization?

By Brad Ransom

During a recent meeting, I heard Dr. Danny Dwyer say, “When it comes to church revitalization the need is greater than our interest, and our interest is greater than our commitment.” That was probably the most honest and profound thing I’ve heard in a long time. Think about that statement for a minute. Read it again.

“The need is greater than our interest and our interest is greater than our commitment.”
Another great quip is, “If church revitalization was easy, everyone would be doing it.” The fact is, few are doing it effectively. The need is great. The interest is growing, but there is the unknown variable of the commitment.

Everyone is talking about church revitalization. I believe most pastors and church leaders would agree there is a great need within (but not limited to) Free Will Baptists. One problem has been the lack of succinct, practical resources. Most pastors don’t have time or resources to go back to school or attend conferences and seminars—even if they would help. Often, seminars don’t help because they are theoretical rather than practical.

Statistics from many denominations and research groups indicate the church in America is in trouble. The American church is declining, and few seem to be doing much about it other than admitting the problem. Maybe it’s back to Dr. Dwyer’s statement: “The need is greater than our interest, and our interest is greater than our commitment.”

Pastors and church leaders, would you agree revitalization is needed in your church? Perhaps your church isn’t in sharp decline or on life-support, but how is your momentum? Are you growing or just breaking even? According to Gary McIntosh and Charles Arn in their book What Every Pastor Should Know they suggest a church needs the same number of annual guests as their weekly average attendance just to remain level. For example, a church of 100 needs 100 first-time guests each year. A church of 50 needs 50 guests. Due to the simple fact that people die, move away, leave the church, and so on, a church needs steady first-time guests just to stay even. To grow, they need more. A lot more. For a church to grow, it is necessary for a church to double their number of first-time guests, because not every first-time guest will return. I think you see the point.

Pastor, let me ask you a few questions: What is the purpose of your church? Why does it exist? I’m sure you have some ideas or even an answer, but would your congregation be able to answer that question? Decades ago, Win Arn (father of Charles Arn mentioned above) surveyed members of nearly a thousand churches to ask the question: Why does the church exist? Of the church members surveyed, 89% indicated the church’s purpose is to take care of personal and family needs.

I hope you understand, that is not the correct answer.

According to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), the purpose of the church is to make disciples. Many church folks don’t realize this important truth, which muddies the waters of mission and vision.

Every church needs to identify core values and develop a clear, written mission and vision statement to help the congregation know why their church exists. Values and mission are like a funnel through which everything flows. Wouldn’t it be great if every person—especially leaders in our churches—understood how that worked? If our church activities aren’t helping us make disciples, we may be doing the wrong things. Our main priority shouldn’t be caring for our members but winning the lost.

I know I’m stepping over hard lines and raising eyebrows, but I believe I am speaking biblical truth. Obviously, caring for members, exhorting, encouraging, and empowering our people is an important part of the local church—not to mention the pastor’s preaching—but the main thing is still the main thing, and that is the Great Commission. The church is called to make disciples, winning the lost as well as developing mature believers.

After your church identifies core values and writes its mission and vision statements, then what? Many churches have asked that question. I worked with a church several years ago that followed their pastor’s lead after he read a book on values, mission, and vision. They developed their core values, wrote a mission and vision statement, had it printed, framed and hung on the foyer wall. It became a beautiful decoration, a piece of art, but nothing in the church changed. So, what do you do after you develop these important things? Where does a church go from there?

These are only two of many important questions that need to be asked and answered. That’s where many pastors go off track. Answers are hard to find. I have been a student of church growth principles and ideas for decades. I have read hundreds of books on church planting, revitalization, health, growth, discipleship, coaching, counseling, and on and on. The answers to the questions are out there. Some churches and leaders have discovered the answers, but I’ve always wished there could be something more succinct, straightforward and easy to implement.

North American Ministries (NAM) now offers a resource that can help: Fresh Wind Resources: A Guide for Churches. I have compiled and written a manual developed through many years of experience in the local church along with consulting with hundreds of churches and pastors both healthy and unhealthy, growing, plateaued and declining. This manual is a FREE resource that includes a 69-page manual and links to 13 online training videos containing practical training and resources to help churches at every stage of congregational life.

Fresh Wind is not just a resource for struggling churches. It is a resource to help all churches. It has been written, compiled, developed, and recorded from my laptop computer. It is not flashy, professionally produced, or containing the latest in technology. But it contains practical, tested and tried principles and methods that have helped many churches over the years. All of this is provided by NAM to help pastors and churches. It is a part of our continued efforts to bless churches by providing training and resources at no cost.

Fresh Wind Resources: A Guide for Churches will be sent to you free of charge by simply calling the NAM office at 615-760-6137 or by emailing tori@nafwb.org. Once you receive the manual (available only in digital format) you will automatically receive links to the videos and passwords to access them online.

It is time our commitment matches our interest because we know the need is great! Working through any problem or situation requires commitment. And if anything deserves it, it is the church. Nothing worth doing is easy, including church revitalization. But if we are successful, it will impact countless lives for the Kingdom. That is worth everything.

About the Writer: Dr. Brad Ransom is director of church planting and training for North American Ministries. Learn more about Fresh Wind resources: www.FWBNAM.com.