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August 23, 2018 6 Comments

How Run-down Facilities Can Exacerbate the Decline in a Church – Revitalize & Replant #055

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Facility issues can stall or hinder church growth. Today, we discuss five reasons church facilities can cause decline in your church.

Today’s Listener Question:

FROM MATT

I’m a bivocational pastor at a normative size church. The church has grown a little and we’re to the point where we have to decide if we bring on more bivocational staff (music and kids ministries are volunteer led) or use funds to start upgrading facilities. My gut reaction is that we upgrade the facilities, keep growing, and then hire the staff, but some of my deacons say the opposite. Staff first, then facilities. Help!

Episode Highlights:

  • A run-down church facility tells the community that “we don’t care.”
  • Families will be turned off by run-down or dirty church facilities because they will be worried about the safety of their kids.
  • Churches should be a place of hope in their communities.
  • Do what it takes to get rid of the distractions in your church facility so that people can focus on worship and discipleship.

The five reasons we discuss are:

  1. It communicates to the community “we don’t care”
  2. Parents are fearful of bringing their children
  3. It creates ill will in the neighborhood
  4. It demoralizes the congregation
  5. It is a distraction to the congregation

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

  • Cool Solutions Group
  • Church Health Report
  • ChurchReplanters.com
  • ChurchAnswers.com
  • 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.

Related

Comments

  1. Will Niven says

    August 23, 2018 at 8:03 am

    Brothers, I cannot express my thankfulness for this episode. I am a missionary working in two churches. In one church things are so bad. I am about to going into battle exactly on this issue. Our facilities are dirty and unsafe in places. My coworker does not care and blames the church for not lifting a finger but does nothing himself. We feel that this is a gospel issue…bad facilities says that we have nothing worth telling you! Yesterday my family and I worked for hours on a clean up and we are trying to do more. Pray as I try to speak to my coworker about this.

    Reply
  2. Randel Trull says

    August 24, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    I don’t see how prioritizing facilities can be reconciled with the teaching of the New Testament.

    Reply
    • Chris Doeller says

      August 30, 2018 at 7:22 am

      So street ministry is your preferred venue?

      Reply
  3. Mike Schrimsher says

    August 25, 2018 at 11:57 am

    Randel, you need to listen to the whole podcast. As I was listening I had questions that popped up that really did not directly involve the subject of the podcast. However, by the end of the podcast my concerns about the priority of the subject were put into perspective. Since we (our church body) owns property and has buildings on it, it behooves us to represent The Lord in what people see, and what people hear from us.

    Reply
  4. Hal Hunter says

    August 27, 2018 at 9:46 am

    Before people will listen to you they must be willing to listen to you. Engagement happens first. Anything that gets in the way of engagement gets in the way of the gospel. Those “anythings” include shabby physical environments and disregard for the safety and well-being of kids,

    Reply
    • Hal Hunter says

      August 27, 2018 at 9:48 am

      I really need to read over things before hitting post. That first sentence out the read “Before people will listen to you they must engage with you.”

      Reply

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