Sam Rainer - The Church Revitalization Checklist: A Hopeful and Practical Guide for Leading Your Congregation to a Brighter Tomorrow

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The Church Revitalization Checklist: A Hopeful and Practical Guide for Leading Your Congregation to a Brighter Tomorrow

Copyright 2021 by Church Answers. All rights reserved.

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Designed by Ron C. Kaufmann

All the examples and stories in this book are true. Names and some specific details have been modified to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-1-4964-5440-9

Build: 2021-11-09 10:27:19 EPUB 3.0

Dedicated to the memory of Ambrose Gilbert Sapp, a local church pastor who toiled in obscurity among the rolling fields of Kentucky, shepherding Gods people in poverty without any glory or recognition. He faithfully preached the gospel until he died. May God grant us more like him.

I F G OD CAN SAVE any person, he can save any church. The gospel embodies a movementbringing people out of spiritual darkness and into eternal light. The gospel not only initiates a new life in us, it also sustains us throughout our earthly lives. Jesus saves each one of us in a moment of time. But he also supports us in every moment that follows.

What Jesus does for individuals, he also does for the church, the assembly of saved individuals. The Good News is both personal and corporate. If we believe any person is worth saving, we must also believe any church is worth saving.

Some local churches will die. But no church should die. Every congregation of Gods people is worth the effort to revitalize.

Landon pastors a church in rural Iowa. When I asked him how God had called him to his congregation, he responded, I was the only one who applied.

He knew that pastoring a small church out in the cornfields would be difficult. His friends all told him not to go. But God had a different plan, and Landon followed in obedience.

I was twenty-seven years old, young and dumb. So I said, Ill take it.

Right from the start, he encountered turmoil and a lot of heartache. Between the time he was called and his first day on the job, about a dozen people left the church. Another dozen left after the first couple of Sundays. In a church of maybe six dozen total, losing a third of the congregation was a big blow. Forget the typical ministry honeymoon; that didnt happen. To Landon, it was obvious the church needed a culture shift and a quick change of direction.

Having grown up in the area, Landon grasped intuitively what he had to do. He went back to basics with a twofold strategy: building relationships and teaching biblical truth.

As he focused on preaching through entire books of the Bible and spent a lot of time in peoples homes, this combination of truth and love started to turn the tide. But at the six-month mark, another round of church squabbles caused him to question the viability of his leadership.

I was so discouraged, I wasnt sure I would make it.

But Landon stuck it out, and personal evangelism became the catalyst for change.

I started working one-on-one, bringing people into the church myself.

The personal revival in his own soul gradually spread to the congregation. It took almost five years, but noticeable changes began to occur. Average attendance moved above one hundred for the first time in decades. They renovated the church campus and added an associate pastor. The childrens ministry and student ministry began to thrive. As average Sunday attendance grew to more than 125, they added a second service. Most of the newcomers had no idea that this had been a struggling church of only a few dozen people not that long ago.

What made the difference?

The pastors who stay are the ones who make a difference, Landon is quick to point out. Its easy to say and hard to do. But every time I wanted to leave, there were no opportunities available. And every time an opportunity came my way, I realized I was in a place I didnt want to leave.

Landon doesnt consider himself thick-skinned or courageous. He believes that God gives strength through our willingness to persevere.

Its not about how tough or brave you are. Its about endurance. You take your licks and keep going. And one other thing: Dont make major decisions when youre hurting.

The ups and downs of ministry are real. Theres no way to gloss them over or soften the blows. Landon has felt them all. But through his endurance, he saw God take a church from falling apart to falling in love.

I love the people of this church deeply, Landon said. They are my family.

In the end, the only pastor who applied for the position was exactly the one God wanted there.

Though it may not feel like it from one day to the next, God has sovereignly placed you exactly where he wants you to be. Maybe youve been longing for a transition in your circumstances. Maybe youre ready to quit. Maybe you just got fired. Maybe your church has been in the doldrums for years, and youre losing hope that it could ever be any different.

Regardless of your circumstances, there are many things you cant control. But what you can always control is your attitudeyour posture. As you persevere, I encourage you to bend toward hope. Most pastors have a sore back because they carry a heavy load. It hurts to bend toward optimism. When you lean into a better place, it wont be without pain. God will stretch you. But he also promises to fill you with hope, peace, and joy.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

To hear people talk, the church in North America is deteriorating. Reading the reports of decline can be exhausting and discouraging. Some overstate how hard the church is falling, but few would deny that many local churches are not doing well. Perhaps your church is one of them. Maybe youre tired or disheartened. Maybe youre hurting. Dont give up. Your congregation is worth revitalizing.

Some churches reek of selfishness, but even the self-righteous and self-absorbed are worth redeeming. They just need help refocusing on serving others. God may be calling you to exhort a few saints. Be strong. Dont give up. Your church is worth revitalizing.

Some churches fight. A lot. Certain members, it seems, put on their cockfighting spurs for business meetings and dare the chickens to challenge them. Hostile churches need someone to set a good exampleto show them how to fight