8 Observations of a Revitalized Church

What does a revitalized church look like? I currently serve as a pastor on the staff of Mud Creek Baptist Church, founded in 1803. The recorded history of our church is rich with stories of those who fought to keep the doors open when attendance was low. Our church now has a membership of over 4000, and continues to grow and thrive in our corner of western North Carolina. In my 14 years at Mud Creek Baptist Church I have seen the consistent growth, and while I take no credit for this personally, I believe that our experience provides helpful truths for any pastor and church congregation. While every church has unique opportunities and challenges, I believe these observations can help those seeking to revitalize a stagnant or dying congregation.

On October 5, Mud Creek Baptist Church celebrated its 211th anniversary. The church has a unique history. Around 1880 the church experienced some major struggles and even considered disbanding. But Betsy Barnett walked from Greenville, SC to Hendersonville, NC (about a 40 mile trip) to vote against disbanding. Solid and stable leadership has exemplified the church since the middle of the twentieth century with only three senior pastors since the 1951. In 1979 the church experienced a tragedy with their pastor for eighteen years, Frank Carter, dying in a car accident. To that point in our church history, Mud Creek was an average Southern Baptist Church in the Bible belt. Even after stable leadership through the majority of the twentieth century the church was averaging around 125 people in regular attendance when Greg Mathis was called to be the pastor in 1980.

He has led a revitalization effort that has spanned his ministry of 34 years at Mud Creek. By every measurable category, the church has grown exponentially. Currently we have around 4,000 members with an average Sunday morning attendance around 2,400 people. We continue to expand numerically, grow in depth within the congregation, and have advanced our missions and outreach partnerships significantly over the last 15 years. Mud Creek is not a perfect church, nor are we healthy by every rubric that could be used. But we do represent almost 2% of the population of our county in Sunday morning attendance and continue to reach people with the gospel. Following are my observations about church revitalization that can be replicated. Read more