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Churches headed toward the end of their lives have something in common—you’ll likely hear these sentences from members. Mark Clifton joins us to talk about how to react when you do hear these.
Today’s Listener Question:
FROM TOBY
I just began my first pastorate at a church that needs revitalizing. Everyone has been great so far, but I’ve listened to Rainer on Leadership enough to know that will change eventually. What are some buzzwords or phrases that should raise some red flags for me and how do I respond?
Episode Highlights:
- Dying churches often don’t make wise decisions.
- “We’ve never done it that way before” is just another way of saying “I don’t want to change.”
- Get people to change by giving them something more valuable to enjoy that what they’re holding onto.
- Is your church really there for its community?
The three sentences that we cover in this episode are:
- “We’ve never done it that way before.”
- “Our pastor doesn’t visit enough.”
- “People know where our church is if they want to come here.”
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
- ChurchReplanters.com
- EQ Assessment
- Replanter Assessment
- Find more resources at the Revitalize & Replant page at ThomRainer.com
Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to explore resources for replanting and revitalization in your own church, visit ChurchReplanters.com.Submit Your Question:
Do you have a question about church revitalization or replanting for us to use on the podcast? Visit the podcast page to submit your question. If we use it on the show, you’ll get a copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Reclaiming Glory.
in my Observation most of the Ministers lack of knowledge of Revivalism even Preaching the Gospel no time for Study because of Personal needs everyday,also the members lack of cooperation to help the needs of their Pastors even youth group lack of support to their Church.in my study most of Religious group very selfish even Rich Religious leaders very greedy always sent advertised their Biblical study but lack of interest to help each other……very sad,teaching is useless without helping others,sorry but that’s my observation.
At our church, we don’t say “we’ve never done it that way.” We say, “we tried that once and it didn’t work.” I’d give my left arm to hear that we’ve never done something before!
Hi, Pastor Rainer. My name is Lonney Carr. I loved listening to the your show, “Three questions of a dying church. I would like to know if your ministry board might consider whether or not my ministry would be of some help in bringing back life to almost dead churches, and looking at how I can go into any community and find people who are seriously, serious about receiving Bible study from someone from the church. In the power of Jesus, I can find 25, 50, or 100 people in the community in about 14-20 days where the church is, who would love to know more about Jesus Christ! I am African American, but have signed up more than 100 Caucasian brothers and sisters for Bible study for a Pastor in a little town named Jelico, Tn. There is a fee for my service. My cell number is (256) 426-8582
Hi Lonney.
Do u still offer help to church ministries seeking to reach out to their communities? Please give me a call or email me at pammswear@yahoo.com to discuss fees, etc.