Your First 120 Days In Church Revitalization And Renewal (Church Revitalization Leadership Library)

by Tom Cheyney

Keep a journal of your ideas. It takes many ideas to come up with one really creative and useful idea.

The reality is that in reneaal you are not dealing with creative, motivated people. They generally are drudges who havent want to and dont want to donanything. How do you motivate people who chose to be stuck?

Let me give you four key words that could help you gain focus during the first one hundred and twenty days in a declining church. They are: Learn, Clarify, Alignment, and Build.

Key words learn, clarify, align, build

four concepts for these one hundred and twenty days? They are: Focus on your church members, Rebuild the church’s brand, develop strategies for sustainable growth, and Build your revitalization team. Your First 30 Days as

It is also an important time that you are seen and demonstrating that you are available to your membership. This helps to elevate the trepidations and intimidation of you as the new pastor. Showing up among your people is always better than showing off.

you need to leave the naysayers on the sidelines. Nothing distorts your learning more than Mr. or Mrs. Negativity accompanying you on your journey to learn. They will be a liability to your new effort so walk alone and out front to start. You are better prepared to reach your individual conclusions that way. The church revitalizer cannot afford to have individuals that were part of the cause for church decline to accompany them on these visits.

You need to leave the naysayers behind, the ones who created the conditions of decline in the churxh ****

a strong way for your people to see that the Lord is still working and moving in the church. Habits and outlooks created during your first one hundred and twenty days are ways to bring a gentle but subtle nudge to the congregation about the things your hold dear. Creating the habit of recognition of new members is a way to model a preferred future of renewal and growth. It takes about sixty days to form a habit so start this early in your effort.

The new church revitalizer has as their goal for the second thirty days the task of rebuilding the church’s brand and refining how such church identity will be shared.

The church's brand and how it should be shared

It is always wise for the church revitalizer to begin acquiring early victories no matter how large or small. Early victories have a way of demonstrating to the membership and leadership of the church that good things are happening and the church is on the right path.

do not layer up a pile of changes and then thrust them upon your people. Too many changes made in revitalization too rapidly will burn out those that are on board with you and cause a stall in the process of revitalization. Tackle the most important ones initially and allow the Lord time to bring the others to fruition. Momentum is the goal so do not load up a long list which will destroy any chance of keeping the big “MO” going. Revitalizing a local declining church means you must become the instigator of change.

Your Third 30 Days as the Church Revitalizer (Days 61-90) – Develop Strategies for Sustainable Growth

The new church revitalizer must begin to formulate short-term goals...

There are times that you must move on an opportunity and take advantage of the open doors the Lord has given. The sluggish deployment specialist hurts the revitalization efforts if they do not react quickly enough. New opportunities seldom present themselves over and over again so be ready for the Lord to open doors. Then there are the cultivators that have the time and can plan with direction, but they are not forced into a quick decision. You will need to function in both planes at times in renewal. Cultivators have time to plan, plant, and produce without creating a feeling of rushing off the starter’s line. Regardless of the posture you take it is vital to remember that you as the church revitalizer are on the offensive side of the football field and not on the defensive side. Defenses are built to stop advancement while offenses are built to score.

Need to decide how to react to opportunities, sometimes quickly, sometimes more measured

unwise for a church leader to allow the various organizations to do their own thing. He said there needed to be one voice and one sound. Stop allowing the Children’s Director and the Youth Minister to have their own websites outside of the main website of the church. My take on both of these examples is that they only create youth or children’s hideouts which disconnect them from the rest of the church.

Accepting the wrong people on the team will only frustrate the process and could cause you to lose the very people on the team that you really need. The wise church revitalizer looks over the congregation and selects individuals which are tactical and deliberate in their efforts. There is astonishing influence that comes to your revitalization efforts if you pick the right type of individuals to serve on your revitalization team.[6] Every successful Church Revitalizer knows the importance of building a great team around them. Poorly selected teams only lessen the chances of renewal coming to your church. If you have a team already and all you seem to do is put out fires, then you have selected poorly and are reaping the benefits of poor selections. You can’t do everything yourself so make sure you get the right people on your revitalization team.

