Revitalizing a dying church

'The sooner the work is closed down and the building sold the better! The money could be used to start a new and better work.'

That is how some Christians react to failing churches and they may well be right in some situations. But what about the possibility of revitalisation?

Reading through chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation we find 4 or 5 failing churches. But, the challenges of Jesus to those churches convey the fact that the Lord would rather see them revitalized than have to close their doors.

Every situation is different, and there are no magic solutions. But there are some things to bear in mind as Christians seek to be instruments in the hands of a sovereign God and be used to breathe life back into what is nearly a spiritual corpse.

Prevailing dynamics of a dying church

Imagine arriving at such a situation. What are you likely to find? The congregation is small, probably elderly and most of all discouraged. The neighbourhood may well be going downhill generally. The church has had its glory days in the past but now it has lost credibility in the community. Almost certainly there will be financial difficulties.

In such situations, there is usually a set of prevailing dynamics which have to be addressed.

Negative reputation

Probably you will find that the community and surrounding churches have assigned a reputation to this failing church. Some helpful soul may even say 'That church has the mark of Satan on it - it can never prosper.' Some of the people who have left over the years and gone to nearby congregations will probably have spread horror stories about what the church 'is really like.' If there are grounds for such stories the dying church must repent. But often it is not quite the way the story is told.

Nevertheless, somehow, the negative image has got to be combated if the church is to rise again.

That bad reputation will be a huge obstacle to that church getting a fair hearing for the gospel among the local people. So it will be also, that families new to the town might come and look at the church, but never return having been given the 'the low-down' on the fellowship.

Nostalgia

There may well be church members who can still remember the glory days of yesteryear. Their outlook will not be about hope for the future but rather about trying to recapture the past. Their agenda will be to get back to doing things the way they used to be done, and often those old ways are no longer appropriate. Hence they too can become obstacles to revitalizing the church. Such nostalgia needs to be confronted by asking the question, 'If the old days were so great why are we in the condition we are today?'

Tradition

This is a slightly different matter from nostalgia. Apart from the 'glory-days' members, there are quite likely to be others who have joined the church over the years who are from different Christian backgrounds. Their answer to the problems of the church may well be to insist that the church needs to conform to the tradition in which they were brought up. Thus it can be that there are five or more different traditions vying for influence as the recipe for success. But, of course, mere tradition never brings life.

Defeatist attitude

The church may well be like a football team which has lost every match for the last ten years. They have a ready list of excuses to explain the certain defeats of the future. They know that nothing is going to work.

Disrepair

'If the wood-worms stop holding hands it will all collapse'. It may not be as bad as that but probably the church building will be in disrepair. But perhaps more seriously the church programme will be in disrepair. Instead of an overall, cohesive approach to the work there will be confusion. Ministries will have been dropped simply due to lack of money or key people leaving.

Unrealistic expectations

If the church is pastor-less and a new man does accept a call to lead and teach the church then the people may well expect him to work miracles and turn the church round almost in an instant. This can lead to a very short 'honey-moon' period between new pastor and church and lead the church into yet more problems.

If this is somewhere near a true picture of a dying church then it is obvious that the task of revitalization is a challenge of gigantic proportions. Yet at the same time it is a challenge which carries vast opportunities. This is not least because the world takes a look as it passes by, and if such a church can be revitalized ordinary people will sit up and take notice.

Primary ingredients of a living church

What can be said about bringing such a church back to life? Clearly the major factor is that God himself must graciously step in. With Him alone is the fountain of life, Psalm 36:9. However, there are some basics that can be identified as we seek to be instruments in God's hands.

To realize that the church is not 'our church' but God's church and to act accordingly is perhaps the most crucial factor. This will still the clamouring voices concerned with what 'we want' in a congregation. It will also encourage us by impressing upon us that 'nothing is impossible with God', Luke 1:37. That is not to say that there will be no struggles, but it does lead us to faith and hope in the middle of our struggles.

God's Word and prayer

When David Holloway went to Jesmond parish church in 1973 it was not exactly dying. There was much that was good. However, it is quite instructive to read in his book Church and State in the New Millennium (Harper Collins 2000) what he says were his priorities. 'The first lesson was that you must begin with prayer. The second, that you must teach and preach the whole gospel. From day one, therefore, the Sunday preaching programme at Jesmond was of primary importance.' It is not just that the Bible tells us about God. It certainly does that. It is also that there is a sense in which God himself lives in his word, and so it is that through desiring the pure spiritual milk of the word, we 'taste that the Lord is good,' 1 Peter 2.1-3.

When God makes himself known in a congregation a true spirit of worship begins to appear and when that happens spiritual life is beginning to be rekindled.

Vision

The Authorised version of Proverbs 29.18 tells us, 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' Often churches have run into difficulties because they have lost their vision or have no vision beyond themselves and their own comfort.

A vision for the work unifies people and propels them in the direction of seeking God's glory in their area. A God-given vision for the church will address and bring answers to a number of questions. 'What is a local church supposed to be ?' 'What has our congregation that God can use?' 'What are the valid ministries of nearby evangelical churches and how can we complement rather than compete with one another?' 'What are the needs of our community and how can we serve?' Somehow, as we prayerfully seek God with a resolution to be obedient, he will give a way forward which will dovetail all these things together and impart a vision of what can be done.

In these days the question about the community seems crucial. So many churches are dead because they have become detached from the ordinary people around them and so there are no avenues, as things stand, by which God can reach the lost through the church. What a challenging description is given of the early church in Jerusalem after the day of Pentecost. Of them it is written they 'enjoyed the favour of all the people,' Acts 2:47. I wonder why that was? It is a question worth pondering.

Give it time

It is extremely unusual to find a quick fix for a dying church. Normally it needs people who are prepared to dig in and give themselves faithfully to the work for many years. Changes have to be made, but it is no good rushing through changes which will alienate half the already dwindling congregation ˘ especially if those people's hearts are basically in the right place. Further, it takes time to re-establish loving links into the community outside the church so that the gospel can get a hearing.

Building for the future

Going back to David Holloway and the beginning of his ministry at Jesmond, see what you make of this: 'The third lesson was that you must establish a creche. My wife, a paediatrician, was soon put in charge of the creche at Jesmond, where she has been responsible for hundreds of babies over the years since. If you have a creche run to professional standards (or better), young married couples will feel secure in leaving their babies there. Not only do you then have new sources of leadership potential, but you also have a 'young' church. Change becomes easier and the church relates more naturally to changes in the wider culture.' No doubt there are other ways of building for the future, but this piece of practical advice might well be worth following.

JEB

I am indebted to a message given by Harry L. Reeder at Westminster Theological Seminary for a number of the insights in this article.