Recently, a board member of my local church walked in, shut the door, and handed me a newspaper story about a 100-year-old church closing its doors nearby. While he has been sharing similar articles with me for several months, this one hit close to home. For the first time in over a year, he truly realized that our own congregation was fighting to stay alive.
What caught me off guard was that he had served on the search committee when I first interviewed; he knew the dire straits the church was in. Despite being open about our faults and challenges, he had missed the bigger picture: we were fighting back from a near-death experience. Even with necessary changes, the inevitable pushback, and incremental victories, he hadn’t fully grasped that the church was rising from the ashes.
How could a church leader miss the reality right in front of them? The truth is that when you think you have communicated the need for revitalization enough, you must keep sharing it. Not everyone processes information the same way; often, people cherry-pick the reality they face and only hear what they are ready to acknowledge.
To rise from the ashes through revitalization, each team member (pastor, board member, and lay member) must be committed to understanding the problem, capturing the vision and willing to implement the steps to turn the church around.
Understand the Problem.
The fact of the matter is that the majority of churches are dying. Some are slowly dying, and others are already on life support. So what should a leader do when faced with the reality of decline and members who do not grasp the near-death experience they are in? You must understand the local church’s story if you are coming into a situation.
The church’s story was written long before you arrived, and upon your arrival, halfway through their story, you take on the role of editor. You can either choose to follow the path toward death or help reevaluate the story mid-chapter by redirecting the problems found into solutions.
It will take a tenacious leader who will stick to it as others who have authored parts of the story push back on the new narrative. Revitalization exposes toxic people and cultures by reexamining people and programs that are currently or have come before. It’s a painful part of attaining the new promise found in renewal. However, by understanding the problems and exposing them to the reality of where the church finds itself, the church leadership can have honest conversations, share in compassionate directness, and harness a new future for the church.
Capture the Vision.
At the height of Radio Shack’s dominance in the global market in the 1990s, the company had over 4,000 stores and more than 2,000 franchisees. Within the next decade and a half, they would need help to gain footing but could never find their way forward. Instead, they filed for bankruptcy, leaving them with just 20 corporate stores. How did it happen? They failed to capture the vision for the emerging markets.
Now, remove the words Radio Shack and add your church, denomination, or most evangelical churches’ names, and the same story is being told: growth, then death. God gave the church a vision to make disciples, but somewhere along the path of faith, the local church deviated from the path. What is God’s vision for your local church? It’s a simple question that has to be answered before you can lead the church forward.
When a church has a vision, it will drive the message and the method to accomplish that vision. Capture the vision that God has for your church. Begin to pray to seek his will for the church. If the plan does not stretch your faith or persistence, it might not be from God. God’s plan for your church is based on resurrection and a reliance on him to guide and provide.
Be Willing to Implement the Next Steps.
Before my board member left the office, I encouraged him by sharing the steps he had participated in on our revitalization journey together. Then, he realized he had been part of a greater journey of renewal. He was encouraged rather than discouraged. He understood the challenge and the cost associated with the turnaround and endorsed the continuation of the plan.
The plan that God gives the church is just a plan unless the leadership team works the plan and the people buy into it. What are the steps that your church is willing to take? Through white-board sessions where leaders share thoughts, small group investments of time listening to members’ concerns, and sharing over and over from the pulpit the story of renewal, the people begin to capture the heart of the leadership team and see the rise from the ashes before their eyes.
By following steps and adapting to the needs and culture within the church, leaders will be able to guide the church forward one step at a time. But let me caution: This will take work. There will be days of setbacks, but you will learn to lean into God as you move forward. The path to renewal is not painless but is vital for your church community, neighborhood, and extended witness to your community.
Any turnaround is fraught with challenges, but by understanding the problem, helping members capture the vision, and everyone willing to implement God’s plans, the local church will bloom.