Why Churches Need Revitalization

Revitalization: “the act or process of giving new life or fresh vitality or energy to someone or something”[1]

I have a theory about churches. It’s pretty simple. Every so often, most churches need revitalization. Maybe all churches need periodic revitalization. Churches are organizations, and organizations are like people: Over time, they run down. The difference? “It is appointed unto man once to die.”[2] We will all die sometime unless we are alive to witness the return of our Lord. Organizations don’t have to die, but they die unless they reinvent themselves from time to time.

Consider the many businesses and organizations that have ceased to exist or have moved from their root missions during the last decade or more: Fiat/Chrysler, Fry’s Electronics, Bed Bath and Beyond, Tuesday Morning stores, General Electric, Blockbuster, and Stein Mart. Sure, some of these merged into other companies, but how is that going? And what happened to the Boy Scouts and the Young Men’s Christian Organization, and Sears, and J.C. Penney?

I’m sure you can name several churches in your area that have closed or are struggling to continue their existence or have lost their way over time.

I am a man of a certain age. I am acutely aware that my expected lifespan is a lot shorter than it was 30 years ago. As a result, I engage in several practices intended to help me maintain and even grow in my physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional vitality for as long as I can (and the Lord allows). I can slow down the decline but cannot stop it. And, I can’t go back to the vitality I had years ago.

What exactly is “vitality?” My dictionary defines vitality as the “power to live; power to endure.”[3] The same dictionary defines “vitalize” as “to make vital; give life or vigor to.” To revitalize is to again “make vital; give life or vigor to” something that once had life and vigor. Hence, our concept of “church revitalization” – the action of restoring life and vitality to a church that once had them but has them no more.

Here’s a question we perhaps should be asking ourselves as pastors and church leaders: “Does the church I lead have the vitality and vigor to do what churches should be doing for many years to come?” That’s something to talk about.

Much of my work is with churches that are struggling. Almost all of them could be described as having lost their vigor and vitality. And all of them need help to change their trajectory which appears headed toward death – that slow and painful decline that so many churches are facing.

The EFCA West team at least yearly renews its focus and efforts to strengthen churches and their leadership communities, helping local churches maintain, grow, or renew their vigor and vitality for the long term. Expect to see more information on this in the months and years to come. But for now, let me give you some ideas for some conversations about the vitality and vigor of the church you lead – it’s something to be talking about and not to be ignored.

• Humans cannot regain “youthful” vitality when they are old. The only way to keep an earthly family vital and vigorous is to have new births – to pass life on to succeeding generations. Discuss among the team how your church is doing with passing on the faith to succeeding generations. What, specifically, are we trying to do in this area and how is it going? Are we seeing “new births?” If not, why not? What do we need to change, bolster, or stop doing?

• The church in Ephesus was condemned by Jesus for abandoning their first love (Rev. 2:4). Jesus commanded them to remember how far they have fallen, repent, and do the things they did at first. What were the things your church did “at first?” Are you still passionately doing those things? Have you fallen and, if so, how far? Are there things about which we need to repent? How might we begin doing the things the church did at first? Do the “things we did at first” that come to mind refer to programs or cultural artifacts or to our hearts and desires?

• Does our church have age demographics similar to those of our community? Are we mostly older adults that live in a community that still has lots of families with children? What might we do to maintain our vitality and vigor as our congregation continues to age so that we can change course and not see our church die? What might we do to again experience the vitality and vigor of younger people in our church?

• What are the trajectories of the health indicators for our church over the last 10-15 years? Confessions of faith? Baptisms? New believers to be discipled? Attendance? Generosity? Much Fruit of the Spirit? Are we in decline, holding steady, or seeing positive results?

• What are the actual core values of our church? Not the list we might have posted somewhere, but the values that people in our church actually live within and outside the church? What are the things important to us? Are they inwardly focused? Outwardly focused? God focused? Not focused?

• Is congregational participation in worship through music heartfelt and sincere, or is it lethargic and stale? Are men singing or mostly just standing there? Does our congregation sing the words like they really mean them? Do we just listen to the band or engage in worship and praise to our God?

• What are some other potential things to talk about related to the vitality and vigor of our church?

I encourage us leaders to have the courage to have these conversations. Be strong and courageous. Some of us will conclude that we desperately need revitalization now. Some will conclude that things are going well. Some will conclude that there are areas of concern that we should carefully look at before it’s too late. But we won’t effectively conclude anything if we don’t have that conversation with our leadership team and even beyond.

One of the aspects of my role that causes me great sorrow is seeing a church that has lost its vigor and vitality and is dying, whether death is imminent or will be a long, painful decline, and its leaders won’t admit it or won’t do anything about it. The death of a church is painful and difficult. We need to have revitalization before the decline is too late to be reversed. Yes, Jesus will snuff out a church’s candle if the drift is too great and repentance does not occur.

Consider these words describing why leaders of organizations won’t make the changes needed to prevent the organization they lead from dying:

“Individuals and organizations do not lack the resources, knowledge, and information to survive; they simply do not choose to make the changes that are clear and available. When confronted with the choice to change or die, they choose to die.” [4]

Why don’t church leaders ask for help? In my experience, the reason is the same. They choose to die rather than change.

The EFCA West team is ready and poised to assist churches in their assessment and revitalization process. Don’t wait too long to ask for help. Maintaining the robust vitality and vigor of the church you have been entrusted to lead is Something to Talk About. And it’s something for which we leaders are accountable to God to do.[5]

Let us know if we can help and how your conversation goes. Contact Bob Osborne by e-mail at bob.osborne@efca.org. 

This is one of a series of articles intended to facilitate and guide church leaders’ conversations about significant issues that often are not talked about among pastors, boards, and church leadership teams. Visit the EFCA West website to see prior Something to Talk About articles.