Most Church Revitalizers tell me that they also were stretched during those one hundred and twenty days. They were forced in many ways to develop a new set of skills that may not have been needed in their previous church.

Write down these questions and write down your answers in a tiny journal you can keep with you every day. What are the things that frighten you about revitalizing a church? What is it that you desire to get out of this opportunity to revitalize a church? How will this effort towards revitalization help you in becoming a better pastor for the Lord? Do you see areas in your ministry that need to be strengthened as the result of these last 120 days? Are there gaps in your church revitalization team that need to be filled in the future? Can your Church Revitalization Team learn its way towards revitalization and if so, how are you going to provide such opportunities for learning? Will you invest your time and friendship in these members and their families being all in for the task? Are there some key reasons the church has declined and what are you going to do about it? Would a group like Renovate help you by serving as your coach and mentor? What are the critical issues that keep the church from growing? Would a Discovery Retreat with my leaders help move us forward and unify us together? Are there any men in the church I ought to do the meeting before the meeting with? Who are the individuals I could hand off a task or ministry program and know that it will be accomplished? If you could do something immediately, what are the three most important changes you would make? Will I enjoy the ride of revitalizing a declining church?

the original Old English word for worry was to strangle. Again, contentment and joy will keep us humble in lives lot and will free us from strangulation.

The world’s joy brings no sense of complete assurance, confidence, or satisfaction. But it is God’s joy that is complete. Take a quick look at qualities of joy found in the Enjoy the Ride Principle for Pastor’s, Preachers, and Church Revitalizers: 1. ​God divinely gives Joy and Contentment alone. It is the joy that our roots are based in the Lord. We should learn to rejoice always! 2. ​​God gives us His very own joy and that joy overrides all else. Circumstances can destroy earthly joy, but when God implants joy into a believer’s heart it dwells deep. He says, “Rejoice always” that is, continually; and then we are to rejoice again, that is repeatedly. Joy is the joy in the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10). 3. ​Joy and Contentment spring forth from faith. One who is enjoying the ride and has contentment is Balanced (Phil. 2:25). We must be balanced as pastors. I had a man in California the other day say after talking with me for a while how nice it was to see a fellow brother in the Lord who had a fun balanced life. Additionally, when enjoying the ride there must be a Burden for others (Phil. 2:26-27). Lastly, like Epaphroditus a life that is contented is Blessed (Phil. 2:28-30). What a great brother he must have been! Epaphroditus proves for us today that the joyful life is the life of sacrifice as we submit ourselves to the Lord and to one another in the spirit of Christ.

Joy in Christ in serving Him in this ministry

Along life’s journey towards revitalization, there are some things that will help us become more secure in enjoying the ride: Right Praying (Phil. 4:6-7) will help you as a revitalizer. We must see the greatness and majesty of God! We bow before Him as He searches our hearts and minds. Right Thinking (Phil 4:8) will help you lead others toward a renewed church. Joy and contentment involve the mind learning to think rightly. Wrong thinking leads to wrong feelings while right thinking leads to right feelings. Right Living (Phil 4:9) is where others will see your walk and your talk mess perfectly together. Right living is a yielded heart and mind to the Spirit of God. Such will always bring peace. The great thing about rejoicing is that it places and keeps a person in the presence of Jesus Christ! No matter what may confront us and no matter how terrible the trial, we know that Christ Jesus our Lord is looking us after. So, we know that whatever we face it will never conquer or overcome us. Jesus Christ will give us the supernatural power and strength to overcome it. Walk rejoicing in the Lord no matter what confronts us and remember to enjoy the ride (Romans 8:35-39). Some

