Does My Church Need to Be Revitalized?

The events of 2020 decimated churches across the United States in every conceivable way. We have grieved over those who died, cared for those who lost their jobs, and wept over the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor—all the while dealing with the strongly divided opinions within the church about those very concerns.

The effects on congregations everywhere have been dramatic.

Churches absorbed a financial hit many weren’t prepared for, sometimes resulting in midyear budget cuts of 30% or more. Restrictions on large gatherings made most churches go digital with widely varying results. And something as seemingly innocuous as wearing a mask turned into a reason to leave a congregation.

It’s been a rough year.

Many pastors are contemplating moving on, either to a different church or away from ministry altogether.

I can’t blame them.

But for those who believe God is not moving them elsewhere and are intent on staying where they are, a new question is emerging.

Is it time to revitalize my church?

I first wrestled with this question when I became pastor of a struggling, historic church in Manhattan.

Coming as I was from a large, thriving church, I thought the answer obvious: of course this church needed to be revitalized. We worshiped in an auditorium that sat 800 people, but numbered less than 100 most Sundays. Over half of our annual income was supplied by a renter; our giving didn’t come close to matching our budget. And the average age of the membership was north of 60 years old.

If this congregation didn’t need to be revitalized, what church did?

The funny thing was, though, the members of the church didn’t speak that language.

From their perspective the church was not in need of revitalization. Growth? Yes. Revival? Certainly. But revitalization? They wondered what that even meant.

I soon learned that the church had been through much harder times and weathered much stronger storms. Sometimes literally. One member told me about an Easter service in the 1990s when it rained … inside the sanctuary.

In fact the church had been roughly the same size or smaller for the forty years before my pastorate. (I told you it was historic!) Most members had been part of the church through that whole season.

Why revitalize now? Aren’t we still alive?

My thinking about revitalization has evolved since then.

I used to think of church revitalization only as a sort of parallel for church planting: a three-to-five year project where someone starts a healthy congregation. The only difference is that in a revitalization, you start with a group of people, by-laws, and (possibly) a building—each of which may be a blessing or a curse.

I’ve come to understand that this is but one approach to church revitalization, that each situation has its unique elements, and that there are countless paths one might take towards renewed health and mission.

The wide array of possibilities could become a source of creativity and innovation. But for many of us the lack of clarity paralyzes us, and we end up dabbling in a little of this and a little of that.

In other words, we spin our wheels and get nowhere.

I’d like to help you narrow those options. And the place to start is identifying the current state of your church.

Is your church likely to close this year without drastic intervention?

Or, given the current trajectory, will your church probably survive 3–5 years—but with dim prospects for a long-term future?

Maybe your church is stalled. Everything is holding steady, so survival is likely. But something has gone stale, the church has turned inward, and/or you sense the congregation has lost its mission.

Each of these presents a different set of challenges you have to navigate, a different approach to leadership, and with it a different array of options.

When I put complied all of these, the result was much too long for a blog post.

So I created a short eBook that you can download for free.

To get your copy, fill out the form below and I’ll email you the link with the password.

If you already subscribe to my newsletter, check my latest email for instructions on how to download it.

In other words, you don’t need to fill out the form again. I’ll just send it to you.

What do you think is next for your church?

I’d love to hear from you!

Just leave a comment below, or reply to my email with the eBook link and password.

And if there’s any way I can walk with you during this season, please let me know.

God bless you in your work!