5 Essentials to Turn a Declining Church Around

"It’s easier to birth a baby than it is to raise the dead."

I heard those words years ago from a denominational leader, and that statement combined with other indicators led me to pursue God’s call to plant new churches for more than 15 years.

But for the past two years, the Lord has called me to immerse myself in the other side of that equation—church revitalization. Thom Rainer states that 90% of churches are either in outright decline, or, even if growing, still aren’t keeping up with the population growth of the area where they reside. So many churches need new life.

So two years ago, I accepted the call as pastor of one of those churches. Once a large, rapidly growing, and prominent congregation, the church suffered through the moral failure of one leader, followed by a decade of mission drift and opaque vision. When I arrived, the church had declined to roughly one third of what its largest size had been.

Of course, numbers aren’t everything. But numbers are often an indicator, or symptom of things that may be going on underneath the surface. The problem is, no matter how well prepared you think you are, there is nothing that can truly ready you for what you don’t know.

The past 27 months have been a roller coaster ride, and by God’s grace, we are indeed seeing much new life. In that time, I’ve also learned some valuable lessons—five things you absolutely need to lead a church through this with success. Read More