Right praying, right thinking, right living in Jesus

Among the pastors I know in my Southern Baptist family, most all of them share a true sense of a divine invitation to ministry that led them to pursue pastoral ministry as a vocation. I can remember hearing my childhood pastors relate their stories of having felt or “heard” God speak to them in an unmistakable way that led them to believe He was calling them to serve Him in ministry. Some of those stories were dramatic, “Damascus Road-type” stories that included hardships due to the pastor’s failure to immediately surrender to God’s call. Other stories were more of a progressive obedience to God’s invitation to follow His leadership and say “yes” to the opportunities the Lord put in his path. I don’t remember ever hearing a pastor relating how he came to pursue the vocation of pastor simply because HE thought it would be a good idea.

an essential element for any pastor who is leading a revitalization effort in a local church—a call from God. As

explore three different callings a successful revitalization pastor should have experienced. First, we will examine our call to faith in Christ. While it may sound strange to start at such an elemental level, I am convinced that many churches are struggling today because of a faulty understanding of what it means to be a Christian and walk with the Lord.

am convinced that a successful revitalization effort will be led by a pastor who has been “hand-picked” by the Father to lead the people of that church.

Paul exhorted the Roman Christians to put their gifts to use when he said, “According to the grace given us to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8, CSB). Our gifts serve as a platform for us to engage in fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciples. We are all called to live out our beliefs, share our faith, serve others, and disciple less mature believers. All these tasks are a part of the call to salvation. All of them lead to a healthy, vital church as well. Every born-again Christian has a role to play in the life of his/her church. None of us are called to simply be “spectators” in the story of God’s Great Plan of Redemption.

Let me suggest three primary functions of effective shepherds. First, they feed the sheep. Pastors feed the sheep on the Word of God. Nothing we do as pastors is as important as the faithful proclamation of God’s Word. We also feed them by discipling them, walking with them through life, and teaching them how to disciple others. Second, pastors tend the sheep by taking care of them, encouraging them, correcting them when they need correction, and keeping them connected with the rest of the flock. Third, they guide the sheep. Without a shepherd, sheep will wander away from the flock and jeopardize their safety and survival. Sheep need a shepherd to help them navigate through life. Congregations need leaders to keep them together, moving in the right direction, and focused on fulfilling the Great Commission.

The third word Peter uses to describe the office of pastor is the word “overseer” from which we get the word “bishop.” Some denominations use this word to describe a person who gives oversight to multiple congregations and pastors, but for our purposes in this discussion let’s focus on the element of oversight that is inherent in every pastor’s ministry. The care of souls is a great responsibility and requires great humility and a true servant heart.

The writer of Hebrews indicates that pastoral leaders will be held to a higher standard than other believers when he says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief,...

We subconsciously function as though the purpose of the church is to meet our needs and we fail to reach out into our communities with the gospel. Our churches take on the feel of “country clubs” that primarily exist to meet the needs of their members. Consequently, the mission of the church to make disciples is relegated to lip-service and the church’s health is artificially hindered. Ironically, just like the bonsai tree, it takes a lot of time and resources to maintain a church in that condition.

Churches that are country clubs, that lose any sense of making disciples ******

A church stuck in a “maintenance” mode needs a leader that can lovingly lead the body to understand its current reality and take steps toward reclaiming its God-given mission to impact the world with the gospel. Such a leader needs to be equipped to face questioning, resistance, and even hostility. However, the Lord has told us He will be with us and it is His will that the church be healthy, winsome, and fruitful. Having examined the importance of calling in church revitalization, let’s look at four things every revitalization pastor must have to be successful in leading a turnaround process in his church.

Maintenance churches need a pastor who will stand up to resistance and even hostility ***** definitely use

Church revitalization begins with a burden for the spiritual condition of a local church and the great spiritual famine in the surrounding community. A strong sense of concern will lead to a high degree of commitment to do something about it. A pastor’s sense of calling plus this kind of divine motivation leads him to be willing to follow God’s leadership wherever it leads him. Just like Nehemiah, you can be confident that the Lord will direct your steps and open any doors necessary to get you and your church headed in the right direction. But it all starts with your unconditional surrender to His Lordship.

