
Revitalization – The action of imbuing something with new life and vitality.
Before I experienced my new birth, I was blessed to observe a vitalized group of believers: college kids who were brand-new Christians. They were full of joy and hope. They were unusually optimistic and were sharing Jesus everywhere they went. Former binge drinkers and drug users were finding more joy in Jesus than I had even hoped to find in anything.
So, what is church re-vitalization? We know it when we see it.
A revitalized church looks something like the campus group I described above, for it’s an established congregation once again experiencing heaven-sent life. The saints are praying and seeing answers. They are bringing people to faith in Christ because they want to. They love the Bible, not as a trivial pursuit but as a passionate pursuit. They are seeing miraculous Christian growth in themselves and others. They are not without conflicts and disagreements, but they handle their challenges with heaven-sent love and patience. They are doing good works out in the community. They are worshipping God with help from the Spirit of God Himself. They are practicing the one-another commands of the New Testament and using their spiritual gifts to serve one another.
If we want to experience anything like the above, we don’t need these revitalization myths.
1. Church revitalization is a new concept. The term might be new, but the idea is as old as Ephesians 1:15–23 and 3:14–21, Hebrews 10:19–25, James 4:1–10, and Revelation 2—3. One hundred years ago, the term “revival” was used. If your church doesn’t like the term revitalization, try the word revival or ask if our lives and church life look like they used to look.
2. Church revitalization is only for the severely troubled church. “Which church needs it?” is the wrong question. Every church should long to have—and can have—the vitality I described above. Why bear fruit when we can bear much fruit?
3. Church revitalization requires a new pastor. This myth is exceptionally dangerous. “We love Jesus so much that we must toss out our old pastor.” Your church probably doesn’t need a new pastor, but it may need a fresh start, and your pastor himself may need his own fresh start. Fortunately, our wonderful God is as willing to revitalize pastors as He is churches.
If your pastor is de-vitalized, what he may need is (1) understanding, (2) a refreshing sabbatical, (3) encouragement, (4) prayer, and (5) revitalization coaching.
4. Church revitalization requires a young pastor. Some churches call young pastors with young wives and young children, and a measure of revitalization results. This is wonderful, but correlation doesn’t prove causation.
It wasn’t the pastor’s youth that brought revitalization. The changes that resulted were more likely a result of . . .
· The new pastor’s faith and enthusiasm.
· Some good ideas
· An exemplary attitude on the part of at least some of the church members
· The pastor’s availability to do disciple-making because the congregation is not yet entrusting him with their counseling issues
· The gifting of the new pastor with a few “change coupons” with which he can challenge old practices without getting in trouble
· The only source of heaven-sent life: God Himself.
In too many cases, the enthusiastic young pastor, expected to “attract younger families,” cannot lead his stubborn congregation into a heaven-sent revitalization experience. The faithful expect the new pastor to “do revitalization” for them.
5. Church revitalization can be produced through a packaged program. I remember the weight loss ads I keep hearing on YouTube: “Only 19.95 to lose 20 pounds!” In the church, this means buying a box with a three-ring binder and, in the old days, a VHS video or a set of DVDs. Nothing is ever that simple.
6. Church revitalization can be reduced to a universal process. I used to look for the church revitalization book outlining a start-to-finish process for church turnarounds. A friend helped me understand that no such process is possible because every church is unique. So, I wrote “The Revitalization Playbook,” which has five scripted plays and fifteen optional plays for church leaders to choose prayerfully.
7. Church revitalization can be done without miracles. Some Christians differentiate between “miraculous” spiritual gifts and the “other” spiritual gifts. Other believers say they don’t believe “miracles are for today.” But aren’t regeneration and sanctification both astonishing acts of God?
The implication, of course, is that whatever else we do, if we want heaven-sent revitalization, we’ll need to get serious about prayer.
8. Church revitalization can be done without leadership. Revitalization is a miracle, but life, as seen in the simplest living thing, is organized, not chaotic, and organization requires leadership. Someone will have to lead your church’s revitalization effort. Even the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes required one supervisor and twelve guys running around with baskets.