Wednesday's Catch: ' How to Revitalize an Aging Congregation' And More

How to Revitalize an Aging Congregation
Is your church community feeling the effects of an aging congregation? Don't worry - your best days may still be ahead! In this video, we explore three high-impact strategies to breathe new life into your church in just 90 days...

What this podcast offers is not a silver bullet, but three strategies that can help an aging church to overcome the deadly inertia that besets so many aging churches.

Revitalization through Outreach: Becoming Externally Focused
In this episode of the Church Revitalization Podcast, we tackle one of the most crucial elements of church growth and health: outreach. Many churches struggle with plateau or decline because they've lost their external focus. Discover the three essential steps to becoming an externally focused church...

Also See: Revitalization through Outreach: 3 Steps to Becoming an Externally Focused Church

How Big Is Your Church Actually?
Do pastors really know who's attending their church every week? In this episode of the Church Revitalization Podcast, A.J. Mathieu and Scott Ball dig into the common myth that "only half the church is present on any given Sunday"—and challenge assumptions about church attendance. They discuss the roots of this belief, why it persists, and, most importantly, why getting the real numbers actually matters for effective ministry and discipleship.

Learn practical ways to move beyond gut feelings and start gathering actionable data on church engagement—plus, helpful ideas for tracking attendance without burdening your team or your church members. Whether your church is large or small, knowing who's truly present is key to intentional shepherding, boosting engagement, and making better strategic decisions.

Also See: How Big Is Your Church… Actually?

Whoever regularly attends a particular service of your church, shows up at least twice a month, is a member of the congregation of that service, and qualifies as an actual member of your church, not the folks whose names are on the church's membership rolls.

Nostalgia vs Vision: Which direction is your church looking?
In this episode, our hosts A.J. Mathieu and Scott Ball explore the crucial shift from rearview mirror thinking to windshield thinking, emphasizing the need for honesty, humility, and collaboration to cultivate enthusiasm for the future. They discuss practical strategies for moving from nostalgia to a vision focus, while highlighting the significance of balancing tradition with missional engagement. Join us as we unpack the divide between nostalgia and vision, and discover how churches can leverage tradition to reach the next generation and their community.

Also See: Nostalgia vs Vision: Which direction is your church looking?

The world outside your church's front door is NOT the world of your church's heyday. Time to put away the news paper clippings that show a sanctuary full to overflowing.

Ways Being "Nice" is Killing Your Church Revitalization
Being nice sounds like a virtue, but in church revitalization it can quietly work against you. In this episode, Scott and A.J. walk through three specific ways that avoiding hard conversations and tolerating the wrong things in the name of kindness can stall or even sabotage your church's mission. The goal is not to be harsh, but to lead with the kind of courageous clarity that actually serves your congregation well.

Also See: Ways Being “Nice” Is Killing Your Church Revitalization

The Hidden Cost of Adding Too Many Church Ministries
Every church leader faces the dilemma: someone brings you an exciting new ministry idea, and it's easier to say yes than to disappoint them. But continuously adding programs creates calendar clutter, burns out volunteers, drains resources, and confuses your congregation about what actually matters. In this episode, we equip you with a practical three-question framework to discern when to say yes to new ministry ideas—and how to gracefully say no when needed.

Also See: The Hidden Cost of Adding Too Many Church Ministries

Four Church Communication Mistakes that Kill Momentum
Clear communication is essential for everything from teaching God's word to casting vision, yet many churches struggle with four common breakdowns that create confusion and stall momentum. In this episode, Scott and A.J. walk through the most frequent communication mistakes churches make—from drowning their congregation in noise to contradicting messages from leadership—and provide practical strategies to communicate more effectively.

Also See: Four Church Communication Mistakes that Kill Momentum

Churchgoers Increasingly Reject Some Biblical Truths
Churchgoers remain confident in their ability to understand and explain Scripture, but a growing number say biblical truths have lost relevance.

9 ways US Mormons are changing, according to Pew data
Latter-day Saints have grown more diverse and a bit less religious, and more of them are leaving the church, says a new report from Pew Research Center.

College of Bishops to weigh Western Gulf Coast deadlock alongside disciplinary sentences in Plano
The College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America meets this week in Plano, Texas, for a special session at which the bishops are expected to take up the unresolved episcopal election in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast together with sentencing in two disciplinary cases already decided against sitting or former members of the college.

A Committed Congregation
Dr. Dontá McGilvery invites churches to consider how they can help congregants move from discovering their God-given purpose to developing a concrete plan for living it out. By creating intentional spaces for discernment, planning, mentorship, and accountability, congregations can become places where people are not only called to serve the church but equipped to live faithfully into their callings beyond its walls.

Also See: The Vocation of Discernment: Every Congregation Needs a ‘VDC’

Preaching with Purpose: Crafting Sermons that Resonate in a Distracted Age
In Episode 256 of The Church Revitalization Podcast, we tackle the challenge of preaching in a world where attention spans are rapidly shrinking and distractions are everywhere. We explore how to craft sermons that resonate deeply while addressing the realities of modern life. We discuss the importance of capturing attention quickly, the power of storytelling in conveying deep theological truths, and the need for sermons that provide clear, actionable takeaways. This episode offers insights and practical strategies for delivering sermons that engage both the intellect and the heart.

Also See: Preaching with Purpose: Crafting Sermons that Resonate in a Distracted Age

Secure Check-In Software for Churches: 10 Features Every Church Needs
As churches grow past a certain size, the missing pieces of check-in processes start to show up in ways that matter: a misplaced allergy note, a mismatched pickup, a Sunday morning that starts twenty minutes behind schedule.

Here’s what a modern check-in system needs to get right, and how Subsplash Check-in approaches each piece. 

The Impact of AI on Relationships, the Church, and Spiritual Development ft. Carey Nieuwhof
In this episode of Formation, John Ortberg sits down with Carey Nieuwhof to talk leadership, fame, faith, and what it means for the church to stay human as the world turns synthetic.

Carey Nieuwhof has spent the last decade in a chair few people occupy: hundreds of conversations a year with pastors, CEOs, authors, and public thinkers, watching up close what success does to a person's character. In this conversation with John Ortberg, recorded in the redwoods of Northern California, that vantage point turns into something more personal, a wide-ranging talk about leadership, fame, faith, and the strange new terrain of artificial intelligence.