Revitalization is always about the spiritual condition of the church and the zurrounding community

An effective revitalization pastor is able to discipline himself in such a way as to not lose sight of his calling from God to lead his church to fulfill the Great Commission. That does not mean he never visits church members in the hospital or attends committee meetings. However, it does mean he is able to remain focused on God’s vision for the church’s future as he fulfills the routine tasks of pastoral ministry. Not only is he able to maintain his focus, he can also lead the people of his church to stay committed and engaged with God’s vision as well. How does he do it? He follows Nehemiah’s pattern of maintaining a close relationship with his Heavenly Father which allows him to have the internal focus necessary to remain clear about his calling and purpose. In short, a surrendered heart leads to a disciplined mind. Willing Hands Jesus called them over and said to them, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10: 42-45, CSB) Jesus left His disciples with a wonderful example of servant leadership. He wanted them to know how to lead by meeting needs and empowering others. That kind of leadership ...

Pastor has to be disciplined and focused on God's leading in renewal

Revitalization is a “roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty” kind of ministry. It is impossible to revitalize a church without a lot of “sweat equity” from the pastor. An effective revitalizer can balance the demands of public ministry, private preparation, and family commitments, but none of those activities take care of themselves—they require time and effort. Anyone who experiences success in ministry will tell you it is not easy, but it is worth the effort. Your congregation will feed off of your energy and enthusiasm. A Hopeful Spirit When I was a child, my mother taught me to “always expect the worst, that way you will never be disappointed.” In hindsight, that was a terrible thing to instill in a child. While I know my mom meant well, I must confess that her philosophy of life has messed me up at times. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a great day only to start wondering what bad thing would happen as a result. It has taken me a long time to get to the place where I can truly enjoy blessings and endure hardship without wondering when the “other shoe is going to drop.” Slowly but surely the Lord has taught me to have a hopeful spirit instead of a negative one.

The writer used vultures or buzzards to make his point. He talked about the fact that buzzards fly high above beautiful mountains and lush valleys but, instead of appreciating those majestic vistas, they look for a dead carcass to eat. He used that illustration to describe how people can get stuck in a pattern of negative or “stinking” thinking that keeps them from appreciating all the good things God has placed in their lives. He referred to those kind of people as having a “buzzard’s eye view.”

you don’t have to look very far to find things to discourage you as a revitalizer. Apathetic people, limited resources, crumbling buildings, and lack of hope are often a revitalizing pastor’s reality. However, as I stated earlier, it is the Father’s will that His church flourishes. We are not alone in this important work. The Sovereign God of the Universe is heavily invested in our ultimate success as revitalizers.

you will need to bring your people along with you on the renewal pathway. Some will be willing and enthusiastic, many will be cautious and hesitant, and some will openly resist any effort to change the status quo.

Building consensus is a process that depends on a leader who makes people feel valued and who can project a genuine sense of hopefulness in the face of trying circumstances. As with so much of church revitalization, it is an “inside-out” process that begins in the heart and soul of the pastor.

We cultivate good spiritual core strength by maintaining our intimacy with God through prayer, obedience to God’s Word, personal holiness, and daily discipline. We cannot effectively lead others spiritually unless we can lead ourselves toward greater spiritual health. Who would want to hire a personal fitness trainer who is overweight, a chain smoker, and never works out? Likewise, pastors should never ask their congregants to do anything they are not willing to do as well. Healthy spiritual leadership is essential in church revitalization.

Good xpiritual core strength

Our prayerlessness causes those we lead to suffer because we are unable to minister to them or lead them effectively. Revitalizers must make prayer a priority, not just for themselves, but for those they lead as well. Great things happen when we pray fervently and consistently.

When I open the bible to do personal reflection and study, I want to encounter God and hear a word from Him to me, not my congregation. As a preacher, I am looking for ways to apply scriptural truth to the lives of the people who will hear my sermon. My primary focus is on their needs, not mine.

