One of the more difficult ministry assignments is when a pastor is appointed to serve an established church that is plateaued or in decline. According to Thom Rainer, 80% of the 400,000 churches in America are plateaued or declining (Breakout Churches). It is a long journey from where these churches are to where God wants them to be. One of the more difficult truths, in fact, is that not everybody in the church will want it to be revitalized. A special set of skills is required to lead a stagnant church toward a more positive future.
How does one approach this significant task? Are there any helpful hints that increase the likelihood of success? There are many in depth concepts that may help, but let’s focus on a few general ideas.
Assess
Before one goes about the process of revitalizing a church, he must know what the health of the church is. Depending on the results of the assessment, action can be taken to correct the course. The longer a church has been stagnant, the more difficult a turnaround will be. The general theme is spiritual vitality, but some suggested areas to evaluate are evangelism statistics, discipleship processes in place, spiritual growth of members (very difficult to assess!), and financial progress. If any of these areas are found to be lacking, the church probably needs to be revitalized. While we can recruit help, the leader is ultimately responsible for assessment. But my encouragement is this: move forward with caution—and not until you have assessed a defined direction.
Anticipate
To point a church in the right direction, you need to be able to anticipate what lies ahead. How should the church be positioned for successful ministry in 5 or 10 years? What trends are you seeing in our culture that must be effectively addressed by the Gospel? Pastors must have their fingers on the pulse of the culture and prayerfully consider the church’s position. It is best if the leaders can anticipate adjustments before they are needed. Proactivity is always better than reactivity. Effective pastors know how to anticipate.
Envision
Dream about a better day. Develop plans to get there. Pray about what the church can become. Visionaries are a dangerous lot because they can actually cause change. People follow leaders; a pastor who can articulate a strong, God-given vision for the future of the church will garner the support of many followers. Pastors must be the boldest visionary for their church.
Initiate
It is easy to dialogue about revitalization but the real test comes when it is time to engage in action. Once a plan is in place and the critical mass of people is on board, it is time to be bold and implement the transformation strategy. This is no time to lag behind. If you’ve done your homework and everything is in place, swing for the fences! Go big! Strong leaders embrace these opportunities.
The truth is that not many leaders possess the skill-set necessary in order to revitalize a church. This is not a criticism; it is simply an observation about how difficult this task can be. I think about it this way: the people are sheep who belong to God. You are the under-shepherd. God does not want His people stranded in an unproductive pasture. It is up to you to follow God and take the flock into the field He has chosen. It is hard work, but worthy of our best effort.
Most importantly, lots and lots of prayer must go into a revitalization process. Be sure you are hearing directly from God. Allow the Spirit of God to lead you. It is when this process is successfully completed that you’ll hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
About The Author
Rick Whitter is the State Administrative Bishop for the Church of God in Minnesota. He also serves as Director of International Orphan Support (iorphan.cc).
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