People Spots Online
Produced by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries

Renewing a church is not for the faint-hearted, but it can be a joy-producing labor for those who persevere.

My family moved to West Patrick Street in Frederick, Maryland, in 1942. My dad was an expert gardener. However, the garden had been abused. According to reports, there was less than two inches of topsoil. The early crops were meager. Dad worked the garden diligently. He spaded under leaves and the plants from previous crops. Manure and fertilizer were carefully added. Upon his death in 1974, there was about 18 inches of topsoil. The soil was fluffy and light and grew bumper crops. The garden had been renewed. Churches can be renewed as well.

1. A firm belief that new life can come to old churches. We are a people of the resurrection. We believe that new life can come to old physical bodies. We believe that when a person confesses Jesus as Lord, new life is introduced through salvation. We believe that an old church can be born to new life. That is an intentional process that means that an old church is reborn by being called back to its initial purposes and reasons for being. Simply stated, there has to be a spiritual rebirth.

2. A sense of patience. Renewal takes time. Patience is a key word and attitude. A true renewal project is always a ten-year journey. If you have seen an old church given a new direction in ten years, you have participated in a miracle. In fact, a number of the most successful renewal projects have taken five years before there was a significant upturn. Tremendous energy has to be expended to stop the downward spiral that has sometimes spanned decades. There frequently is a plateau period while the foundation for further progress is laid. Time will have to be spent in healing some of the hurts from past injuries while the church plans for the future.

3. An appreciation for small churches is a must for anyone who will spend serious time in renewal. Most churches are small by the time they become renewal projects. There are many high quality small churches. Small churches attract different people than large ones. That is not right or wrong. It just is. A person who can be happy in a congregation averaging 750 would not be happy in a church of 60 and vice versa. If you don’t like small churches, renewal is probably not your field. However, most small churches can grow significantly and still be a small church.  (Also see Small Churches–Part 1 and Part 2)

4. An intense love of people. Renewal is people intensive. I was sitting with a group of ministers. One commented, "The ministry would be a great job if you didn’t have to deal with people." Everyone chuckled including me, until I realized he wasn’t kidding. There is no job in the ministry apart from people. Love for people means that they are treated decently. People who know they are loved will accept tough talk from their pastor. But it takes time and evidence (more than just words) to convince the people that the pastor loves them.

5. An aptitude for hard work. I find pastors and people frequently want me to give them a quick formula for renewal. I don’t know any that doesn’t involve hard work. I was sharing insights with a couple of persons in a renewal project. Their response was "Jim, what you are talking about is hard work." I don’t know any shortcuts. Effective renewal of a local church is a long-term project that involves a great deal of work.

6. A pastor who has enthusiasm and a vision. The high quality new pastor or leader is essential to the renewal of an old church. I am frequently asked, "Jim, can our current pastor introduce renewal." The longer the pastor has been there, the more likely the answer will be no. I have studied hundreds of churches over several decades. I have yet to see an example where a church experienced three significant loss years in a row under one pastor and then that same pastor turned that church around. (A significant loss year is 5% of worship attendance or more.) I’m sure there may be examples, but I don’t know of any. Such examples surely are rare. The pastor may be a tent-maker or a bi-vocational worker. The pastor may be serving a circuit or more than one church at a time. Frequently, successful renewal pastors are second career people in their first pastorates who are too dumb to know it can’t be done. The pastor has to have a larger vision. But a word of caution. Though the pastor must have a larger vision, only small segments of the vision can be shared at a time. The people won’t be able to understand or comprehend the larger vision and may be turned off by it. (See also A Growth Pastor.)

7. A recognition that closing is not the answer. The renewing of a church is not closing it. As long as the church is alive, there is the potential for renewal. When a church closes, ministry is permanently concluded. Churches should not be closed from the outside unless there is fighting within or unless the church is not paying its operational costs. It is my conviction that only the people within a church have the right to close it. Unfortunately, many churches have been closed when renewal was still possible.

8. Money is not the solution. The injection of money is seldom the cure in a renewal project. Most of the successful renewal projects involved either little or no financial subsidy. Money sometimes serves as an anesthetic. It simply masks the real symptoms. When the money stops, the old problems come back to the surface.

An Old Church Renewed

Newtown Church predated the Civil War. It had a long and meaningful history. Events of recent years had not been kind. There had been several bumps in the road for the congregation. These bumps had been followed by a couple of incompetent pastors. Attendance had dropped into the 30’s. The future of the church was at stake. A new pastor was assigned. The new pastor matched the people of the church. The pastor and people of the church matched the community. A small amount of aid was granted for a short period of time. Several years later the church is averaging in the 80’s. Finances are sound. New people are visiting regularly. Conversions are happening. Christians are growing in Christ. An old church has been renewed.

My mother-in-law expressed a desire to see her garden planted. Without a hesitation, I said, "Mom, I’ll spade your garden for you." I spaded for a while. Then I turned around to see how far I had to go and said, "Why did you agree to do that?" Church renewal is a lot like that. A lot of effort and energy are expended. Progress has been made. But when you look at how far you have to go, you might have a moment of apprehension. I think there are times when the Lord protects us by not permitting us to see the enormity of the task in front of us. Then we can work, see progress and appreciate it while still realizing the work that is still ahead of us.

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Also see:

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Read about Jim's seminars and books.

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May 19, 2000. Volume 3, Issue 6.  People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants.  It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org.  Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.

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