As a revitalizer, you must build up your spiritual core through these daily disciplines. You must not let the demands of ministry rob you of your personal intimacy with the Father. Spiritual formation is not just a class we take in seminary to receive our degree. It is a lifelong, daily experience of living in constant awareness of the Presence of God and being overwhelmed by His love and grace. Our leadership should reflect that awareness and be colored by the humble gratitude of a person who has been given much. Never be guilty of serving God or His church out of a sense of duty or obligation. That mentality is devastating to your leadership and your spirit.

I was encouraged to have three kinds of people in my life to keep me on track as a leader: a Barnabas, a Paul, and a Timothy.

a Barnabas is someone who is farther along in the journey than I am, not necessarily older, but definitely more experienced.

Barnabas’ actual name was Joseph, but he was given the nickname Barnabas which means “Son of Encouragement.” He earned that name by consistently encouraging, mentoring, and networking with younger believers and leaders. Whether it was Saul of Tarsus, the young Church at Antioch, or his cousin, John Mark, Barnabas was always pouring himself into others. The encouragement of Barnabas becomes even more significant when you consider the fact that while he is not credited with writing a single word in the New Testament if you study his influence in the lives of the Apostle Paul and John Mark as well have their subsequent influence on Luke and Matthew a case can be made for the fact that Barnabas is indirectly

Who is encouraging you in that way? Is it a former pastor, professor, or significant influence from your childhood? Who do you call when you need a listening ear and an uplifting word?

many of us are running on an “encouragement deficit.”

Do you have people like Paul in your life who “provoke” you to do greater things? Is there anyone who has permission to speak words of truth to you and ask you hard questions? If you don’t, you could be in danger of making serious errors in your life and leadership. We all need men like Paul, Samuel, Nathan, and the prophets of old who serve as God’s messengers to us. However, we need to pursue those relationships and cultivate a level of trust and transparency within them to create an environment where true accountability can happen. Pastors don’t let fear and insecurity keep you from having friends like Paul in your life.

Need to pursue relationshios with a Paul, to motivate you, Barnabas, Samuel

In his book, Reclaiming Glory: Revitalizing Dying Churches, Mark Clifton makes a strong case for the importance of discipling young men as a part of revitalizing a church. He states that he has yet to find a dying or declining church that has a lot of young men who are actively involved in the church. He goes on to say revitalizing pastors need to be seeking young men to disciple and pour into their lives. Finally, he makes the bold statement that if you can’t find and disciple at least one young man, you won’t be able to revitalize your church.[11] Those are strong words, but I believe they are true. Pastors need to be disciplers.

Need young men to mentor who will help drive revitalization

The second area of focus was the city park just down the street from the church. The team believed it presented a tremendous opportunity to get church members out in the community in a very visible way as well as provide a platform to share the gospel. They envisioned ways to improve the park through “clean up” days, community block parties, and summer activities for children while they are out of school. Pastor Sam could see how having dozens of church members all wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the church’s name doing ministry together in the park might help the people of the community become more familiar with who they were and what they were about. He also believed city officials would be happy to have a church working alongside them to make their park a better and more inviting place for families.

As he prayed about how best to share this vision with the congregation, Sam thought about how leaders communicated vision in the Bible. Whether it was Moses, Joshua, David, Nehemiah, or even Jesus; all the great leaders in Scripture faced the challenge of asking the people they led to make sacrifices to achieve God’s perfect will for their future. All of them faced opposition and many of them had times of great doubt and internal struggle. Ultimately, they all found the strength and resolve to stay true to their calling as God granted them favor and the power to persevere.

Those in the Bible who had to ask people to sacrifice for God and His Church, that there was resistance, antagonism

He knew the vision message must be clear and easily understood. There was no doubt in Pastor Sam’s mind what needed to happen to bring the vision to reality, but he was also aware that what he knew in his mind had to be communicated well for his congregation to understand it. He believed the vision came down to two things: what must be changed about the church’s current ministries and the importance of the new ministries that needed to be started.

Ndw vision includes what needs to change about the current situation, what needs to be addsd and new